Reflections on Racial Differences in Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence: Black Women Have to be Strong* (original) (raw)

Blacks and whites often have clashing perspectives on many issues that are puzzling to both races. One of these clashing perspectives is in respect to differing perceptions of intimate partner violence, including even murder and rape. Arguably, this as well as other clashing perspectives flow not only from stark present-day demographic realities existing between different ethnicities and races, but also from historical differences between the races, especially including contrasts in the societally-sanctioned roles of women. This essay sets forth some reasons for race-related cosmological differences, explaining, for example, why many African Americans greeted O.J. Simpson's not-guilty verdict with ecstatic cheers, while European Americans sat in stunned disbelief. The influence of pre-existing discriminatory cognitive schemas is considered to be of comparatively minimal importance in explaining these differences. KEY WORDS: domestic violence, role of women, racial differences, ...