I'm not being obtuse, i am genuinely confused.
What does the domestic abuse levels got to do with whether a female child should be spanked?
Well call me old fashioned but i'd expect my children to listen and obey if i tell them to do something
Children are impressionable. In childhood, we are internalizing messages that we will carry in our subconscious for the rest of our lives. They will subtly guide and influence many of the adult decisions we make.
I would not want to send any child of mine into the world with the message imprinted on his or her psyche that he/she
deserves to be hit.
I feel females are more vulnerable to such harmful messages, because- although our society is more enlightened than it's ever been- there is still an undercurrent of patriarchy, which makes some people (both male and female) believe that subversive women- women who fail to submit to the will of men, or
a man- deserve to be disciplined like children.
I cannot tell you how many times, when I worked in adult entertainment, I had a customer threaten me with physical harm. I was very fortunate that none of them ever followed through with these threats; I worked in some places that had a lot of security, and other places that were seedy dives where there was none.
Despite the crazy and sometimes twisted life I've led, largely by choice, I came to adulthood with a feeling of entitlement: that nobody had the right to put their hands on me if I didn't want them to.
I was raised that way, and I believe it has protected me and kept me safe.
If a man ever pushed me, ever gripped my arm, ever even fronted up on me in a menacing posture... he'd be in jail before he had the chance to continue.
I have no confusion about whether or not his behavior toward me is okay. I know it's not.
I think, in some women, there's a hesitation there.
Is this okay? Did I do something wrong?
In that split second of self-doubt, like a dog sensing fear and weakness, an assailant feels entitled to move in and take control.
Again, this is just my opinion, and we're moving rather far afield from the subject of disciplining children.