OK, first off I have made a new account just to ask this question, because of the enormous hostility that even talking about this subject raises.
Is rape about power, or is it about sex? There appears to be a lot of research that I came across summarized in Steven Pinker's book 'The Blank Slate' which suggests rape is about men being primarily motivated by the thought of obtaining sex.
Meanwhile, the feminist movement seems to insist that rape is a crime motivated primarily by the need to violently assault women, perhaps because those men fear women's power.
I'm not asking you to come down one side or the other and neither am I for a second suggesting that either explanation minimizes the crime, but is it not important to try to genuinely understand the causes of rape? For one thing, understanding the motivation for crimes allows us to minimize their occurrence in the future.
It disturbs me that some feminists seem so anti-science in this regard. They have a feminist explanation for rape and refuse to consider other hypotheses.
Finally, just to treble underline my stance before quitting this account for good- Understanding behavior is not the same as excusing behavior. In no way am I excusing rapists or apologizing for them.
Edit: I should have been more careful to say that not all feminists take this stance. I'm not attacking feminism in general.
ddddd7766 karma
OK, first off I have made a new account just to ask this question, because of the enormous hostility that even talking about this subject raises.
Is rape about power, or is it about sex? There appears to be a lot of research that I came across summarized in Steven Pinker's book 'The Blank Slate' which suggests rape is about men being primarily motivated by the thought of obtaining sex.
Meanwhile, the feminist movement seems to insist that rape is a crime motivated primarily by the need to violently assault women, perhaps because those men fear women's power.
I'm not asking you to come down one side or the other and neither am I for a second suggesting that either explanation minimizes the crime, but is it not important to try to genuinely understand the causes of rape? For one thing, understanding the motivation for crimes allows us to minimize their occurrence in the future.
It disturbs me that some feminists seem so anti-science in this regard. They have a feminist explanation for rape and refuse to consider other hypotheses.
Finally, just to treble underline my stance before quitting this account for good- Understanding behavior is not the same as excusing behavior. In no way am I excusing rapists or apologizing for them.
Edit: I should have been more careful to say that not all feminists take this stance. I'm not attacking feminism in general.
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