Poll of the Day > In your opinion should a man ever hit a woman?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I keep hearing a lot of folk say that a man should never hit a woman. Even in self defence. I'm curious what PotD thinks of this mentality.

Personally I think it's perfectly acceptable to hit a woman in self defence. I'm not a violent person but if anybody tries to attack me physically in anyway I'll put it a fight regardless of if your a woman or not. Your age doesn't matter either unless you're a child. I think it's stupid to expect a guy just to stand there and take it if a woman attacks him.
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Equal rights, equal fights. Take a swing at a guy expecting the Pussy Pass? You deserve an ass kicking.
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Equal rights. It's not acceptable to hit a PERSON, typically. In the rare situations where hitting a PERSON is acceptable, their gender doesn't matter.
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Generally, no, but if she is seriously attacking the guy and talking doesn't work, I don't see why he can't defend himself. At least to get her off of him. For something like a big argument, or she slapped him, nah, I don't think so.
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There are situations where it's fine to defend yourself but also I'm massively side-eyeing any dude who's sitting around trying to figure out a way he can acceptably hit a woman
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Sure, under any context where he would be justified in hitting a man.
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How else do you have sex?
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as i think daniel tosh said. "no reason to hit a woman? what if you come home, after a hard days work, and your wife had drowned 2 of your kids. she's about the dunk the 3rd one in the tub, am i allowed to run over and pop her one then?"
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KogaSteelfang posted...

For something like a big argument, or she slapped him, nah, I don't think so.

Agreed with the argument part. However if she slaps the guy she's basically asking for a slap back.
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wwinterj25 posted...

KogaSteelfang posted...

For something like a big argument, or she slapped him, nah, I don't think so.

Agreed with the argument part. However if she slaps the guy she's basically asking for a slap back.

Eh, I feel he should just take the first one. If a second or third follows then maybe restrain her from doing it again like by holding her arm or something, if that escalates into her full on assaulting him after that then I think acceptable to defend yourself. Either way though, I agree she should never act that way in the first place as well.
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KogaSteelfang posted...

Eh, I feel he should just take the first one.

Why?
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Because a slap generally isn't much of an attack. It's more like an insult or something(besides, he might deserve it), countering that with a real attack is wrong imo. But if she continues or escalates with no way of calming her, then I don't see any problem with defending himself.
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KogaSteelfang posted...

Because a slap generally isn't much of an attack. It's more like an insult or something(besides, he might deserve it)

So if a guy slapped a woman that deserved it would you say the same thing? If not that's double standards.
It really doesn't matter if it's a light smack or a full on punch in the face for me. If you start uninvited physical violence then you deserve what follows.
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Zeus posted...

Sure, under any context where he would be justified in hitting a man.

This, which pretty much exclusively means in a legitimate self-defense context (legitimate self-defense being more than just "you hit me so I'll hit you back"), aside from formal sparring. Statistically, that's going to mean there are more men against whom violence would be justified than women, since men are stronger on average and therefore more likely to pose a legitimate threat, but the same logic should be applied in choosing to respond with violence.
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Kana posted...

I'm massively side-eyeing any dude who's sitting around trying to figure out a way he can acceptably hit a woman

That's not fair, he asked!
It's like shouting "DOLPHINS" at you and then getting mad if you think about dolphins.
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It would take more for me to hit a girl rather than a guy but you should certainly be allowed to defend yourself yes.
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If she don't listen the first time

Obvious sarcasm, chill mods
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No one should hit anybody unless they can't get away and it is self defense. It kinda irks me when adults tell young boys that it is wrong to hit girls and leave it at that. The lesson for all kids should be that it isn't ok to hit at all.
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Lightning Bolt posted...

Kana posted...

I'm massively side-eyeing any dude who's sitting around trying to figure out a way he can acceptably hit a woman

That's not fair, he asked!
It's like shouting "DOLPHINS" at you and then getting mad if you think about dolphins.

I didn't mean him specifically, just in general
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wwinterj25 posted...

I keep hearing a lot of folk say that a man should never hit a woman. Even in self defence. I'm curious what PotD thinks of this mentality.

Personally I think it's perfectly acceptable to hit a woman in self defence. I'm not a violent person but if anybody tries to attack me physically in anyway I'll put it a fight regardless of if your a woman or not. Your age doesn't matter either unless you're a child. I think it's stupid to expect a guy just to stand there and take it if a woman attacks him.

You can't have it both ways-equality means the same playing field for everyone. That doesn't mean it's open season, just that if a woman gets physical, they have to be ready for the consequences of their actions, it's not an excuse to just go around punching ppl, women or men.
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adjl posted...

This, which pretty much exclusively means in a legitimate self-defense context (legitimate self-defense being more than just "you hit me so I'll hit you back"), aside from formal sparring. Statistically, that's going to mean there are more men against whom violence would be justified than women, since men are stronger on average and therefore more likely to pose a legitimate threat, but the same logic should be applied in choosing to respond with violence.

In theory this is good, but the problem is you can't always tell at a glance who poses a legitimate threat and who doesn't. I'd probably have a better chance against an untrained guy my size than I would against a woman with a blackbelt in BJJ.

EightySeven posted...

adjl posted...

since men are stronger on average and therefore more likely to pose a legitimate threat, but the same logic should be applied in choosing to respond with violence.

In theory this is good, but the problem is you can't always tell at a glance who poses a legitimate threat and who doesn't. I'd probably have a better chance against an untrained guy my size than I would against a woman with a blackbelt in BJJ.

You can still use some level of judgement. If you aren't actually fearing for your safety, you can't call a violent response self-defense.
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adjl posted...

You can still use some level of judgement. If you aren't actually fearing for your safety, you can't call a violent response self-defense.

