Toward a gendered social bond/male peer support theory of university woman abuse

Abstract

Despite many calls for integrated woman abuse theories, few have made any such attempts. Taking as a starting point that gender blind and conservative theories may still have some value, Hirschi's social bond theory is examined with insights from feminist male peer support theory and other critical perspectives. The goal is not a formal new theory but rather a heuristic designed to show the value of adding feminist insight to gender blind theory. Hirschi is turned upside down here with an argument that attachment and involvement with conventional peers may in fact promulgate violence against women on college campuses when it is noted that conventional institutions are patriarchal and part of a rape culture. University groups (social fraternities, sports teams, etc.) may enforce adherence through homophobia and group pressure, while promoting a hypermasculine culture that encourages men to use coercion and force to increase their count of sexual encounters. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.