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http://viewsfromthecouch.com/2012/02/12/you-didnt-thank-me-for-punching-you-in-the-fac/

You Didn’t Thank Me For Punching You in the Face

12 Feb 2012

by queenofthecouch in Parenting and Random Shit Tags: abuse, bully, Child, crush, mother, parent, Teacher

On a somewhat serious note today because of a conversation the other day:

I am sure every girl can recall, at least once as a child, coming home and telling their parents, uncle, aunt or grandparent about a boy who had pulled her hair, hit her, teased her, pushed her or committed some other playground crime. I will bet money that most of those, if not all, will tell you that they were told “Oh, that just means he likes you”. I never really thought much about it before having a daughter of my own. I find it appalling that this line of bullshit is still being fed to young children. Look, if you want to tell your child that being verbally and/or physically abused is an acceptable sign of affection, I urge you to rethink your parenting strategy. If you try and feed MY daughter that crap, you better bring protective gear because I am going to shower you with the brand of “affection” you are endorsing.




When the fuck was it decided that we should start teaching our daughters to accept being belittled, disrespected and abused as endearing treatment? And we have the audacity to wonder why women stay in abusive relationships? How did society become so oblivious to the fact that we were conditioning our daughters to endure abusive treatment, much less view it as romantic overtures? Is this where the phrase “hitting on girls” comes from? Well, here is a tip: Save the “it’s so cute when he gets hateful/physical with her because it means he loves her” asshattery for your own kids, not mine. While you’re at it, keep them away from my kids until you decide to teach them respect and boundaries.

My daughter is `10 years old and has come home on more than one occasion recounting an incident at school in which she was teased or harassed by a male classmate. There has been several times when someone that she was retelling the story to responded with the old, “that just means he likes you” line. Wrong. I want my daughter to know that being disrespected is NEVER acceptable. I want my daughter to know that if someone likes her and respects her, much less LOVES her, they don’t hurt her and they don’t put her down. I want my daughter to know that the boy called her ugly or pushed her or pulled her hair didn’t do it because he admires her, it is because he is a little asshole and assholes are an occurrence of society that will have to be dealt with for the rest of her life. I want my daughter to know how to deal with assholes she will encounter throughout her life. For now, I want my daughter to know that if someone is verbally harassing her, she should tell the teacher and if the teacher does nothing, she should tell me. If someone physically touches her, tell the teacher then, if it continues, to yell, “STOP TOUCHING/PUNCHING/PUSHING ME” in the middle of class or the hallway, then tell me. Last year, one little boy stole her silly bandz from her. He just grabbed her and yanked a handful of them off of her wrist. When I went to the school to address the incident, the teacher smiled and explained it away to her, in front of me, “he probably has a crush on you”. Okay, the boy walked up to my daughter, grabbed and held her by the arm and forcibly removed her bracelets from her as she struggled and you want to convince her that she should be flattered? Fuck off. I am going to punch you in the face but I hope you realize it is just my way of thanking you for the great advice you gave my daughter. If these same advice givers’ sons came home crying because another male classmate was pushing them, pulling their hair, hitting them or calling them names, I would bet dollars to donuts they would tell him to defend themselves and kick the kid’s ass, if necessary. They sure as shit wouldn’t say, “he probably just wants a play date”.

I will teach my daughter to accept nothing less than respect. Anyone who hurts her physically or emotionally doesn’t deserve her respect, friendship or love. I will teach my boys the same thing as well as the fact that hitting on girls doesn’t involve hitting girls. I can’t teach my daughter to respect herself if I am teaching her that no one else has to respect her. I can’t raise sons that respect women, if I teach them that bullying is a valid expression of affection.

The next time that someone offers up that little “secret” to my daughter, I am going to slap the person across the face and yell, “I LOVE YOU”.

Date: 2012-02-16 03:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dazzlerfemme.livejournal.com
Ditto!