Honestly I think anyone coming at you with any level of violence deserves a violent response. My whole point was you don't know what the other person is coming at you with. Sure a 6' 5" 300lbs meat monster is much more likely to be able to do extreme damage, but 120lbs woman with an advanced martial arts degree or a knife in her belt can fuck up your day too. Unfortunately with the latter you can't know until she slashes your throat or snaps you arm. Giving 10% because you look someone over and determine they're no match for your fighting skills is a good way to get your skull kicked in.

I don't know.

Can you repeat the question?
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EightySeven posted...

adjl posted...

You can still use some level of judgement. If you aren't actually fearing for your safety, you can't call a violent response self-defense.

Honestly I think anyone coming at you with any level of violence deserves a violent response. My whole point was you don't know what the other person is coming at you with. Sure a 6' 5" 300lbs meat monster is much more likely to be able to do extreme damage, but 120lbs woman with an advanced martial arts degree or a knife in her belt can fuck up your day too. Unfortunately with the latter you can't know until she slashes your throat or snaps you arm. Giving 10% because you look someone over and determine they're no match for your fighting skills is a good way to get your skull kicked in.

You can, however, tell the difference between "I'm attacking you" and "I'm mad so I'm taking a swing at you."
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Any chance he gets.

https://youtu.be/nkxLzOmSHj8?t=1690
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If she's violent definitely. Why should anyone take that kind of abuse just because of gender? That's no excuse. If you can't control your violent temper, then sooner or later,expect to get hit back.
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Wait...how else do you get them back to your cave?
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No, I pretty much stick to the rules that you don't leave marks on women. No fists allowed when dealing with females - however body slams, tripping, full nelsons, arm bars, leg locks and choke holds are all fair game.

wwinterj25 posted...

if she slaps the guy she's basically asking for a slap back.

how can she slap!?
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My wife gets sexual pleasure from it
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Mead posted...

It kinda irks me when adults tell young boys that it is wrong to hit girls and leave it at that. The lesson for all kids should be that it isn't ok to hit at all.

Yeah my dad yelled this at my Nephew(7) once when my Niece(5) smacked him and he hit her back. I said to him it was her who hit him first and he said "it doesn't matter you shouldn't hit girls". I simply said "well you shouldn't hit anyone really" and he just ignored me. :\


Sahuagin posted...

how can she slap!?

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adjl posted...

You can, however, tell the difference between "I'm attacking you" and "I'm mad so I'm taking a swing at you."

Yeah I'll give you that most of the time.

If there's a crazy woman after me with a knife, I'm going for the ovaries. I doubt anyone would have a problem with that.

Probably wouldn't do anything unless I'm being overpowered
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In my opinion, in normal circumstances its not acceptable to hit anyone, regardless of there gender. I'm a very peaceful guy & against violence.

But if you were in some kind of unique position were it actually comes to blows, it all depends on what type of person the other person is, if he/She is weaker then you, it would be cruel to seriously try & hurt them if you know they can't defend themselves or they don't want to actually fight you.
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Only if the man would be in danger otherwise if he didn't use physical force.
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Why does no one ever ask "Is it ok for a women to hit a man?"? This topic is kind of sexist. As far as I care, its the same as asking "Is it ok to hit someone?" & without context, its a kind of weird question to ask.
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depends. if a woman is seriously giving you a beating and she won't stop, then you need to do something to make her stop. but if she gives you a push or a slap I don't think that warrants a hit back.
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Self-defence means anyone can hit the attacker. Otherwise, violence is a dick move in a relationship every time.
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KogaSteelfang posted...

For something like a big argument, or she slapped him, nah, I don't think so.

So what you're saying is that women aren't to be expected to have control over their actions so they can go fucking wild but we as men have to be better than that, right?
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magemaximus posted...

depends. if a woman is seriously giving you a beating and she won't stop, then you need to do something to make her stop. but if she gives you a push or a slap I don't think that warrants a hit back.

Not even a push or a slap back?

I'm all for respecting woman, but touch me and it's on.
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yeah you can like put your hands in front to stop her from getting close lol.
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No

What if you aren't expecting to be attacked

Can you push/slap them back if they initiate it
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Hmm....this is a very tricky question.

Logically, it's only fair if a woman is hit if she's hitting a man. It's basically self-defence on the man's part. But the problem I have with this is that any man is more likely to be bigger than the woman.

That means their levels of strength is just not comparable. It would be like a child hitting a teen. Again, this is in general and may not apply to ALL women as some of them work out or are taller or have more muscles etc...

In a relationship, it is really a big red flag if any one of them is physically abusive. But that being said, I think there are other options in dealing with a woman being physical. The man can just restrain her hands or wrists until she calms down rather than hitting her back (I'm not condoning women who hit their partners!).

It's very easy to just give in to our instinct to retaliate but in the end, men will always be physically stronger and that can result into dealing even more damage than intended. More bounderies will be crossed thus making the relationship impossible or near-impossible to save. And that's the biggest loss there.

Two wrongs don't make a right. It might make him feel better at that point but....that may not be necessarily true as time goes on.
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Self-defense. Unprovoked attacks are wrong no matter who started it.
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If it's out of self-defence or protection, then there's no distinction between genders.
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Sahuagin posted...

wwinterj25 posted...

if she slaps the guy she's basically asking for a slap back.

how can she slap!?

How can she slap me, sir; how can she slap!??
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If a 150 pound woman has the nerve to come up to a 220 pound man and slap him because she is mad and couldn't be grown up enough to control her emotions, then the man may smack her upside the head as a warning that he will not tolerate any physical abuse. If she retaliates then she is a violent person who can't be considered a victim in the situation. If she does nothing else, the man's point has been made and he shouldn't touch her again.

If she has a weapon knock the bitch out
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