Unveiling Internalised Patriarchy and the Romanticisation of Domestic Violence. Implications for Educators in Addressing ´It Ends with Us´ in the Classroom

Masterarbeit aus dem Jahr 2023 im Fachbereich Didaktik - Englisch, Note: 1,3, , Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: This paper will concentrate on educating students at upper secondary schools about domestic violence based on It Ends with Us. Precisely, I will pursue two research questions. First, I will investigate in what way It Ends with Us perpetuates internalised patriarchal structures and romanticises abusive relationships in detail. Further, since teenagers and young adults are the target group for this novel, the thesis will examine how educators can create a sensitive and informed approach to raise awareness of domestic violence in English classes at the upper secondary level in Germany. This focus expands the field of research that discusses the romanticisation of relationships dominated by violence through media, as was extensively explored academically considering, for instance, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James. Hoover's work has been studied minimally in this regard. Only a few papers have touched on this topic. For example, Lima and Xavier have examined the novel regarding gender domination. Further, Riva et al. have investigated male roles, and Lestari et al. have analysed the impacts and manifestations of gender-based violence. Dwiastuti and Yamin studied the simplification of domestic violence. However, it is evident that Hoover's work has not yet been extensively researched and analysed in relation to the romanticisation of domestic violence and internalised patriarchal structures. Thus, this thesis extends the research and further applies it to its target audience.