Is Rape a Product of Sexual Desire, or the Exercise of Power - Essay Example

Is Rape a Product of Sexual Desire, or the Exercise of Power? Insert Insert Grade Insert Is Rape a Product of Sexual Desire, or the Exercise of Power? Introduction There have been increased calls for sexual freedom and especially accorded to women in the contemporary society. The legal and social environment has equally been advancing and with this advancement comes movements and ideology changes that have influenced the view of the society on rape and sexual relationships (Lees 2002). In effect, the definition of rape has become a great challenge because of an increasingly thin line between actual rape and normal sexual relations even among established couples. The legal definition of rape has also been altered and as a result there have been further complexities on the subject matter. Having this in mind, this paper examines the issue with a view of examining the motivation of rapists as either sexually aroused or as men or women who have decided to exercise their perceived powers over their victims through intimacy. It will also look in into the matter of a continuously broadening side of criminality and violence within sexual relationships. The aim is to examine the various elements that come into play when handling matters dealing with rape in the society today. Rape can be generally defined as the use of violent means or threatening words to lead someone into submitting to sexual intercourse (Smart 1995). This act can therefore result into serious violation of the victim’s dignity as well as loss of self confidence among other physiological side effects (Kelly 1998). There are various theories that have been proposed to explain this inhuman act. One of these theories will be discussed in the section that follows. The Classical Theory of Sexual Assault One of the long found theories of sexual assault was based on the belief that rapists were mentally ill or had some biological imbalances in their body that contributed to inability for any proper control of their impulses. This theory is referred to as the psychopathology model. It proposes that rapists were medically unfit individuals that were acting in an inhuman manner because of their bodily imbalances (Terry et al 2010). This theory thought that rape was a rare occurrence and hence could be effectively handled by medically proven means like hormonal injection, psychotherapy or even castration. When looked at in the view of the two divides that are being examined by this paper, the theory supports the view that rape may be as a result of sexual desire or the inability to control such desires. However, this model may only apply to a few cases of rape that has been a growing concern in the moral foundations of the society we live in today. The definition of rape has widely grown and words like ‘date raping’ or even ‘marital rape’ have evolved and in turn made the issue of rape more complex than it was initially. As a result, the psychopathological model cannot be authoritatively stated as the clear explanation to the motivations behind rape and other forms of sexual assault. This has led to the emergence of other explanations behind this vice. Many experts have therefore been torn between the view that rapists may be motivated by either sexual desires or the quest to express their power or authority over their victims. Sexual desire can be either externally or internally provoked on individuals as shall be discussed in the following section. Sexual Desire Sexual desire may generally refer to the general urge by individuals to engage in intercourse. It may be due to many factors and when translated to rape, it may result in violent actions that are not usually desirable for both the victim and the perpetrator. Desire for sex can be drawn from nature and the cross gender relationships. Thornhill and Palmer (2000) have associated rape with certain phenomena in the society we live in today. First, since women are said to be naturally choosy, there have been several tactics deployed by men to lure or woo them out of desire. The first and most desirable strategy they have deployed is through conduct, behaviour or dress code. Since women are likely to get attracted to certain kinds of pleasing behaviour or features in men, the rational man as accepted by most societies must always try to look and behave in a way that they are likely to attract the opposite sex to fulfil their intimacy needs. The second strategy though not desirable, has also worked with many women in the world especially in the contemporary society. As the Darwinian model would propose, the fittest will always survive and this strategy has been deployed by many. It goes that women will always go for security and men who are able to outdo the others in terms of physical, financial or intelligence strength is likely to be appealing to them. With hard economic times, financial might has been able to be a major priority for women as well as being in influential positions. The effect of power in the subject of discussion will be further examined elsewhere in this paper. The third strategy is one that has controversially resulted in sexual assault as a result of unquenched desire or the lack of security and lack of guarantee for the attainment of this basic need. Since there will be a group that will not always be able to maintain the deployment of either strategy to attract women to their side, they have devised one more way of gaining access to females. Most of the people that have resorted to this strategy have often felt that they are social misfits who are unable to attract the females through looks, wealth or status in the society. Violent means of coercing the women through threats or physical assault has therefore been the only way they are able to measure