As I’ve previously blogged, cultural expressions of gender tend to assign norms to the sexes. While I understand that gender has been an important social construct historically, I’ll remain hopeful that humanity can move beyond limiting one’s social identity based solely on the placement of genitalia.
So what does this have to do with rape?
Rape, to me, is a wholly male behavior. Robert McElvaine explains the rage of human behavior as a spectrum with male at one end and female at the other. Each individual’s behaviors can be located at their end of the spectrum, but females’ behaviors average towards the female and, while males’ behaviors average towards the opposite end. Rape, I believe, lies at the far-end of the male side of the spectrum.
An attempt to better explain what I’m getting at:
Society expects certain behaviors from an individual based on their biological sex. For instance, violence is a trait ordinarily associated with males and submission is a trait associated with females. This is problematic because, as we all know, there are aggressive females and submissive males walking this earth, too. Biological sex is not as much of a determinant as society would have us believe. Society dictates and influences more behaviors and tendencies than we realize. Nevertheless, biology does have a profound influence on which behaviors we are more or less inclined to express.
What motivation exists for a female to rape a male? The only feasible explanation would be a severe desire to become impregnated. But I’m not really convinced of the feasibility of such a situation... And then there’s the physiological difficulty of a female trying to force herself upon a man: how would a female forcibly initiate coitus with a flaccid penis?
A male rapist makes much more sense to me.
Please share your thoughts.
What exactly is your point? Men rape. Women rape as well, as well as commit other types of sexual assault.
Why do men rape? For pleasure. For power. Same with women. A woman does not need the man to be aroused in order to rape him - she may choose to rape or molest him in a different way (anal sex, forced oral sex, or unwanted fondling). However it's fairly easy to get a man aroused and rape him. A man does not need to actually WANT to have sex in order to be erect.
The situation is not uncommon, and thus is obviously feasible.
What exactly is your point? Men rape. Women rape
I think my point was that men rape more often than women. And to question why that is the case.
Why do men rape? For pleasure. For power. Same with women.
Really? Do women rape for pleasure as often as they rape as a way to express power over another individual?
And among men, I wonder what the break-down is of men who rape because they really get off on f*cking one who is unwilling versus those who rape primarily as a means of dominance.
Is it possible to accurately get numbers on this type of thing?
/jkh
I am not sure of what your point is exactly, BUT it's evident that you don't understand what rape really means, in the human sense.
As a rape victim I can tell you that rape is all about power, and has little to do with sex. When someone (male or female) rapes someone they are exerting their power over that person, their need to control, and the victim--when you have a knife to your throat or a gun aimed at your head or someone who is three times stronger and weighs a good hundred pounds more than you do--it doesn't matter how independent, assertive, or strong you are--you aren't going to win or have control over the situation. You are at their mercy at that time--
But you don't have to stay a victim. Rape is demeaning, degrading, and a violation of the mind, body, and spirit.
Men get raped, but it's less talked about because of the gender rules/assignments that society has attached to males and females.
I am a female. I was raped 24 years ago when I was 15 by a classmate. He was on the wrestling team and on the football team. I weighed all of maybe 100 lbs. I didn't stand a chance. He raped other girls too. I was not the only one.
But I have a friend who is male that was raped. He was raped by a man who raped men and women--he was arrested, and convicted--he'd raped several men and women, and didn't care what gender the person was--it was all about power and control.
Sexuality is different than deviant behavior. Rapists are sexual deviants, it is not the actual act of sex that arouses them it is the power and control that excites them.
"A prime part of the history of our Constitution...is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded." ~US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Rapists are sexual deviants, it is not the actual act of sex that arouses them it is the power and control that excites them.
This is an important point for me to consider.
/jkh
Reading your response to some of the blogs made me think.
I am trying to finish stuff for finals so I don't have time to look up statistics, etc, but I can tell you that when someone rapes you one of the hardest parts to get over is feeling violated. When someone rapes you it is a violation of your rights, your body, your spirit and it's hard to get over.
