I happened to be reading Charles Waterstreet's column in the SMH this morning, something I don't rush too, since Mr waterstreet has a notable gift for the trivialities. He described a scene at an art exhibition opening he attended:

"The evening finished with a two-fisted display of the women's art of boxing the ears of her boyfriend. He received an ambiguous text during a scrumptious dinner. Each blow to the face came from a hand launched from behind her hipline with a thud. He sounded very proper and polite, a neatly suited man in his 20s with bright green eyes and a strong jaw. Stating over and over, ''It was nothing, she was a friend.'' Slap. Slap. Slap. He stood with his arms by his sides, like a soldier taking it like a man should, murmuring, ''It's nothing. She's nobody.'' Twenty slaps, like rolling thunder."

Apparently the artist was affronted:
"Cullen, himself unsteady on his feet after a photographic session, intervened. Stop it. Stop it now."

Nobody called the police. Nobody called her a "man-basher" or "violent". There was no rush of willing hands stepping in to protect her victim. Waterstreet himself seems ambivalent:
"Until the biff, she was an engaging girl with blazing features and amazing blonde hair."

I wonder what would have happened if the man had simply grabbed one of her wrists roughly as she was taking her best shot? What if he'd actually retaliated with a slap of his own? Assault charges, I suspect.

Is violence directed toward men by women really such an entrenched part of our society that nobody pays it any attention?

often our minds cant concieve the doing
of what we know would end it

doing nuthin..is then the wise option
no one should hit anyone..for any reason

but heck who but a very weak person
hits anyone..not hitting them back

i guess i would simply have walked away..from watching it
not sure what i could do..if it was happening to me not you

[but luckely its not likely to happen to either of us
[but if it did..we would both likely..do nuthing too]

is this threat about woman hitting men
or anyone hitting other

or us loving to gossip..about what we heard
or just..a way to talk about somethings
we couldnt discuss..any other way

anyhow im watching
for now

Someone should have done the bloke a favour and called the police. Who's more the coward? Her, or the people watching and doing nothing?

Assault is assault. Imagine what he gets in private if that's a public display. That was THE opportunity to potentially save someone's life. Either his, or hers.

We have a duty of care for each other. Moral AND spiritual.

Antiseptic, move over make way on the naughty boys bench for me.
I agree todays young wife quite often hits kicks and bashes her husband, yes not all, but many.
Bossing men around, trying to make them just gay enough, gee it needed to be said.
One recently, mistaking her huge big body, over eating/gluttony not any thing else, for stenth,flogs her husband often.
As a white ribbon pledged member we need equality for bashed men.

White ribbon isn't for men. They'll tell you that.

"Boys and men are most at risk of physical harm, injury and death
from other boys and men, but small numbers are
subject to violence by women.
This kit focuses on the prevention of violence
against women and takes for granted that all
forms of violence are unacceptable and supports
efforts to end it."

All heart eh...

Awwwwww, the poor dear.

"Each blow to the face came from a hand launched from behind her hipline with a thud."

Being slapped by his lady.

I speculate that his crime was the oldest in the book, hence his protests...

"It was nothing, she was a friend."

Yeah, we all know what that means.

Sounds like he took his punishment like a man, though.

"He stood with his arms by his sides, like a soldier..."

It's all you can do, when you know you are in the wrong. Suck it up.

But it wasn't all bad, I suspect. If she had been really mad at him, she would simply have walked away, leaving a parting shot for the gallery along the lines that the other woman was welcome to him, as she was fed up having to get out the magnifying glass every time...

They probably had great make-up sex later.