I turned into a bully to fend off bullies and I tell my daughter all the time to NEVER take any crap from anyone. So yeaaaah, these are my words exactly!

Cowardice breeds cowardice I guess. I am not one and I won't teach my daughter to let bullying/abuses/nonsense slide off her back like water. She will have to learn to defend herself.

Survival of the fittest after all!

Date: 2012-02-18 02:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] samtyr.livejournal.com
I learned to do much the same thing when I was in school too.

Date: 2012-02-16 03:28 pm (UTC)
ext_45018: (little hood's grown up)
From: [identity profile] oloriel.livejournal.com
Hear, hear!

I still remember one of those incidents from my elementary school days where I got into trouble for pushing a boy. (He fell and scraped his knee, IIRC. SATISFACTION.) When I said "But he pushed me first", I got to hear - bingo! - "He probably just wanted to show you he likes you!"
So? He still pushed me. I pushed him back. Go tell him I just wanted to show him I like him, why don't you?

Of course, part of the problem is also that people still teach little boys that it's "girly" to speak of love/affection/admiration, or to show emotions openly. As long as a boy is taught that it's unmanly to say "Hey you, I really like you", he's going to resort to other means of attracting attention.
Which is not an attempt from my side to excuse this kind of behaviour - far from it. It just means that everyone has to be taught better: the boys, that real guys say "I love you" instead of pulling a girl's hair (or the like), which is Something Only Asshats Do; the girls, that they deserve respect and that they don't have to put up with violence for any reason; and the grown-ups, that it doesn't matter what the intent, bullying is NEVER ok.
ARGH.

I hope I'll be able to teach that to my little boy, too.

Date: 2012-02-18 02:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] samtyr.livejournal.com
Yes, I don't know when, how or even why this became so widely accepted. *Especially* "in these more enlightened, modern times," you'd think we know better.

Date: 2012-02-16 03:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] engarian.livejournal.com
Well done. I had to teach myself to not put up with any crap, but eventually I did and defended myself. After that, I was never bothered again and was treated with respect. Amazing! Teach your daughter that physical altercations of any manner against her will is abuse and should never be tolerated.

- Erulisse (one L)

Date: 2012-02-18 02:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] samtyr.livejournal.com
It's really sad that we often have to (literally) fight back in order to get any respect.

Date: 2012-02-16 06:12 pm (UTC)
ext_93291: (Túrin)
From: [identity profile] spiced-wine.livejournal.com
I completely agree with that. I had a lot of that when I started to go to school in this town. (I was 10) There was one boy who was constantly belittling me and one put his hands round my neck from behind and squeezed so hard I blacked out for moment. I didn't tell any-one at home, because matters were too bad there anyhow. It was actually another boy who got on his case, a really nice, well-brought-up kid, who became a friend.

If I had daughters I would go ballistic, and I know my sister has.

Date: 2012-02-18 02:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] samtyr.livejournal.com
I really didn't have much with the boys as I did with the girls. The boys knew I could - and would - fight back but the girls were so much sneakier, and they ran in a pack.

Date: 2012-02-16 06:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chaotic-binky.livejournal.com

It annoys me that women are also telling girls this shit; it is not only men who do it.

I always taught my daughter not to take this sort of abuse and to fight back, which she did stunningly well. I would not have her suffer as my sisters and I did when we were children.



Date: 2012-02-18 02:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] samtyr.livejournal.com
Yes, I know. It's sad when the voice of reason can only be heard if there is a fist behind it.

Date: 2012-02-17 03:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] floatingleaf.livejournal.com
OMG YES. I used to wear my hair in a ponytail when I was a kid, and of course it got pulled - and when I told my parents, they would just chuckle to themselves and say that the boy probably liked me... Well, I wish I'd had enough self-confidence back them to tell everybody concerned where they can stick THAT sort of "liking". *seethes*

Date: 2012-02-18 02:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] samtyr.livejournal.com
Like you, I never did understand why parents seem to be so accepting of this so-called 'teasing'.

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