But I'm going to try to give you some information that might help you understand the dynamics...
"In the United States, 1.3 women are raped every minute. That results in 78 rapes each hour, 1872 rapes each day, 56160 rapes ech month and 683,280 rapes each year.
1 out of every 3 American women will be sexually assulted in her lifetime.
The United States has the world's highest rape rate of the countries that publish such statistics. It's 4 times higher than Germany, 13 times higher than England, and 20 times higher than Japan.
1 in 7 women will be raped by her husband.
83% of rape cases are ages 24 or under.
1 in 4 college women have either been raped or suffered attempted rape.
1 in 12 males students surveyed had commited acts that met the legal definition of rape. Furthermore, 84% of the men who had commited such acts said what they had done was definitely not rape.
75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in acquintance rape had been drinking or using drugs.
Only 16% of rapes are ever reported to the police."
Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The National Crime Victimization Survey indicates that for 1992-1993, 92% of rapes were committed by known assailants. About half of all rapes and sexual assaults against women are committed by friends and acquaintances, and 26% are by intimate partners.
You might want to look at this:
http://www.hopeforhealing.org/types.html
Or this site
http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Sex%20Offenders%20%20Criminal%20Forensic%20Psychology.pdf
Will post more about the subject later. There is still much I have to say about it, and I might make it a blog, I am thinking it will be a little too long for a comment.
"A prime part of the history of our Constitution...is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded." ~US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
McElvaine can explain the range of human behavior as a "male and female" spectrum all he wants but it doesn't really mean much except that he wanted to create a theory. Behavior and gender are completly different. All that serves is to confuse people about what is going on. Why not make it a "red and blue" spectrum or use something that describes what he's really talking about and make it a "passive, agrressive" system. The only thing that theory is stating is that some men can be more passive than others even though it's not the "norm" while some women can be more aggressive than others, even though it's not their "norm."
Understand the theory you use. This does not mean that women can't rape. Women can very easily rape despite the fact that it doesn't happen that often. Rape is not a "male" behavior, it is an agressive and evil behavior, and as stated in previous comments, is centered mainly around power. Most sexual assaults coming from women don't involve the penis to begin with. Rape is about power and control and usually involves some sort of anal sodomy when a man is being raped. That's how they force guilt and shame. I despise rape but it happens, and know that it goes both ways. Evil can't be given a "male" title and honestly this is a depressing blog topic anyway. It only serves to create a sterotype. I don't mean to be negative because I believe we should help build each other up our blogs but I also believe that we should be focusing on progress and moving towards a more positive enviornment. I don't believe that pushing blame by sterotyping rape as "all male" is very progressive and I would ask that we could not look at this at all but consider and blog about how we can help those who have been raped. How we can stop those who try to rape. How we can come together and work for each other. Rape is a terrible, terrible thing and causes a lot of damage to its victims. It creates a struggle with shame and guilt that is not deserved and that nobody should have to deal with. We need to stand together to stop that from happening, not force it into a headline and a sterotype.
And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
McElvaine can explain the range of human behavior as a "male and female" spectrum all he wants but it doesn't really mean much except that he wanted to create a theory.
Normally historians don't go around creating theories for the sake of having done so. Usually they're considering a particular problem, and attempting a systematic understanding of the problem. McElvaine sought a historical understanding of the interactions of the two human sexes, and proposed a theory. Have you read his book Eve's Seed? If not, we cannot debate the nuances of his argument.
Behavior and gender are completly different.
Not entirely. Behavior and sex are completely different. Behavior and gender are very much related. Understand the terms you use.
some men can be more passive than others even though it's not the "norm" while some women can be more aggressive than others, even though it's not their "norm." This does not mean that women can't rape.
Of course not. I'm only considering how this might explain that rape perpetuated by a male is a more common occurrence.
this is a depressing blog topic anyway. It only serves to create a sterotype.
While I'm not advocating the promotion of sterotypes, they do not come into existence by happenstance. Stereotypes reflect convention; they are not inherently evil.
