Abusive Women

                                                 Why is it okay for women to hit  men but not okay when men hit women?

                                          
                                                                                                   photo credit: Tim Psych via photopin cc

In a physically abusive relationship, we typically expect the male in the relationship to be the perpetrator and the female to be the victim. Why is it that we rarely hear of women abusing men? Maybe because it just doesn’t happen that often. Maybe it does happen and male victims don’t report it for fear of being antagonized because they were beat by a woman. Knowing that most men will not hit women even if the woman hits the man first, I believe that some women take advantage of this and most men will not make it public.

How many men are victims of physical abuse compared to women? I would expect there to be at least double the amount of women that were abused opposed to men. In fact, about, “28 percent of men in America will be struck by women in their lifetime,” states an article by Chris Norris. According to an online survey by Glamour, “29 percent of women surveyed said they'd been in an abusive relationship.” That is almost dead even and proves that it happens to men as much as it happens to women. I believe that these statistics are a bit deceiving, and that the percentage of physically abused men are higher than 28 percent. Men are more likely to keep quiet about the abuse they receive.

Rather than making it public and being made fun of men are more likely to tell a friend that their girlfriend or wife hit them. We hear of women being abused more because generally, men, being bigger and stronger, cause more damage when they hit. It’s widely known in our society that men shouldn’t put their hands on a female, period. For instance, no one would pay any mind to this youtube video if the Ohio bus driver didn’t hit the woman back, but the fact that he did is what brings attention to the viral video. No charges were filed. But the bus driver who had worked for the company over 20 years was suspended, even though the woman hit him first. Is that fair? It’s a double standard that needs to change.

So you caught your boyfriend red-handed with another woman. Will the first thing you do out of reflex is strike him across the face? No? You wouldn’t? You would just walk away and talk with him about it after you’ve cooled down. I highly doubt that. Quit trying to fool yourselves ladies. Granted, he may have deserved several backhands, but lets flip this situation. Say your boyfriend or husband caught you with another man, and his first reaction was to knock you across your face. I’m in complete agreement with Sadie Stein. It would be considered appalling. But it isn’t when a woman does it.

Along with society considering it okay when a woman hits a man, the media makes women hitting men comical. Chris Norris, a writer for Marie Claire says that pop culture uses pretty women hitting men as a staple for comedy. “Angelina Jolie smashing wine bottles over Brad Pitt's head in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Cameron Diaz coldcocking Edward Burns in The Holiday were both played for laughs.” We witness it daily on popular television shows like Jersey Shore, and don’t think twice about it because that behavior is accepted as norm in our society.

Abuse period is not acceptable. If you are a victim it’s best to take act the first time it happens. Let someone know immediately, and females the next time you consider hitting a man, don’t. You can hurt a man more with words than with your fists.