Victims or Pets?

This article addresses the issues presented in the book Dominance and Affection by Yi Fu Tuan (1984). Tuan proposes that dominance coupled with affection will create a pet and that dominance without affection will create a victim. Tuan shows how plants, gardens, women and children are all dominated at times, but under the guise of affection. These ideas are then related to male-female relationships, especially in situations of domestic violence where women are often dominated both with and without affection.