I don’t think there would be many people who do not have strong feelings about how to deal with a person who commits sexual offences. Victims of these crimes do not come out unscathed and the mental and emotional ramifications are with them for many years. Feminist theory holds that rape is used as a tool in order to defeat and gain control of the victim and to reinforce patriarchy. There is no doubt in my mind that rape would be a horrendous and emotive experience and I believe there should be no acceptance or tolerance or indeed, justification of the rapist’s actions.
So what measures should be taken if any. Should the rapist be locked up for life to prevent them from acting on their impulses, or should help be forthcoming so that they understand their behavior, in other words provide constructive rehabilitation. If we think about this rationally, the truth is one day they will be released from prison, returning to a community, with the risk of re-offending. Is it possible for a rapist to understand their behavior and in so doing return to a community, changed in a positive way after rehabilitation. How lenient are you in your view of what is or what is not a suitable punishment, or perhaps no punishment at all.
Rape as a tool to reinforce patriarchy? Ha! I can kind of see how rape could be a mere desire for power, over sex - as many feminists claim, but a reinforcement of patriarchy? C’mon now. I doubt that most rapists are even familiar with terms like " Patriarchy ".
Well, of course, punishment should be severe for rapists, as society would not be able to function in two major regards, if rape was condonable, or treated lightly: 1.) Labor is fueled by libidinal energies, i.e., the male desire to acquire a mate. Men will work their asses off to make enough money, in order to attract maidens. If men could just appropriate women by brute force and not have to worry about grave ramifications, then they would not work as hard in the economical sphere; they would settle for more minimalistic lives; 2.) Women would not feel safe going to work and would have to constantly be protected. It just wouldn’t work. So, like I said, punishment for rape MUST be severe, in order to maintain societal order.
So, to answer your question, it would be conducive to lock rapists up for a significant amount of time, depending upon how severe and brutal the rape was.
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that it is often unclear if a rape took place. In many cases, unless there are witnesses and/or signs of violent struggle, it becomes a question of whether the sex was consensual or not … he said -she said … who should the court believe?
That lack of certainly has to play a role in determining appropriate punishments.
This is a great point and reminds me of a Youtube video I saw, where three black fellows were falsely accused of rape; the girl lied about being gang-raped, yet many people believed her. The three guys appeared on a TV show to discuss it, but much to their dismay, the largely bellicose female audience was still in the mind-set that the guys DID rape the girl. When the audience was allowed to ask questions to the fellows, the females spoke with such hostility and invective, still under the false belief that they raped the female, even though it was elaborately and emphatically stated that the girl lied about it.
The sexual culture of college often supports the notion that male sexual exploitation is an acceptable part of the college setting. In a sense, the concept of men practicing their sexually coercive behavior is a normal part of college life. In her seminal piece about rape on college campuses, Peggy Reeves Sanday (author of The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape: A Cross-Cultural Study) describes the culture of a fraternity, explaining that they enjoy superior status on campus, and because of that privileged social position, other young men are drawn to join them. In this context, it is logical to assume that sexually aggressive males will be most attracted to fraternities that are more likely to be aggressive in their sexual exploits and misogynistic in their beliefs.
Male sexual aggression is supported through peer contact, perpetuating a so called “rape culture”. In fact in a study of family violence, it states that rape is the creation and perpetuation of a male peer support model, where social support for rape and sexual aggression has a strong influence on a person, leading to the eventual sexual abuse of women. It is easy to see how this model can be applied to fraternities, with dozens of men supporting your every sexual exploit, all in the name of brotherhood.
A whole slew of feminist jargon, eh? First off, most universities are extremely liberal ( politically ) and there are all sorts of programs supporting feminism, cultural marxism, LGBT, etc, so this so called misogynistic/patriarchal aura that some claim to be prevalent on campuses is utter nonsense. Yes, males in fraternities have god-like social status in the university sphere; I’ve noticed this first hand, as my friend was part of one and when they threw frat parties, the girls were goo-goo gah-gah for the frat boys and even people associated with them. But this power doesn’t necessarily lead to exploitation, no more than the physical beauty of a woman leads to exploitation. Frat boys surely enjoy the copious amounts of fine maidens, who line up at their doors, but they ( the girls ) are willing participants, not sex-slaves.
