Man beaters anonymous

‘She’ is no longer the pretty damsel in distress, eagerly awaiting her saviour and batting her eyelids. Women today are taking things into their hands and do not shy away from knocking men senseless when needed.

Move over shy, submissive, complacent girls. Enter the aggressive, daring girls who do not think twice before giving you a punch when provoked. There was a time when girls took insults thrown by the men in their stride and forgave when they raised their hand on them. But, this is not the case now. Characters like the ones played by Angelina Jolie in Mr & Mrs Smith and Cameron Diaz’s character in Charlie’s Angels did invoke laughs from the audience when the movies were premiered. But soon, girls were becoming like the characters played by Angelina and Cameron for real. According to a recent study by University of Florida, women are more likely than men to stalk, attack and psychologically abuse their partners. The study by the university reveals that young women are donning a new identity unlike that in the past.

College student Rachel M feels that there is nothing wrong in resorting to violence with your men if it is for self defence.

“There are a lot of men, be it when they are in a relationship or married, who resort to physical violence to make their point and get their way with their women. And people don’t find much fault in it. But when a woman raises her hand maybe in defence, people make a fuss about it. I don’t think there is anything wrong in resorting to violence if it is for defending yourself,” she says.

This phenomenon is not taken seriously because generally speaking men are bigger and stronger, one assumes that they cannot be physically hurt by the damage caused by pretty, tiny females.

IT professional, N Ravindra, says, “Women are changing and they are more violent and stronger than how they were in the past. This is evident in my life and I am sure my kids will agree with me. During the initial days of my marriage, my wife was very submissive and understanding, but as the time passed, she became very violent and resorted to violence for the simplest of occasions. She has become very aggressive and to get her point across, more often than not, resorts to the same.”

Dr Minhaj Nasirabadi, consultant psychiatrist Apollo hospital, says, “In Hyderabad, domestic violence is usually subjected by the males in the house. But in some special cases, females get aggressive and offensive towards their male counterparts. In most of such cases, women suffer from personality disorder traits. One such case was that of a teacher who suspected her husband to be cheating on her and went on to abuse and hit him whenever she thought he slept with someone else. Her husband, who is also a teacher, bore the violence in order to save their marriage. She was diagnosed of having delusional disorder and is on medication now.”

Savita Date-Menon, a clinical psychologist at Apollo Hospital does not agree with the fact that women have become more aggressive than before. However, feels that they have started to stand up for themselves.

“She has definitely become stronger and is not taking things lying down. She discusses her problems with her friends and when she is in trouble with her spouse, she turns to her friends for comfort. I don’t think she has become aggressive and violent. But, I am sure she is standing up for herself and defending herself when in trouble,” she says.

So, men out there think twice before passing random comments to a woman. You never know when you get punched next.

Tags: domestic violence, featured, full-image, violence

Category: Family & Relationships, Health