In January of 2010, Katie Tagle went to court in attempt to obtain a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Stephen Garcia. Her motive was to keep him from seeing their nine-month-old child unsupervised, as he had threatened to murder the infant. The judge did not believe Ms. Tagle, and accused her of lying. Garcia affirmed this assumption by claiming she was pulling a “stunt” to keep their child away from him. The judge denied the motion. Garcia took the child following the hearing, and drove to the mountains. A mere ten days later both the child and the father were found dead (Dawson). Is our judicial system taking domestic violence cases too lightly? Are women safe in a “male dominant” world? In Joan Dawson’s article “Reproductive Rights, Parental Rights, and Family Violence: A Dangerous Intersection”, the author notes that when custody cases are taken to trial eighty-four percent of men are awarded custody when custody is sought. From a personal stance I would be more than hesitant to deem this practice coincidental, thus proving the statement that we live amongst a male dominant society. The introductory scenario provided from Dawson’s article is just one of many examples that prove this point, and often times the end result was the loss of the life of the child in the situation. Dawson’s article further describes the judicial decision to award a potentially violent male custody with the justification that women present themselves poorly in the courtroom. An article entitled “Emotional Segues and the Management of Emotion by Women and Men” by Kathryn Lively explains that women’s emotions can be identified more complex and in-depth (p. 911). This point can have a direct correlation as to why men can more easily suppress their emotions during a situation in which they are under pressure such as a custody trial whereas women cannot. Lively’s article also notes that a study by Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin found that gender differences regarding emotions can be directly related to “patterns of status and power” (p.912). If we are living in a society in which men are viewed as powerful leaders, then it could be argued that women are more expressive of these feelings because they feel belittled by the assumptive status that the men hold.
Is our judicial system taking domestic violence cases too lightly? Are women safe in a “male dominant” world? In Joan Dawson’s article “Reproductive Rights, Parental Rights, and Family Violence: A Dangerous Intersection”, the author notes that when custody cases are taken to trial eighty-four percent of men are awarded custody when custody is sought. From a personal stance I would be more than hesitant to deem this practice coincidental, thus proving the statement that we live amongst a male dominant society. The introductory scenario provided from Dawson’s article is just one of many examples that prove this point, and often times the end result was the loss of the life of the child in the situation. Dawson’s article further describes the judicial decision to award a potentially violent male custody with the justification that women present themselves poorly in the courtroom. An article entitled “Emotional Segues and the Management of Emotion by Women and Men” by Kathryn Lively explains that women’s emotions can be identified more complex and in-depth (p. 911). This point can have a direct correlation as to why men can more easily suppress their emotions during a situation in which they are under pressure such as a custody trial whereas women cannot. Lively’s article also notes that a study by Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin found that gender differences regarding emotions can be directly related to “patterns of status and power” (p.912). If we are living in a society in which men are viewed as powerful leaders, then it could be argued that women are more expressive of these feelings because they feel belittled by the assumptive status that the men hold.