Firstly, Radical feminists strongly believe that the patriarchy has a negative influence on the family, as they believe that the patriarchy is the reason why women are exploited and oppressed. They believe that this exploitation and oppression can be evidenced in various ways including in the more extreme circumstances the act of domestic violence. They are of the belief that males think that since they are head of the household they are allowed to control their family in a very authoritative or dictatorial like manner. This thinking in turn can lead to domestic violence which may include not only physical abuse but also emotional and psychological abuse as well as financial mistreatment. Studies have shown that in these cases the male is often the one inciting the violence while women and children are the victims of his anger as he seeks to exert his dominant role. These feminists also believe that should a woman attempt to try and gain greater control or power in the household or disobey the man’s wishes then he will be more likely to respond violently and thus further oppress the woman. This behaviour would obviously have a negative effect on families …show more content…
Hartmann defines patriarchy as “a set of social relations between men, which have a material base, and which, though hierarchical, establish or create interdependence or solidarity among men that enable them to dominate women”. Therefore Marxist feminists argue that because the male is often the one going out to work and earning money to support the family that he has total economic control over his wife and children (family) which can negatively affect the family as he would be able to manipulate his family as he liked as he would be the one in control. Women are therefore denied financial independence in the patriarchal family