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“The big lie perpetuated on western society is the idea of women’s inferiority, a lie so deeply ingrained in our social behavior that to merely recognize it is to risk unraveling the entire fabric of civilization.”

-Molley Haskell



Western society is a society that is rooted by two types of laws. The first, other men judge a set of laws in which men. The second, a set of laws in which women are judged, evaluated and condemned by the values and beliefs of men. These judgements and beliefs began when humankind developed an interest in distinguishing the differences between “man” and “woman”. Although the only apparent differences were biological and physical in nature, somehow, “man” became associated with words such as “better”, “stronger”, and “superior”. Meanwhile, woman became associated with words such as “lessor”, “weaker”, and “inferior”. These words have been transformed into a way of thinking and belief pattern held by men. As society approaches the 21st Century, not much has “changed” from the early scientists’ discovery of the differences in “woman” as compared to “man”. Assuming that by using the term “changed”, then “removed” or “replaced” is meant instead. The way in which women are regarded in western society has not “changed”. It has been “altered”, as in “modified”. This modification manifests itself as progress, present conditions compared to those of the past. “The big lie” is unrecognizable to many is the patriarchy that exists in today’ western society. The ways that “the big lie” is recognizable (to some) is through violence towards women.

It is the intent of this paper to demonstrate the relationship of power, patriarchy, and domestic violence. Violence towards women will include rape, incest, child abuse, domestic



violence...