Statistics:

https://ncadv.org/assets/2497/domestic_violence.pdf

Sorry if it seems contrived to you. I agree that women are better off here than other places, but that does not mean that we shouldn't strive for better. Just because it's colder up in Maine right now doesn't mean it isn't really cold here in New Jersey.

The reason we call it "domestic violence" is that such issues were historically thought to be private and thus not a matter for courts or police. It was policy for police officers not to intervene in case of violence in the home. In the 1970s, it was women rights advocates who fought for things like marital rape and violence in the home to be considered crimes.

My point is not to over exaggerate -- simply to state facts. Most young women and men simply do not realize that these issues exist, most people think we have achieved equality. (Dont' worry, the status qup is still on your side.) I think that reasonable assessment of facts can be helpful towards ameliorating the situation.

On average, one women per day dies at the hands of a partner in this country. I am sorry you think this is normal or whatever. I am not making this history up. Just because there are issues with reporting or proving stuff doesn't mean these issues don't exist.

I am not imputing motives, just making a broader point about cultural norms and gender expectations that ARE NOT NATURAL. Whether someone is selling something or trying to get laid or shooting up public places because they don't feel that women have been responsive enough to them in their lives, the issue goes beyond these individuals.

Our outdated visions of masculinity or femininity help no one. They put people-- men and women-- in boxes and are breeding grounds for violence.

AGAIN, I never claimed men hate women (then or now). This goes beyond the individual in that culturally/ legally, it is a FACT that women were considered property and that having sex when the husband wanted it was an expectation of marriage. Read any book on the history of marriage to substantiate what I am writing.

On a personal note, I wish it was just history. This was never an academic interest of mine until I saw violence against women in my own life and the lives of so many women I know. It took years for me to understand. As a woman, I do not get to walk around alone at night without feeling unsafe in most places. I have had two partners who were abusive and have watched too many of my friends in similar situations. The culture still supports an unequal relationship between men and women and asks men and women to conform to stupid, fake visions of what men and women should be- we can do better.