The family violence approach regards spouse abuse as part of a pattern of violence occurring among all family members. In contrast, the feminist approaches places male-female relations at the center of their analysis and regard inequality between males and females as a crucial factor in violence. The analysis compares the two perspectives with respect to their basic premises, methodology, and conclusions. The author argues that each perspective considers women differently; therefore, each has consequences for scholarly understanding of the meaning of the physical abuse of women by male intimates. Both perspectives emphasize the importance of women's subordinate position in creating violence, but family violence researchers believe that this position is only one of several contributing factors. In contrast, women's subordination is central to feminist analyses of violence. The analysis concludes that the feminist perspectives portrays the realities of battering more accurately than does the family violence perspective and that further research is needed to demonstrate how major institutions define the abuse of women by male intimates and respond to female victims. Recommendations for additional research and 69 references