Poll: Striking a woman

[Strazdas]

As a guy I said "Only when facing obvious lethal danger." That was the closest option available to what I actually follow, just modify "lethal" to "physical."

yeah i wanted to say that lethal shoudl be changed to physical too. its not good to strike anyone man or woman, but if they are hitting you you have a right to defend yourself.
that being said i took the lethal danger option, and was suprised by how many people voted yes. i guess they voted yes give the OP situation and not in general.

 

[madster11]

I voted yes for lack of a 'depends' option like the last 20 of this thread has had.
Also note that as it's rare to meet a woman who's within so much as 5" of my height and 1/2 my muscle mass, it's unlikely i'd hit one with the same force i would, say, another >6' male. More likely to be a hard shove unless she's trying to stab me or something.

Also like to point out my captcha was 'propane accessories', and since when did it start using memes?

 

[blackrave]

A little clarification:
I added gender specific answers, because it is gender sensitive question
Also I was a bit curious

Answer "Yes" is actually "Yes, within a reason"
"Reason" is anything that is more or less adequate, but no physical danger is present.
Of course, it wasn't meant as "punching every woman, because you have a bad mood"
Sorry for not clarifying this, I considered it obvious :/
Edited the poll and changed "lethal" to "physical".

Also thanks for everyone who pointed out that I should have restrained her
I think that is why I feel bad about situation
But for some reasons my first reaction was hitting her
I usually pride myself as a rational and adequate, but maybe I'm not that rational after all

Your story sounds fake as hell, but I'll bite.

I personally wouldn't of even looked in their direction, it's their problem not mine. You probably shouldn't of hit the girl but tried to restrain her, I mean you're a kung-fu master aren't you? Surely you could of accomplished that.

I generally dislike hitting girls and usually won't.

I agree, it really sounds fake, but only because I omitted some details
For example that dude actually punched me, not in a face though, I deflected a hit, but not enough, so his fist landed on my right ear.
Also last hit to him (inner side of a knee) wasn't that clean as I made it sound, I was forced to additionally use elbow to push him to the ground.
(I considered such details unnecessary to mention)
So no, I'm far from the Master- I'm barely a Merchant

P.S. Not every martial art is Kung-Fu
P.P.S. Although majority of martial arts can be considered as some form of Kalaripayattu. Sometimes mutated form, but nonetheless a descendant to Battle Yoga. So if you wanted to be sarcastic, calling me a Battle Yogi would be more precise.

given select circumstances its ok women are still people and its ok to hit a woman only when its ok to hit anyone else anything else is a bit sexist also there is no "F: no" in your poll

I'm pretty sure there is

 

[DJjaffacake]

Yes, in the sense that it's no less acceptable than striking a man. You shouldn't be doing either really though.

 

[Xan Krieger]

It's OK, to not hit them would be to deny them equal treatment due to their gender which is sexist. Besides if she was hitting you then obviously she has no problems with resorting to violence, hitting her back was completely justified.

 

[TheCommanders]

My rules about hitting people are identical whether they are male, female... or anything in between. I think to discriminate (not hit women just because of their gender) would be the worst kind of sexism, the kind that isn't self aware. In case anyone is curious my rules are that anyone intending to cause me physical harm is fair game. Waiting for them to strike first is arbitrary and foolish. I was once nearly mugged in Chicago by two gangers, one of whom had a knife. Apparently they weren't aware that mugging a sociopath who trained for a year intending to join the special forces wasn't a great plan.

 

[AldUK]

If a guy hits me, I will attempt to diffuse the problem calmly and/or walk away. If that just isn't working, I will lay him out on the ground. But as I say, only if that's my only choice. If a girl hits me, I will do the same thing, but I won't hit a girl, I will restrain her, remove any weapon she might have and calm her down.

I have never met anyone, girl or guy that could overpower me, but I have met plenty who feel the need to try. Not being an internet tough guy here, I'm actually just built that way. And one of the first things you learn with my height and build is that some people seem programmed to try and 'prove' themselves against you, as though you're a mere punching bag for their benefit.

