Real men do hit women : the violence at the heart of masculinity

Within days of becoming prime minister in September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull was on television declaring 'Real men don't hit women'. This sentiment drives what the Prime Minister has called a 'zero tolerance' approach that will 'eradicate' violence against women in Australia. Following his announcement, media commentators described his stand against violence as 'strong', 'hard' and a 'scathing attack'. Not coincidentally, these are the very qualities of masculinity that the phrase 'real men don't hit women' evokes: unyielding, aggressive and primed to use violence in the defence of women. The prospect that the problem of gendered violence can be resolved by a return to 'real masculinity' has wide appeal. But who is a real man and who isn't? And if real men don't hit women, then who does?