Is Rape Caused by Traditional Societal Sex Roles?
...aware of if one were to watch television. Also women are depicted as victims of violence on television and in movies. America is classified as a “rape- prone” society and in fact has the highest rape rate of any industrialized nation which tells us that no matter how much equality there appears to be among the sexes in the United States, there is still a tendency to follow strong male gender roles which encourage males to be dominant and aggressive and women to be submissive and inferior to men (Murnen, Wright, Kaluzny, 2002). Rape is seen as the personification of gender inequality as the act itself-expresses a male’s dominance and power. Gender role expectations and same sex identification are seen as reasons for why rape is accepted or at least condoned by most Americans. We tend to rationalize and justify rape by blaming the victim or blaming deep seeded male pathology. Although rape and sexual assault are illegal, it is still reported at an alarming rate in this country. Some studies of college campuses have shown anywhere from one quarter to three quarters of female respondents have been involved in some form of sexual transgression, but most of them did not report the incident either out of fear of reactions and consequences or did not think that the incident was an act of sexual assault or rape (Truman, Tokar, Fischer, 1996). This is an indicator that sexual assault against women is more prevalent than just the figures that are reported. Seeing that many of these unreported sexual assaults are conceived not to be acts of sexual assault by the victim goes to show that there is a tendency for acceptance of this male dominative behavior. Feminists tend to believe that the role of social processes train men to be aggressive in nature and dominant over the perceived inferior sex. This is a rather broad view of the cause of rape. In the feminist model one must look not at individual victims and perpetrators but on the society as a whole as proliferation of a system that is supportive of male dominance and the expression of it in rape. Many theories in the realm of psychology tend to see sexual aggression as an act of aggression and violence. There are other theories that see rape as simply a sexual act and a means of satisfying a sexual urge. There have been studies over the past 10 years that have taken men’s interest and attitudes about general sexual behavior in to account as causes and prediction variables of sexual aggressiveness rather than focusing on levels of hostility and aggression towards women (Wilson, Holm, Bishop, Kelly, Borowiak, 2002). There would reasonably be a correlation between highly sexually excited men and forced sexual encounters. It also stands to reason that those who are aroused by depictions of aggressive and even coercive sex would have a more rape supportive attitude if not a proclivity to be sexually aggressive themselves. Men tend to find forceful sexual activities exciting, and tend to be interested in rough sex, whether in practice or in an external form such as pornography. This form is usually consensual and the attraction is based on healthy aggression. On the other hand there are men who are attracted and find excitement in coercive sexual aggression. While one tends to be more acceptable to most, both can be predictors of sexual aggression that could lead to non-consensual sex. In a study by Wilson et al (2002), a group of men were subject to two sets of stimuli; both portraying aggressive and rough sexual acts, one that showed consent and another that showed resistance and non-consent. The men self reported sexual excitation when the stimulus was of the consensual form, but with the non-consensual, the responses showed an attraction to sexual aggression. This study tends to give the impression that men enjoy both sexual excitation and sexual aggression. It also seems to point to rape as being viewed primarily by the men as a sexual act and not as violence against women. These conclusions seem to suggest that most men are capable if not willing to engage in ...