up with their advantaged counterparts. However, this view is not practicable always because it is obvious that humans are always to get attracted regardless of the social status in the society because attraction and the feelings that come with it are not able to be controlled if intermarriages are to go by. Another reason that might come up in the debate about sexual desire a motivating factor for rape cases is that males have a natural urge to engage in intercourse than their female counterparts. As a matter of fact, cases of marital rape have been attributed to this phenomenon. Most experts especially feminists have associated rape to the tendency of males to have a strong sex drive and most probably the desire to mate with many females. This may be some kindly of natural adventure that can also be associated with the desire to impose themselves over the feminine counterparts as will be discussed elsewhere in this paper. Men have also pointed towards the increased exposure of women to being a contributing factor to the issue of sexual desire that leads them to rape (Levine and Koenig 1982). The debate has however been made more heated by women who cite a lack of personal control in such situations. Indecent clothing or the clothing that reveals the private parts or too much flesh on the side of women has been blamed for involuntarily arousing their male counterparts who in extreme cases may think that rape is the best way to solve the desire that has built up in them. In most cases, the perpetrators have always blamed it on the women and even saying they are the ones who call for such conduct owing to their dress code. This section is therefore indicative that feelings have contributed to most cases of rape in the society. In the contrary, it is usually an excuse to state that rape was as a result of feelings when in real sense it leads to hurting the feelings of the victim. A good example is the raping of minors and even elder individuals who may have no bearing in the creation or generation of the said feelings. However, feminists and extremist campaigners may have other reasons why rape has been prominent especially targeted towards women. This will be closely discussed in the following section. Exercise of Power The debate that rape has been used as a tool of indicating power or control over one gender has been an interesting yet fundamental one in the contemporary society. The debate has been two pronged with one side mostly supported by feminists. To begin, Brownmiller (1973) raised serious and extremist views on why men are likely to rape their female counterparts. One of her implications is that rape is a product of male dominated social circles where men will always want to show their dominance over women and are always trained to do so. It then goes, according to the writer, that women are trained and taught that they should always submit. This claim therefore indicates that the submission campaign is imposed on females so that they are able to recognize the authority of males in the society. This therefore leads to an interesting definition of rape, which can be said to be an act of violence that targets women who are not ready to submit to the dominance of men. This extremist view therefore points out that rape may be like a policy instrument used by men so that they are able to remain loyal to the authority of male dominance. As weird as this may sound, the argument has gained a lot of support from feminine circles. The power theory therefore purports that women are in constant fear because they have been put in a situation where they have to succumb to intimidation tactics of men. An example given by Brownmiller (1973) is in marriage where the writer elaborates that marriage is a coercive bargain where women are have no choice but to accept to be dominated by one man and thereby protect her from other men who may otherwise rape her. This argument may be pleasing in the ears of many feminists but it overlooks the fundamentals of family. It is natural that man and woman are joined together by love so that they are able to live happily and reproduce for the sustenance of future generations. It overlooks the importance of men in the society and only thinks of them as beasts. On the other hand, men have in response put forth an explanation of why the issue of power has influenced rape. The power play tactic deployed by women on their male counterparts is one of the many explanations that have been put forth. The proponents of this view have contended that females have increasingly reduced their sexual nature to commodity status. The analogy of ‘a Dog and a Biscuit’ has been used as an elaboration of this theory. Whereas the biscuit refers to the commodity nature of the sexual nature of women, the dog represents the men that have been left at the mercy of their female masters to determine when they are likely to receive the enticement. By using the said enticement as an intimidating tool, women have consequently defined the terms and conditions or the rules of engagement for intimacy that have left men vulnerable to resorting to rape. There have been popular advocacy in the social environment that accord women the right to dictate the terms and conditions of intimacy and therefore men are told to follow some form of training from their female counterparts. As a consequence of not following the training script to the latter, men have found themselves in the path of rape. Surprisingly enough for them, the law has also adopted this concept in the determination of sexual assault on women. Men have contended that the issue of consent has been broadened to capture the model of ‘Dog and Biscuit’ where women will ultimately determine what is voluntary and what is forceful. The two dimensions of power antagonisms in the issue of male female