I don't believe that pushing blame by sterotyping rape as "all male" is very progressive and I would ask that we could not look at this at all.
I'm not blaming all males for those that rape. And I'm not trying to say that only males rape. Having said that, I don't think that we shouldn't question why bad things like rape happen.
/jkh
My point in saying he wanted to create a theory was not saying that he did not want to address a particular issue. My point was that the terms male and female to describe behavior, while they may be somewhat accurate, are not the best to use when it comes to the argument you are putting forth. But no I have not read the book. While I do not believe that sterotypes are "inherently evil" the way in which you used them by saying rape is an all male behavior was a misuse of McElvaine's theory in connecting with this issue. Rape is an aggressive behavior which does not have to be done by males. In this situation that theory only puts the two hand in hand and you come to the conclusion that rape is a male behavior. This causes a lot of problems in your argument because it makes it completly unclear to people following it and it also adds to the social problem of sterotyping men to be overpowering in relationships with women. Not all men are like that, many of us try to LEAD our relationships in order to help our partners to grow in their character and feel protected. While this may not have been your point, the terminology YOU used in trying to connect the theory with an unfortunate behavioral occurance is unclear and hence you get a lot of angry comments saying women can rape too.
Your sex and gender distinction, though it may be accurate is not extremely relevant. The problem with that, is that you have to clearly define them if you are going to distinguish them as different, because it really depends on what dictionary you are looking in or what context you take it from because socially, they are most often the same distinction. So before you charge me with "understanding the terms I use," define how you want them to be understood. I understand your point there, but for future reference that is how misunderstandings breed full blown arguments.
Finally, I did not say we should not question why bad things happen. Read further into that statement and what I was saying was that we should not question whether or not this is a "male" behavior but instead question the motives behind it (generally power and dominance) and determine what we can do to move forward. Simply questioning whether or not it's a "male" behavior doesn't move us anywhere except maybe backwards because it provides a complicated and unclear theory, when it could have been simply put that rape is a domination behavior or an agressive behavior. It's much easier to discuss how to move forward from there. My point in commenting on this blog was that there really isn't a need to bring McElvaine's theory into this because it doesn't relate well and causes a misunderstanding of your point.
And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
I really liked what you had to say, and the way you said it.
Wish we could vote on comments.
"A prime part of the history of our Constitution...is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded." ~US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
haha, thank you, I only do what I can to make my opinion matter, feel free to read my other stuff. But hey on a more important note, thank you for the positive feedback and I encourage you to spread it around to other good posts and we cal all work for a more positive enviornment.
And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
"What motivation exists for a female to rape a male?"
Rape isn't about sex; it's about power and domination. Women can hold those motivations just as much as a man. Something like 1.5% of women in prison are there for sexual assault of some kind; and 3% of male rapes are performed by women perpetrators.
"Most research suggests that 10 to 20 percent of all males will be sexually violated at some point in their lives and that one in every ten rape victims is male. Recent studies by the Department of Justice and other governmental agencies found that victimized men accounted for 6% (9,040 men) of completed rapes, 9 % (10,270 men) of attempted rapes, and 11% (17,130 men) of completed and attempted sexual assaults reported. Additionally, studies sponsored by gay and lesbian studies programs at various universities suggest that 12 - 30 percent of gay and bisexual men surveyed had indicated that they engaged in sexual intercourse when they did not want to because they felt coerced to do so."
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0445.html
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Huxley
"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." -Gandhi
That last bit refers to men being raped by men however.
I know.
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Huxley
"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." -Gandhi
[Rape] is about power and domination. Women can hold those motivations just as much as a man.
I understand this. What I don't so much understand is women manifesting domination through sexual acts. Is this simply a function of my own motivations being so far removed from those of a female rapist?
Rape isn't about sex.
How can rape not be about sex when rape is sex?
/jkh
Sometimes rape isn't about "intercourse" or "penetration"
Women can rape other women or men, just as men can rape women or another man.
Some men who rape are actually impotent...
