... that males have in place, where women confront an 'invisible barrier' to promotion in the course of their careers. This 'glass ceiling' includes obstacles such as family and child care responsibilities, discrimination, male networks and organisational structures. Shulamith Firestone (1971), an early radical feminist writer, believes that because women are biologically able to give birth, they become dependant materially on men for protection and livelihood. James W. Messerschmidt argues that relatively powerless men use wife-beating, violent rape and even murder, to reassert masculine control when their masculinity is threatened by women. Thus, much violence occurs when the man perceives that his wife has not carried out her duties, obeyed his orders, or shown him adequate respect. However, radical feminists believe it is mainly a sexual oppression. They argue that the 'objectification' of women through the media, fashion and advertising turns women into sexual objects, referring also to pornography, whose main role ...

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