As a result of increased awareness of issues related to discrimination against women, some theories have emerged in recent years that explain the forms in which male violence is exercised.

In this article we will see one of the most popular ones lately, the pyramid of male violence, sometimes called the iceberg of gender violence . You will also find a summary about what it proposes and its limitations and problems.

What is the pyramid of male violence?

Social dynamics are always complicated to understand, and that is why, when it comes to understanding their nature, many times we resort to graphic representations that simplify them. This is an example of how a triangular figure tries to capture the different levels of aggression and violence.

The pyramid of male violence, sometimes called simply the pyramid of violence, is a graphic representation in which a relationship is established between extreme physical violence and other more subtle forms of violence, of a more symbolic and structural nature (that is, involving the functioning of the whole society).

In addition, it is usually applied to the explanation of male violence against women, although sometimes it is also adapted to include violence and attacks that are related to discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, or even racism and xenophobia.

This is a very widespread concept based on a graph in which one sees a triangle with several staggered levels, in whose lower part are found abstract and social phenomena that encourage unequal dynamics and the imposition of power on one another, and in the upper part is found the definitive and concrete expression of that power on the other: physical violence and murder .

Levels of violence

In summary, these are the levels of violence presented in the pyramid, ordered from the bottom to the top. However, since there are variants of this graphic representation, some intermediate elements may appear in different categories than those shown here. For example, sexist jokes may appear at both the level of micro-machisms and harmful verbal expressions.

1. Attitudes and beliefs

At this level, beliefs that legitimize certain forms of inequality and discrimination at the expense of the rights of some groups are represented.

2. Micro-agressions or micro-machisms

These are actions (including speech) that assume the inferiority of women or of a historically discriminated minority .

3. Harmful verbal expressions

These are verbalizations in which there is already an intention to denigrate or harm someone because of their social status. Also includes threats, defamation, insults …

4. Physical assaults

As its name suggests, this part of the pyramid of violence includes attacks that compromise the physical integrity of individuals. It can take the form of beatings and blows, even rape.

5. Murder

In the last category, the person attacked is definitively annulled by the murder; the perpetrator of the attack kills the person.

Their influences: the iceberg of the unconscious and the triangle of violence

The pyramid of male violence is not part of a sociological or psychological theory developed in detail by researchers, but rather it is part of the memes disseminated on the internet and the propaganda pieces to raise awareness. Therefore, is not included in a scientific theory , but represents a theory in the broadest and most general sense of the word: explanations of a phenomenon that do not have to be empirically contrasted or have a strong theoretical backing.

Perhaps for this reason, the pyramid of male violence borrows explanatory elements that already existed before.

For example, Amnesty International published a variant of the pyramid entitled “The iceberg of gender-based violence” in computer graphics format, which divides the visible and invisible parts of this phenomenon from the explicit and subtle forms. This representation necessarily makes us think of the psychological instances proposed by Sigmund Freud, although in this case all the elements are part of the social sphere, and not of what hypothetically occurs in the mind of each individual.

On the other hand, another influence of the pyramid of violence is the triangle of violence of the sociologist Johan Galtung . This researcher established a relationship between direct violence, cultural violence, and structural violence. Let’s see what each one consists of.

Direct violence

This type of violence generates an objective damage in one or several individuals. That is, easily visible in specific acts, and unequivocally indicates the existence of a conflict .

Cultural violence

It belongs to the psychological and attitudinal propensities of people, which are socially disseminated and reproduced in a given culture.

Structural violence

Structural violence is that which is explained not by psychological constructs, but by social, political and economic dynamics. That is, material dispositions that generate imbalances and asymmetries of power . For example, a parliament in which women are practically not represented can be defined by some theorists as structural violence.

Problems and limitations

The main problem with the pyramid of violence is ambiguity, since it is usually presented simply as a computer graphic without any further explanation.

This means that sometimes it can be understood as a way of classifying forms of violence, going from the most concrete to the most abstract, and other times as a model that explains how violence increases in intensity. In the latter case, a causal relationship is established from the lower to the higher layers , a relationship that has no scientific studies to support it.

On the other hand, the definition of violence as something so diffuse that it is distributed throughout society generates many problems in delimiting the scope of these phenomena.

Bibliographic references:

  • Calderón Concha, P. (2008). Johan Galtung’s Conflict Theory. Peace and Conflict Magazine. ISSN: 1988-7221
  • Marble, C. (2016). So long: a story about the iceberg of violence. 20 Minutes. Consulted on 28/03/2019.