THe power and control they get from overpowering someone, from scaring someone, etc arouses them...it isn't the act of "sex" that arouses them.
"A prime part of the history of our Constitution...is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded." ~US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
As a masculist and a male, I am appalled. It's absolutely fucked up to attempt to claim that rape is inherently male just because you can't think of a reason why a woman (really meaning you) would rape a man. Men do get raped by women (it just goes largely unreported because of sentiments like yours). Women get raped by women. Rape has nothing to do with a person's gender or sex or genitalia. I don't think I've ever read anything more alarmingly sexist.
--Mike
Oh dear embryowassup I do hate to have appalled you. You never did write at length about your position as a masculist so that I might become enlightened as to your beliefs.
I did not intend to claim rape to be an inherently male behavior. Rather, that it makes sense to me that rape is more often committed by men.
just because you can't think of a reason why a woman (really meaning you) would rape a man.
Of course I am hindered by my own perspective, but aren't we all to some extent?
Women get raped by women.
I have honestly never considsered this possibility. I had considered men being raped by men, but not women by women. What does that say about my thought process?
Men do get raped by women (it just goes largely unreported because of sentiments like yours).
There's no telling how many women rape victims never come forward, too.
Rape, I think, is something that is very difficult to track because of all the guilt and shame associated with the experience.
Another thing to consider would be how rape statistics, for what they're worth, vary across cultures...
I don't think I've ever read anything more alarmingly sexist.
I apologize; I didn't mean to alarm.
Remember, however, that my intention was not to claim that men are the sole perpetrators of rape. Rather that men seem to commit rapes on women more often than women commit rapes on men. What is the reason for this?
/jkh
I think the reason is twofold: firstly, men are conditioned by society to be aggressors and secondly, women are conditioned to be submissive. It's only recently that women weren't taught to be seen but not heard. It's fucked up and obvious that we still have a long way to go.
--Mike
Note to self: don't blog about something you're considering, but have not yet thoroughly sought to understand, unless you're prepared to respond to a lot of comments posted by others who make you consider all aspects of the situation...
From the flurry of comments this blog has generated I've come to see that my point, and my thoughts on the issue of rape, requires more particular articulation.
Alright, rape is about dominating another individual. True enough, but it is also about sex. An act cannot be wholly removed from itself. Rape is sex, so it has to be somewhat about sex. Although I understand that it is mostly about control and power.
Dare I say that males more often manifest the desire to force their will upon others? This is not to say that only males do such a thing, but to question whether rape is a behavior more likely to occur in males or females. From my perspective, not being a statician or a sociologist, it appears that rape is a behavior that is more likely to be expressed by males.
Also, this is not to say that females do not participate in repugnant behaviors, too.
As far as sex goes, however, I would venture to say that females more often use manipulation tactics, rather than force, i.e., rape, as a means of expressing dominance.
As a female who has only ever engaged in mutually satisfactory sexual acts, I cannot comprehend the physical means by which a female perpetuates rape upon an unwilling male. Sorry. In situations where this occurs, it seems to me more of a supreme head-f*ck for the male victim than a physical assualt. And this is, of course, not considering forced anal sex by a foreign object. Honestly, I had never even considered that as a means by which a female could/would commit a rape on a male.
I'll be considering this more thoroughly, to be sure...
/jkh
Men and women are not so different. One difference is however that men are more sexually and physically aggressive than women and thus more likely to commit rape.
Physical means? I'll describe it to you: a man and a woman are engaging in sexual activity (for instance). The man, naturally, is aroused. The woman begins to go further than he wants. He says no. She ignores him and rapes him. It's exactly the same as with man on woman, except that the raped man would have to be physically aroused, while the raped woman would not have to be.
There are also drugs which would cause a man to be aroused against his will. Or the woman could simply stimulate him to erection against his will.
There is also forced oral sex, forced fondling, forced fingering, and penentration with a foreign object, all of which women can and do do. Not to mention rape of children.
Your last couple of paragraphs in the original post sounded like you don't believe that woman-on-man rape CAN hapepn, which is highly offensive.