This article addresses the issues presented in the bookDominance and Affectionby Yi Fu Tuan (1984). Tuan proposes that dominance coupled with affection will create a pet and that dominance without affection will create a victim. Tuan shows how plants, gardens, women and children are all dominated at times, but under the guise of affection. These ideas are then related to male‐female relationships, especially in situations of domestic violence where women are often dominated both with and without affectio