What they don't seem to realise is that the punching bag can punch back. But what I learned growing up was that I should always try and refrain from fighting back, because I've almost killed someone before while in high school, I believed I was in the right, defending myself against a little shit who just wouldn't take a hint, but after putting him through a teacher's car window and breaking half his ribs, I figured that I shouldn't fight anyone unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Generally I don't like to fight because I'm quite a gentle person, I'm not an uncouth youth anymore and there are easier ways to solve disputes. However, in the advent that a woman tries to take me on I'll feel compelled to defend myself. It's hardly very gentlemanly but in this day and age its very rarely that women are ladylike, at least the types I see on a daily basis. Whilst some may argue that I've got an advantage in terms of physical prowess, by that logic I shouldn't fight back when a weaker, smaller guy picks a fight with me.

 

[Thanatos5150]

I would strike a woman for the exact same reasons I'd strike a man. I am very open about this mentality.
When the subject came up at uni, I said the same thing.

Cut to a week later, and everybody thinks I'm anti-semitic for some reason. Track down the source of the rumour, turns out it was the woman I was talking to. She didn't like that I would hit a woman for any reason whatsoever.

Moral of the story: people are dicks.

 

[Yopaz]

Yes and no.

Yes in the sense that it's just as right to hit a woman as it is to hit a man.

No in the sense that it's not really "right" to hit anyone.

Yeah, this is my stance too. I am against violence and I don't make a difference between men or women in this. In self defence or protecting someone it can be accepted when nothing else works. Nothing excessive and not causing intentional harm. Yeah, I'm boring.

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

Sounds like you did right to me. Nobody was seriously hurt and you probably stopped them from beating each other to a pulp.

As for the poll I answered the physical danger one. I've been in many fights with girls and women, lost quite a few too. And just because they don't look like they eat steroids for breakfast doesn't mean they're not dangerous. Damn they have a good left hook. I still have a light creak in my jaw after one of them got me.

Male here.

 

[roushutsu]

I would strike a woman for the exact same reasons I'd strike a man. I am very open about this mentality.
When the subject came up at uni, I said the same thing.

Cut to a week later, and everybody thinks I'm anti-semitic for some reason. Track down the source of the rumour, turns out it was the woman I was talking to. She didn't like that I would hit a woman for any reason whatsoever.

Moral of the story: people are dicks.

So this woman gets anti-Semitism out of a conversation about using force against women in a fight? Clearly not the brightest crayon in the box.

Like many of you guys, I feel that you shouldn't have to resort to striking a person, regardless of gender, unless absolutely necessary, and if you do have to fight then end it quickly before it escalates into something worse. Also, if people won't show restraint when attacking you for whatever reason, why should you show restraint simply because of their gender?

 

[gazumped]

Like it's been said by most people here, it seems: When it comes to physical force, don't discriminate based on gender (although I'd add that it could be okay to base it on their particular body type, which is often but not always smaller for a woman), but also just refrain from doing it altogether to anyone if possible.

But what I more wanted to mention was this:

The most interesting part started after that
Next thing I realized was that someone was hitting me from behind
That girl was scratching, slapping and kicking me
When I asked her to stop, he screamed something incoherent alongside to leave him alone (and continued to attack me)
Since she looked like in panic, I decided that dialogue is useless, and slapped her to make sure he stops endanger us both.
After that I said that they both deserve each other and left.

It is a bizarre thing for an outsider (as in, outside of such of a relationship) to get our heads round, but the fact of the matter is, she's probably been with him for a while, he probably hits her often and she stays with him because she loves him. To her, you were not defending her, you were attacking the man she loved. This is why it's extra tricky when trying to intervene on a domestic abuse situation, the victim is often on the attacker's side.

