When we talk about the male dominance in marriage, it means that your husband will be having a disproportionate amount of control on the relationship and on all the aspects that are common to the relationship. Such a scenario can do a lot of harm to a marriage. It can slowly spread to areas like sex, kids, money, friendships, and more. We give you some of the things that you should know about male dominance in marriage.
1. It can be very subtle
The dominance of one partner in a marriage may not always be very obvious. There might be various forms of passive aggressiveness leading to the inequality of power. This is to say that many a times you may not even realize that your husband is dominating you. It could get hard to pick out the little hints. However, slowly but surely, this imbalance of power will shatter your self-esteem and confidence.
2. It will make you lose your individuality
Many a times women do not mind if they have a dominating male in a marriage. They are fine with their man ruling the day while they quietly submit to him. However, if this kind of male dominance continues over a long period of time, you will lose your sense of self and will start looking at the world only through your husband’s eyes. This can prove detrimental to your own growth as an individual. Your beliefs, dreams, hopes, fears, wishes, opinions, etc. will take a backseat.
3. It can affect all areas of the marriage
It is OK if you and your husband have a shared and equal dominance in the house. For instance, you may take all decisions pertaining to the kids while he may take charge of the finances. But when one person’s dominance starts over shadowing everything else, it creates a problem. Be it spiritual issues, sex, kids, finances, etc.; the only important opinion would be your husband’s. This can never be healthy for a marriage.
4. It may end your marriage
Sometimes we take male dominance very lightly and do not believe that it can do any major harm to the relationship or the marriage. However, there are high chances that if extreme dominance continues over a long period of time, you may want to break free and get out of the marriage. So, it is better to catch the signs early on and find out a way for you and your husband to work as a team.
5. There are ways to restore balance of power
Regardless of how harmful male dominance could be for your marriage, you need not lose hope. There are ways in which you can restore the balance of power in the relationship. The first step is to identity such dominance and think about the possible causes and reasons. Then, have a thorough discussion with your husband about how his behavior makes you feel about yourself. With love and firmness, there are high chances that you would be able to find a balance of power eventually.