Sir, - As social scientists, we welcome the intervention of Michael Kimmel (Opinion, December 4th) in the current gender debate in The Irish Times. However, it is unfortunate that research already ongoing in social science, Irish and international, has not been represented in the debate so far. A cool perspective is now needed in a debate which is getting out of hand, misleading the public and misinterpreting the essence of feminist perspectives in social science, in particular.
In the current climate, sound argument and evidence are being silenced by reactionary commentary combined with extremely limited and partial studies which do not adequately address the wider phenomenon of domestic violence in Irish society as a whole. We very much welcome any group documenting the particular experiences and concerns of their clients. However, this should not provide carte blanche for confident assertions about wider social trends.
None of the groups or individuals which seem to be most sure about the extent of female-initiated violence have conducted research of any systematic basis on the question, and tend to base their findings on the experience of one group of victims alone. A sample of those who make contact with "particular" organisations cannot alone be taken as a sound indication of the true extent of violence across Irish society - domestic or public - or of the predominant gender of perpetrators.
At another level, none of these group commentators seem to address the complexity of gender. A number of very basic inaccuracies must be addressed:
1. Feminism has since the 1970s, quite simply, attempted to change the fact that socially and culturally women have total responsibility for parenting. What feminist ever wrote that women should have total responsibility for children, and that men should be "free" or excluded from parental responsibility? The view that women should have total power and control over children is more reflective of the 1937 Constitution and of Catholic social teaching on motherhood than of feminism. For example, to suggest that a feminist conspiracy is somehow fixing the legal system to exclude men from parental input (financial or emotional) is inaccurate and distorts three decades of feminist writing on these matters. 2. The causes of suicide are generally multicausal (i.e. it is not the direct fault of one "entity"). Research has been conducted on issues such as addiction, depression, and sexuality. In addition, the female suicide rate - and indeed an increasing attempted suicide rate which is primarily a female phenomenon - is lost in gender-exclusive arguments.
3. The prevalence of social violence is inconsistently presented. Violence extends beyond the domestic sphere to a much wider culture of masculinity. For instance, "men killing other men" on the streets, and the high level of male deaths on the roads associated with speeding and aggressive driving also require consideration.
The general applicability of studies commissioned by particular organisations which seek to support what they already consider to be the case must be balanced with more reliable evidence and studies conducted in a much wider social context. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Linda Connolly, Department of Sociology, UCC, Cork.
Dr Ronit Lentin, Department of Sociology, Trinity College, Dublin 2.
Dr Sara O'Sullivan, Department of Sociology, UCD, Dublin 4.
Professor Fred Powell, Department of Applied Social Studies, UCC, Cork.
Hilary Tovey, Department of Sociology, Trinity College, Dublin 2.