In a similar situation, I would suggest that past the general 'is everything alright' query, that you mostly address the attacked (whether it be the female or the male, and it's not like domestic violence is exclusive to straight couples, as well), asking them if they want you to stay or call someone. They will probably say no, that they are okay, but it makes it clear that they have someone on their side. A good way to leave the situation would be to say something along the lines of 'Don't forget you don't have to be alone on this' or 'You don't have to put up with this' and then to walk away but wait around close by, and in view of the couple, so they know that someone is still there. Besides this it is, unfortunately, largely a 'help those who help themselves' situation.

 

[EeveeElectro]

If you go around talking with your fists, then you are a horrible person. No matter what your gender, you're a horrible person. No matter what gender you hit.
There's better ways to resolve fights than with violence although I think what OP did was good with warning the woman to calm down. If that fails than by all means belt them to calm them down.

It's not right to strike anyone, unless as I say, you've given them warning to stop or in self defense. Even out of anger, I could understand.
I will never stand behind the fact I'm a woman to avoid being hit. I hate people who say on here "hurr hurr, equality, all women are the same, they say they don't want to be hit but will happily hit someone else."
I've honestly never met a woman who thinks like that. If I hit a man for no good reason then I expect something back. If I ever have a man by his throat with a knife pushed into his chin I expect him to knock me out.
If we're arguing about dirty socks and he lays into me, I would give him twice as much back.

I could rant about this but I'm already running late for work ;n;

 

[Eynimeb]

Asking the question "Is it ok to hit a woman?" is far too vague and open to too many unfair or wrong interpretations to be a useful poll.

(assumed) Consensus: Violence should be proportional. Hard blows should only be used if there is a risk of injury or death. Violence should never be a first resort.

(assumed) Consensus: Attacking someone who is physically weaker than oneself is never acceptable.

Personal note: These questions do not consider motivation. People may feel justified in attacking another, but that can't possibly be made a part of the questions at this point.


1: "What level of violence is acceptable when defending yourself from someone who is physically less strong than you, regardless of gender?"
a: Someone should bear the consequences of their own actions, regardless of their physical prowess, so no special consideration should be given to the weaker attacker.
b: The physically stronger person should not use their full strength (as of yet unquantified) against the weaker attacker.


2: "Is it more or less acceptable for one gender to defend themselves from the other gender, regardless of physical strength?"
a: Both genders should be equally accountable for their own actions.
b: Women should be granted (an as of yet unquantified) degree of privilige to attack men without retalliation.
c: Men should be granted (an as of yet unquantified) degree of privilige to attack women without retalliation.


edit:
Of course, the questions should be answered by men and women seperately.

 

[Killclaw Kilrathi]

Sadly, some people in abusive relationships are still hopelessly and utterly devoted to their partner, they've managed to rationalize the brutal side of the arrangement in their mind. It's not healthy at all, but there's nothing anyone can do about it, they have to break out of it themselves and any attempt to pull them out or defend them will be perceived as a threat.

That said, I don't think there was much you could have done differently. I'm of a mind not to strike a woman if it isn't utterly necessary, but I'll trust you when you say that she appeared to be in a panic. In a situation like that your options are fairly limited.

 

[lechat]

equal rights bitches. feel the power of my roundhouse kick

 

[Milanezi]

I chose "only in face of physical danger" but that's obvious right? Self defense = protection against and unjust and imminent danger.
Women and men are or, better, SHOULD be, equals as far as social behavior goes. HOWEVER, as far as strength goes, the average man is stronger than the average woman, the same way that it's a fact that normally women are way more resistant to pain than men.

Hitting any living thing without a very good reason is, in my opinion, unacceptable. And the only reason I can think of, in a normal situation, is (imminent) physical danger against yourself and/or someone else. Everything else can be resolved by arguing until someone cools down, or by simply walking away, or hell even calling the police.

 

[lacktheknack]

I strike women just as much as I strike men: Never, and won't unless I'm being outright attacked.

 

[mgirl]

A similiar thing happened to my dad. He stopped a guy from hitting his girlfriend, then the girl attacked him too. No idea why, seems odd to me. But yes, if a girl is attacking you, and clearly intending to do harm, you have every right to defend yourself. To be honest, that would be the way to behave regardless of which gender the individual is.