"While I agree that a lot of "women's self defense" stuff is overly oriented on stranger danger and getting Gladys ready to go all krav maga on the white slavers in the Hobby Lobby parking lot rather than "minimize assholes in your life", I find the notion that one can separate "relationship safety" and "physical self-defense" into completely different spheres to be exotically naive."Like I've said before, statistically speaking, you already know the person you're most likely to have to pepper spray.
Of course, even the stuff that does acknowledge the physical component tends to peddle woo, because people like woo. One two-hour session of stomping on the foot of a guy in a Red Man suit and yelling loudly is an easier sell than hours in a gym or dojo every week. (And lord knows I need more time in a gym.) It's a market driven by customer demand, and what customers demand is: "I'd like to buy a hundred dollars of self-confidence, please. I can squeeze in two hours on Saturday next week between grocery shopping and Suzy's band recital."
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