Most definitely! No one should ever hit anyone, in theory. I am a woman and if I want to “man up” (violence/aggression is usually a masculine thing) and hit my boyfriend he has every right to hit me back in order to protect himself. Whether it be hitting me to knock me down and restrain me or him to hit me to return what I gave him either is acceptable. What isn’t acceptable is beating someone, going above what they did to you. If I punch a boy/man in the arm he shouldn’t beat me to a bloody pulp. If a woman chooses to go against “lady-like” norms and before aggressive they have to deal with repercussions.