One of the major social problems facing the contemporary society is the increasing incidences of rape cases; an estimated more than quarter of a million individuals fall victim of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault each year with the majority of the victims being females (Brownmiller, 1975).
This is followed by detrimental psychological consequences, physical harm, and emotional havoc on the subsequent life of the individual and in some cases, rape causes death. Rape has negative implications not only to its victims but the society at large. This has led to increased attention being directed toward this issue with researchers and scholars seeking explanations as to why human beings engage in this social deviant behavior.
Facts as presented by Thornhill and Palmer (2000)
Major controversy has risen in the attempt to explain this social deviant behavior since different scholars hold different opinions.
Thornhill and Palmer (2000) argue that rape is not merely an act geared towards violence against women but should also be viewed as a biologically driven behavior where men resort to this kind of act as the only means through which they can gain access to women. In addition, the writers view rape as resulting from evolution where men resort to rape as an adaptation or a consequence of adaptation.
Facts as presented by Brownmiller (1975)
Brownmiller (1975) argues that rape results from the prevalent male-female struggle in the society where men seek to reclaim their perceived social status and domination through humiliation and degradation of women and this may take the form of rape which serve to display their physical power over women. In addition, the writer argues that the sole motivation of rape as aimed at oppressing, dehumanizing, and degrading women.
The opinions of Thornhill and Palmer
Thornhill and Palmer approached the issue of rape at a rather controversial orientation where they attempted to give biological explanations of rape through the Darwinian theory of evolution.
From Darwinian perspective, all types of animals have evolved to produce healthy children that transmit genetic legacy to other generations and all the animals born without traits that promote reproduction have become extinct while those that reproduced succeeded their genes to posterity (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
The writers seek to justify this theorem by highlighting that other animal species also engage in rape. Consequently, Thornhill and Palmer (2000) concluded that sex is highly motivated by evolution whereby the animals that engaged in sex more produced more offspring relative to the sexually inactive animals.
The writers seek to explain rape as resulting from the cost incurred by men in order to gain legitimate access to women which has continually increased over time. Previously, natural selection favored men who engaged in sexual encounters more often since this promoted procreation while women who took the time to choose their mate gave rise to healthy children (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
The contemporary society is also characterized by large costs incurred by males when trying to impress ladies who have become very choosy; consequently, men opt for rape as an option to gain access to women and a chance to transmit their genetic material to a possible offspring (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
The opinion of Brownmiller (1975)
On the other hand, Brownmiller (1975) views rape as resulting from the theory of aggressive male domination over women which gives rise to man’s desire to maintain access to the women and to be the physical instrument governing impregnation, progeny as well as inheritance rights. The male species seek to intimate and abuse women since most societies are patriarchal, which further serves to empower men.
Further, the writer asserts that the prevalent anti-female propaganda and the society’s failure to contain these deeply entrenched norms significantly promote tolerance of a culture that allows for sexual hostility that is directed towards women as well as forming a barrier to women empowerment.
Strengths of Thornhill and Palmer
Thornhill and Palmer (2000) explained rape as resulting from evolution and this has been evident in the numerous cases of rape have been reported among socially disenfranchised men who have limited resources or status.
In addition, men have been reported to engage in rape crimes in situations where the costs appeared to be low such as in instances where the woman was alone and unprotected or the man had physical control over the woman (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
The argument that men have succeeded in passing their genes through rape in the past consequently promoting the behavior in subsequent generations depicts rape as a reproductive strategy. However, rape may have developed as a side of other adaptations such as an overdeveloped sex drive or a male desire to mate with numerous females (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
The fact that a male is able to seek and maintain sexual arousal when forcing himself into an unwilling woman remains unique to the male human species according to the researches done, which suggests that human males may have developed psychological mechanisms enabling them to engage in forced copulation consequently depicting rape as an adaptation (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
Their explanation is further proven by the fact that rape poses threat mostly to women in child bearing age and the percentage of rape victims in reproductive women is higher relative to post reproductive women and children (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000).
Weaknesses of Thornhill and Palmer (2000)
However, there is lack of adequate research required to prove that rape is an adaptation or by product of other social or other sexual adaptations as suggested by these writers. The writers need to prove their assertion that rape is an adaptation or a product of adaptation by demonstrating that men constitute genes that are prevalent as a result of rape and these genes have to exist for reasons that are completely unrelated to rape.
Strengths of Brownmiller
Brownmiller (1975) depicts rape not as impulsive lust but as a deliberate hostile degradation of women by men who seek to conquer. Intimidate and inflict fear on the female gender.
This is evident in the society’s dominating culture which promotes the attitudes aiming at oppressing women consequently providing men with an ideology and psychological encouragement driving them to commit such acts of aggression unconscious of the extent to which they have committed a moral wrong and the damage they have inflicted on the woman (Brownmiller, 1975).
It is evident that most societies have served to promote oppression of women by suppressing any efforts geared towards eliminating such practices. Brownmiller (1975) identifies the hindrance to such efforts as not embedded on the gender roles in the society but resulting from the portrayals of the female body as a sexual object which promote female degradation and consequently boosts the male ego.
The writer further addresses pornography, a factor commonly associated with increased rape and refers to it as a male invention geared towards dehumanizing women and is a form of undiluted essence of anti female propaganda.
The writer depicts hardcore pornography as a cynical exploitation of the female species which has the effect of making the woman feel ashamed and exposed while the men seek to derive the sense of power from these films by viewing women as panting playthings which they can use, abuse and break (Brownmiller, 1975). These explanations can serve to explain the correlation between pornography and rape in the modern society.
Weaknesses of Brownmiller
However, as much as the male species have served to promote rape in society, we should also acknowledge the role of men in the efforts for reducing cases of rape in various societies. Men have served to protect women against rape and some have pioneered reforms in the criminal justice system advocating for more harsh punishments to be inflicted on rapists.
Weaknesses of Thornhill and Palmer
The theory by Thornhill and Palmer attempting to explain rape as resulting from evolution fails to explain why cases of rape are still prevalent in a contemporary society prevalent with prostitution where men can have sexual access to women for a fee. Further, numerous cases of rape have been reported among married couples and dating people which nullifies failure to access women as a major motivation towards rape.
Personal views
In my view therefore, men decide to rape women in an attempt to reclaim control of superior positions that they perceive to hold in society and can only achieve this notion by gross violation of the women’s rights through rape as proposed by Brownmiller (1975).
Modern research
Modern research has nullified the previous false notions that victims are likely to be raped by complete strangers by revealing numerous cases of rape incidences by partners and spouses.
In addition, the modern research lacks enough evidence to support that rape evolved from adaptation efforts. However, significant number of contemporary research views rape as evolutionary in history rather than a consequence of socialization in a patriarchal society.
Conclusion
Rape is a major social problem facing the society today and scholars have attempted to give various explanations for the behavior. While there is no single explanation that may adequately explain why people rape, all scholars agree that rape is a morally wrong behavior which negatively impacts on the victims and the society at large and therefore it should be avoided at all costs.
Reference List
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: men, women and rape, New York: Simon and Schuster.
Thornhill, R., & Palmer, C. T. (2000). A natural history of rape: Biological bases of sexual coercion. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.