Well, groping a stranger's breast while she is walking down the street chatting to a friend really wasn't acceptable (although some might regard it as a bit of harmless fun I suppose), and I didn't have time to think things through. With hindsight I should have kicked him in the balls but, like the punch, that line of attack was ruined by a decent upbringing and a reluctance to hurt people.
I'm not interested in whether I did the right thing or not, I was interested in whether any women on here have experience of actually punching someone and hurting them, because it seems to me to be something we might find quite difficult despite glibly saying it on the internet - actually that applies to a lot of stuff come to think of it.
While I was typing you have replied - that's very interesting. I found that although I was furious I was still prey to the conditioning that hitting someone in the face was wrong.
Hey I'm not saying it was the wrong thing to do. But punching a bloke in the face can go one of two ways, either he doesn't hit back because you're a girl and you're the one who ends up looking like the c*** (what, you hit a man knowing he can't hit you back?), or he hits you back, so much harder than you hit him.
I used to have a very short fuse so have ended up in fights when I was younger on a few occasions. Have punched a girl full force in the face and knocked her out. Not exactly proud of it now but she came at me first and it was an instant reaction. What should have happened is that I should have walked away. But you live and learn, and now if there's aggro I walk. I can't think of a time when I've hit a man in the face. Have elbowed men for unwanted groping in a bar though, a sharp elbow usually does the trick. I'm better with my words in real life, I'll happily shoot a man down if he's annoying me, it's easier to be mouthy and gets you in less trouble.