relationships may provide an insight in the issue of rape but may not conclusively serve as clear explanations as to why rape continues to flourish even in the century we live in today. Power has also been said to take effect in organizations and institutions. Whereas on one hand the rape victims are intimidated or promised some reward, on the other hand, some victims have been seen to have submitted to rape for material gains. For instance, a woman may allow unconsented intimacy with say; a member of the top management of the organization so that she gets promotion or even some good recommendation. In prisons, sodomy has been said to be flourishing not because of desire but as a means of showing dominance among elder or influential inmates. They try to exert their authority through intimidating other intimates into submission so that they are able to satisfy their ego and exert influence on the victims who are left helpless and in constant fear. Interestingly, this concept seems to be adopted by feminists in explaining the reason why men rape as have been discussed in this paper. Consent and Coercion Temkin and Ashworth (2004) have raised the challenge that is faced by investigators and law enforcing agents in the determination of consent as contained in The Sexual Offences Act 2003. Consent generally refers to the agreement by sexual partners to engage in intercourse. However, there are many factors in the issue of consent that has made this law controversial in the eyes of many. To begin, the law mostly describes rape as penetration by use of penis; in effect it eliminates the possibility of women raping their male counterparts except by way of being an accomplice or through coercing and individual to engage in sexual activity (Wykes and Welsh 2009). There are also issues dealing with the age of the person giving consent and therefore, an individual that may engage in a mutual intimacy with another may find himself in the hands of the law for raping his lover. There are also turns in the consent law because there are sections that have been added that approves the withdrawal of consent even if it was initially indicated. The issue of consent has therefore been able to redefine rape and therefore making all intimacy cases having the potential of being rape ordeals (Bancroft 2009). Whilst there are challenges in the law that establishes consent, it also plays an important part in eliminating rape cases. It promotes a consensual agreement between couples that engage in intimacy. Apart from the factors already mentioned in this paper on what determines rape, other factors may promote the vice in the world we live in today. For instance, culture has been identified as one of the major contributors of rape especially in the developing world. In some parts of the world, women are supposed to be submissive and are not given the authority of enjoying sex except that they satisfy their husbands. This is one of the major promoters of rape if the laws defining consent is followed. The women are only required to be available and so long as the man demands for intimacy, the preparedness of the woman is not taken into account. Conclusion Rape is a vice that should be condemned in the strongest sense by every sensible human being in the contemporary society we live in. It is also true that finding the root cause of this greater challenge for the developing as well as developed nations is important in eliminating it in the society. However, the arguments that have been put forth by feminists and other experts may be biased or based on extremist perceptions rather than on factual and practical foundations of intimacy and societal relations. It is true that sex has remained a power tool as well as a way of fulfilling deeply rooted human desires. However, the idea that one gender may need sexual gratification than the other is quite misleading. The law has changed over time to be able to comprehensively address the contemporary issue regarding to sexual assault (Howarth and Brown 2009). In the retrospect, there have been contradictions in the law especially regarding consent that need to be interpreted in good faith so that one party in the conceived intimacy power game does not take advantage of the other. This paper therefore concludes that rape is a result of a cross cutting motivational factors that may range from a mere lack of communication to a complex game between two individuals who may want to show their dominance over the other. Whereas men have been associated with many rape cases, it is important that the society recognizes that rape may be on either side and as the issue of homosexuality comes into fold, this matter might be complicated further. Bibliography Bancroft, J., 2009. Human Sexuality and Its Problems. Elsevier: Elsevier Health Sciences. Brownmiller, S., 1973. Against Our Will. Harmondsworth: Penguin Howarth, M.A.H and Brown, J., 2009 (eds). Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking. Devon: Willan Publishing Kelly, L., 1988. Surviving Sexual Violence. London: Basil Blackwell Lees, S., 2002. Carnal Knowledge: Rape on Trial, 2nd Edition. London: Women’s Press Levine, S. and Koenig, J., 1982. Why Men Rape: Interviews with Convicted Rapists. London: W.H.Allen Smart, C., 1995. Crime, Law and Sexuality. London: Sage Temkin, J. and Ashworth, A., 2004. The Sexual Offences Act 2003: rape, sexual assault and the problems of consent. Criminal Law Review, 328. Terry, K.J., Giotakos, O., Tsiliakou, M. and Ackerman, A.R., 2010. Sex Offenders: Rape and Child Sexual Abuse. In. J.Ferguson (eds) Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications. Ch. 11. Thousand Oaks: California: Sage Thornhill, R and Palmer, C., 2000. ‘Why Men Rape.’ Sciences, 40, (1), p30-36 Wykes, M. and Welsh, K., 2009. Violence, Gender & Justice. London: Sage. Read More