I think [edit - feel] rapes should be avenged by the family of the victim. This is at least the most effective disincentive. But this also means leaving the justice system and let the family figure out what really happened. Only they should be protected in their right to enact such revenge. I am trying to unite two highly different principles, nature and justice. It’s probably not workable.
I do not know an answer to this. It is a situation where will and power are uniquely divided by a ravaging will. And in this sense it is most certainly an enactment and sanctification of a patriarchal order. But precisely therefore, the accusation of rape and its derivative; violation, is probably the most well used weapon against the the patriarchal influence – a benefit of this is the identification of the church as a rape temple.
I think it depends on the underlying cause and the individual in question. Generally, I think it’s possible, but sometimes even a severe punishment will not change the basic psychology.
That reminds me - I wonder what happened to these Indian guys after their public thrashing? … Were they forgiven and taken back … or are they now living under a rock somewhere? youtube.com/watch?v=dXOpytKwJfo
Sexually aggressive men, from convicted rapists to college males answering the same questions on social surveys, share a remarkably similar set of attitudes. Most believe that sexual aggression is normal, that sexual relationships involve game playing, that men should dominate women, that women are responsible for rape and that the relationships between men and women are adversarial and manipulative on both sides. The sexually aggressive men often expressed that they believe a woman’s No means Yes and that women say No to intercourse because they don’t want to appear promiscuous, but they are secretly hoping the man will force her as women have an unconscious desire to be raped.
Many women do have rape fetishes and similar things of that nature. Wonder why 50 Shades of Grey was a hit? And sexual aggression, or assertiveness, is not only normal, but healthy - indicative of virility. Should men be the opposite of sexually-agressive? Would women find that sexy? Ha! Many women LOVE bold and aggressive men. I remember one time when I was in Mexico and just met a girl at a festival. After 3 minutes of talking to her, I confidently moved my hand over to hers and held it ( we were seated on a bench ). I didn’t ask her if I could hold her hand - I just did it. And she smiled and didn’t resist. We started to date after that, and when I asked her what she liked about me the most, when we first met, she said that she liked how I bravely grabbed her hand and held it - she liked how I was decisive and assertive.
When I refer to “Sexually Aggressive” I am referring to the potentially violent behaviour focussed on gratifying sexual drives, which in reality, are only a small minority of any group of people, whether it be a college campus or a serial rapist. I am asking if it is possible for this group to be able to change their awareness of the norms and misperceptions that foster a rape supportive culture. I am not referring to the male bystander, who is willing to intervene when witnessing inappropriate (violent behavior) dating situations.
There are women, who also resort to this sexual aggressive abuse.
Yes - they could alter their behavior, become more aware and empathetic. It’s possible. I don’t think the hardcore rapists would, but the less intense ones, yes - they could change.
Rape is not just about power although you do need power to fulfill the act for obvious reasons.
Rape is about fulfilling natural, instinctual, emotional, and biological desires of sexual intercourse something of which cannot be shut off like that of a switch.
Rape is born out of sexual deprivation, social isolation, and denied fulfillment.
Rape is done by individuals that are unable to fulfil those natural desires by any conventional or socially acceptable means.
Rape is not about patriarchy which sounds like politically correct idiocy by anybody who says that it is.
In fact within many patriarchic cultures or societies rape has always been punishable by death.
Last exit to Brooklyn, this film got under my skin.
It is about a prostitute who fleeces her customers and is ultimately gang raped. I agree no one, hooker or not should be forced to partake in any sexual activity. Before I moved to the country I lived in a suburb, that was notorious for prostitution, drugs, homosexuality, homeless and mentally challenged people. Despite this or because of it I met some interesting and warm hearted people with many interesting stories to tell. I had the opportunity to talk with some of the girls and the damage done to them is overwhelming. Something is lost. The main object is to get money to continue a drug habit and they go to any lengths to get. They steal from their clients and generally have no respect or affection for men in general. I have seen them fight with their pimps and when someone tries to intervene, they object, it is a world the average person would not understand. Then on the other hand, what courage they have.