While the NFL drama has been going on, I have come up with a theory regarding women who stay in abusive relationships. Having seen family members go through the motions as well as paying attention to the women who claim to be "survivors," I believe that the so-called "battered woman's syndrome" is not a distinct condition, but rather a form of Münchausen Syndrome.

The appearance of helplessness is a powerful tool for Münchausen-style cultivation of pity and a perennial DV victim is in a state of just that: self-imposed helplessness. If you listen to them after the relationship, there will be rampant embellishment or outright lies so as to reap the maximum amount of sympathy. Most importantly, at no point in the mind of a "battered woman" is there any sort of ownership of her role. When someone asks "why did you say?" feminists and whiteknights accuse you of being insensitive. After all, this person can only be a helpless victim. Even if children are involved and the mother took children into an abusive relationship, there is never any expectation that she put the safety of her children above her desire for alpha fux. Sure the man is a monster, but did anyone watch Flowers in the Attic and walk away thinking that the mother was a victim because she really wanted the money and didn't see any other way?