Rape

Definition
Rape (n): 1. Any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.

2. An act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation.

Rape (v) : 1. To force to have sexual intercourse.

Definitions found at www.dictionary.com

Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer, authors of A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion, define rape as;

"... copulation resisted to the best of the victim's ability unless such resistance would probably results in death of serious injury to the victim or in death or injury to individuals the victim commonly protects. Other sexual assaults, including oral and anal penetration of a man or a woman under the same conditions, also may be called rape under some circumstances." (Thornhill, Randy and Palmer, Craig T.A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion pp 1).

Example(s) of use in context
In our class we look at rape from an evolutionary perspective. There is no debate that rape is a horrific violation of another being, but why certain people commit rape is a topic that we explore via different theories in evolutionary biology and psychology. There are several theories for why some people rape, and they are not all rooted in the idea that those who do commit rape do so out of a cold-hearted need for control, or lack of control. These theories are not, by any means, meant to serve as excuses for commiting rape, but simply meant to help us better understand what might influence someone to rape in the first place. In our class we review the different theories and discuss both their strong and weak points and how well each theory can be applied to society today.

Scientific background &amp; history
Stories and account of rape can be found in a variety of different texts. From the famed insatiable lust of the Greek god Zeus, who in countless myths was unfaithful to his wife Hera with numerous women, some who he captured and sexually cohierced. Rape is also seen throughout history during wartime, stories of soliders ransacking enemy villiages and sexuallyabusing their women (and sometimes children) can be easily found. However the act of rape is not confined to myths and wartime, according to Rainn.org approximately 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape, and about 1 in every 6 American women will be a victim of attempted or completed rape within her lifetime. For men, the numbers are considerably lower, only about 1 in 33 men will be a victim of attemped or completed rape within his lifetime. It should be noted that not all rapes are reported and therefore not all rapes are counted, the numbers would likely be higher for both men and women if all rapes were reported by victims.

There are two main theories about rape in evolutionary biology; one, that the act of rape is a byproduct (Symons) and two, that the act of rape is an adaptation (Thornhill and Palmer; 2000). Both of these theories focus on why men commit acts of sexual abuse against women and children, which is an issue that will be discussed later. Some evolutionary biologists would argue that rape is a byproduct of psychological adaptations, specifically ones that influence a male's sexual behavior and desires. Others would say rape itself is the adaptation specifically designed to increase a male's reproductive sucess. The two most popular motives for rape among these theories are that one might rape in order to feel a sense of control and power over another being, and that one might be motivated by sexual desire for another being.

Debates &amp; controversial applications
As mentioned the debate about whether the act of rape is a byproduct or an adaptaion is currently a fairly hot topic in evolutionary biology. Until we learn more about the sexual history of males and females, their drives, instincts and behaviors we cannot come to a conclusion about evolutionary reasons for rape. For now we have these theories, which serve as solid jumping off points for further research. Please keep in mind that the following theories only focus on males and and why, from an evolutionary standpoint, they might commit rape against another being.

Byproduct Theory:
Donald Symons was one of the first people to suggest that rape is a byproduct of different adaptations, connected specifically to the difference between male and female sexual desire (Thornhill 2000; Palmer 2000). Symons suggested that a variety of male adaptations, which serve to increase the male's mating and reproduction success, had led to some males committing rape. "Specificaly, Symons proposed that the primary adaptations responsible for the occurrence of rape were the mechanisms involved in the human male's greater visual sexual arousal, greater autonomous sex drive, reduced ability to abstain from sexual activity, much greater desire for sexual variety per se, greater willingness to engage in impersonal sex, and less discriminating criteria for sexual partners" (Thornhill and Palmer 2000 pp 62 via Symons 1979, pp 264-267) Symons theory states that these male characteristics are adaptive and that the act of rape is a byproduct of any, or of any combination, of these characteristics. The characteristics evolved to assist in the reproductive success of males, but a male can be reproductivly successful without committing rape. This theory indicates that rape cannot be an adaptation because none of these characteristicsevolved specifically for rape, they can simply influence the behavior, making rape a byproduct.

Adaptation Theory:
In order for an adaptation theory to be valid when discussing rape among humans there must be a particular characterisitc, or set of characteristics, that appears to have evolved strictly to assist males with forcing females into unwanted sexual interaction. So far, for humans, we have found no such characterisitc. There are multiple characteristics that can be beneficial (for lack of better phrasing) for a man while engaged in rape, such as general larger size, however males did not evolve into having a larger build than females strictly so that they had the upperhand in overpowering them as the sole means of reproducing. Some insect species, unlike humans, have evolved to have physical characteristics that assist the males in rape.

One popular example of males with special "rape-enabling" physcial characteristics is the male scorpionfly. Certain male scorpionflies have a clamp-like organ located on top of the abdpmen, behind the wings. This clamp appears to serve no other purpose than to grab and hold unwilling females for mating. It seems, based on a study by Thornhill(1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987), that this clamp is not necessary for mating, however if the male scorpionfly cannot offer the female a "nuptial gift" of either a mass of saliva or a dead insect, then he will likely use this organ in order to mate since he has no other means of wooing her. Male waterstriders and sagebrush crickers have similar appendages that also assist them in the rape of a female in order to reproduce. While human males have no specific "rape assistant" organ, adaptation theoriests have not ruled out the idea that human males have evolved a certain, or certain set of, psychological characteristic(s) that could prove rape to be its own adaptation, not a byproduct.

These characteristics could be any one, or combination, of the following; psychological mechanisms that help males evluate or vulnerable a victim might be, psychological mechanisms that motivate males who "lack sexual access or sufficient resources" to rape, psychological mechanisms that cause males to evalute the sexual attractiveness of potential victims and consensual partners differently, a difference in sperm counts of ejaculates produced during consensual copulation and sperm counts of ejaculates produced during rape due to psychological mechanisms and/or physiological mechanisms,psychological mechanisms that result in different types and/or levels of sexual arousal in males during depictions of rape and depictions of consensual mating, and finally, psychological and/or other mechanismsthat motivate males to rape females under conditions of sperm competition. (Thornhill 2000; Palmer 2000, pp 65-66). While all of these theories about the psychological adapatation of rape are possibilities much more research needs to be done in order to truly understand if human rape can be considered an adaptaion. For now the byproduct theory is the most solid theory we have, based on what we know to be true about the evolution of males and sexuality.

Finally a last debate, that is only starting to become present in literature, is the exclusion of females from rape research. Due to cultural stereotyping that women are the victims and males are the victimizers there is very little research on females who commit rape and the males who must cope with being sexually violated. For now the numbers indicate that males are much more likely to commit rape than females are, however the stigma about male rape victims is likely to keep males from reporting sexual abuse. Many still wouldn't take the idea of a female sexually abusing a male seriously, which is probably why so many female-to-male rapes go unreported. Until the stereotype is confronted, and females are seen as being able to be sexually abusive towards males as well, it seems that we will never have a solid understanding of rape and it's place in evolutionary biology. Because rape is committed, and experienced, by both sexesevolutionary biologists and psychologists must include both males and females in their research. They must examine males as both the rapist and the victim and do the same with females. Without looking at rape from all sides we will never have a correct, conclusive theory.

Author
Kimmy Tronolone