“Slap Her": Children's Reactions

I wonder if it would have gone differently if they'd used an objectively ugly girl instead. Would these seemingly charming boys hesitate to slap a girl if it wasn't even clear that the person beside them was really a girl? I don't mean just androgynous, since that by itself can actually be quite "pretty". I mean androgynous due to severe deformity or something. It would be hard to find someone like that who'd willingly put themselves in the situation, though, so I suppose I'll never know.

Imagining myself in the boy's shoes, I think I would have reacted differently at 8-11.

Director: "Now, slap her."
Me to Director: "Do I have to really slap her or can I fake it?"
Director: "Really slap her."
Me to Director: "On the face?"
Director: "Yes."
Me to Girl: "Are you alright with this?"
Girl: "Yes."
Me to Director: "How hard?"
Director: "As hard as you can."
Me to Girl: "Are you sure about this?"
Girl: "Yes."
Me to Girl: (SLAP!)

My parents taught me that the difference between a caress and molestation, or sex and rape, or friendly fighting and abuse, is consent. For instance, if a couple boxers get in the ring and beat each other bloody, they serve no jail time, a la consent.

Of course, I probably wouldn't have asked for consent before the caress, since she's so pretty I'd want to do that anyway. I'm not exactly sure why I would assume the girl consented in the case of a caress and then double verify consent before the slap, but it might be that one will incur less of a disciplinary action than the other if done without permission. That is, if I caress a random stranger on the cheek, she may be upset, but I probably won't go to jail for it. If I slap a stranger, I might end up in jail after a court hearing. Or at 8 yo, it may be the former would mean I get a verbal reprimand at to not do that, the latter and I get severely punished (grounded for a month or w/e).

"Because she's a girl." So, if the roles were reversed, it would be all right? So much for gender equality.