The Social Construction of Deviance: Experts on Battered Women

Abstract

Contemporary experts on battered women have concentrated on asking why women stay with mates who beat them. This paper looks at how this question, and the way experts answer it, has created a new category of deviance and, by implication, a new clientele for the services of experts. We look at the quality of the evidence which the experts offer in support of their theories and suggest an alternative vocabulary for assessing the motives of battered women.