Culture and violence: The interaction of Africa and America

This paper examines the interaction of African and American gender role ideologies as a possible influence on the high rate of wife abuse in African American families. African traditional expectations of strong independent women and reciprocity between spouses conflict with the European-derived American heritage of sexuality as a male status symbol and of male control of women's lives. Important differences in the meaning of male dominance/female subservience in African compared with American culture are explored. The stress created by the conflict between African and American gender role values, exacerbated by prejudice and socio-economic deprivation, may increase emotional turmoil and find expression in violence and guilt in African American families.