Yes, and this belief appears to be sufficiently pervasive and impervious to evidence that its clear there is something more driving it.
My reading of the situation is not that women prefer abusive men or prefer to be controlled. My reading is that women (warning: crude generalizations incoming) like to be/feel protected and prefer strong men. Given this, some women consider being abusive to be evidence of strength, and some women are willing to trade some control or some abuse for getting a strong man. This may or may not be a good trade, depending on the circumstances.
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