As Americans, we are raised in a society that condemns violence against women at the hands of men. We teach our sons to never strike little girls, and lecture our daughters about staying away from any man who even thinks to raise his hand to her face. Men who abuse women are frowned upon and deemed as weak and cowardly; and they’re the first—and most times only ones–jailed in cases of domestic disputes gone awry—no hesitation.
But what about women? You know the ones: women who find comfort in bullying men; they’re the ones who enjoy slapping around their partners, jumping in their faces and resorting to belligerent behavior as a way to resolve conflict. Are abusive females who pummel on their men just as spineless as men who use the face of their partner as punching bags?
Even if you aren’t the crazy combative type, sometimes we as women can allow anger to get the best of us and cause us to behave in inappropriate ways. Ladies, I’m sure there have been times where your man—or a man in general—has pissed you off to the point where you couldn’t help but slap his face. (I am guilty of this myself.) There are moments in our lives when we feel disrespected by our male companions and use their behavior/words to justify our decision to react with violence. Catch your man with another woman in bed? Society tells us it’s okay to attack. If he calls you out your name, there is no harm in letting him meet an open fist. (Or a closed one.) We see it all the time. But if we are justified in practicing violence in certain situations, why doesn’t the same go for our male counterparts?
If men popped us every time we said or did something crazy, a lot of us would be permanently black and blue and he’d be the bad guy. So should we continue to get passes for what some see as simple slaps and light pushes? Some women walk around with the attitude that it’s okay to put their hands on men and expect no consequences. We can smack a brother up all day long, but he better not retaliate. Growing up—even to this day—I witnessed females slap, punch and kick men during the course of an argument and get away with it. It’s no big deal. We are women. We lack the strength of a man, therefore men who are hit by women should just suck it up and walk away. But this is NOT acceptable behavior. In most cases, people who are struck in any situation often wind up striking back, and because such situations can spiral out of control in violent ways very quickly, we all need to learn how to keep our hands to ourselves.
But what do you think? Have you ever found yourself losing control and striking your partner? Even in extreme circumstances, is it ever okay for a woman to lay hands on a man?
