A Study of the Social Construction of Men's Aggression from Gender Perspectives

2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 13837032
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Institution: Musashi University
• Principal Investigator: KUNIHIRO Yoko Musashi University, Department of Sociology, Professor, 社会学部, 教授 (10308017)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KIWAKI Nachiko Hagoromo Gakuen Junior College, Department of Human Life Science, Associate professor, 人間生活学科, 助教授 (00280066) ; KATO Chie Tokyo Jogakkan College, Faculty of Liberal Arts for Global Studies and Leadership, Associate Professor, 国際教養学部, 助教授 (30269427) ; MOROI Hisae Bunri University of Hospitality, Department of Service Management, Associate Professor, サービス経営学部, 助教授 (60269355)
• Project Period (FY): 2001 – 2002
• Keywords: Gender / Violence against Women / Domestic Violence / Masculinity / Life History

Research Abstract

This study investigates the process of social construction of men's aggression in general and men's violence against women in particular. The research of the study consists of two types of interview: life-history interviews with men over 60 years of age and interviews with researchers and practitioners.
The life-history interviews were conducted with 11 men from 61 to 84 years of age, living in Hokkaido, Kyushu, and the Tokyo area. The primary focus of the interviews was on the men's experiences of aggression that they received, initiated or observed in their different life-stages including the war time. The interviewees showed negative attitudes towards aggression as a whole, but at the same time provided a variety of reasons to justify some kinds of aggression under certain circumstances. In particular, they demonstrated a somewhat positive attitude towards the aggression they experienced in the army. They regarded even a beating up as acceptable, if it was carried out by a senior officer who intended to discipline or educate his juniors. Likewise, they did not mind being inconsiderate to their wives as a form of discipline. Generally speaking, they tended to be tolerant of aggression and their concept of what is unacceptable aggression was very narrow.
Through the interviews with researchers and practitioners, we learn that there are many problems concerning domestic violence in Japan that need to be further examined. Because of an urgent call for a batterer's program, researchers and practitioners have been trying to develop such a program and put it into practice. However, there are several different viewpoints about what a batterer's program should be like, and no cooperative network has yet been organized to establish integrated measures for coping with perpetrators of domestic violence.