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From: lindsay@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (Donald Lindsay)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,soc.men,soc.women,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Rape a reproductive advantage?
Message-ID: <616@PT.CS.CMU.EDU>
Date: 10 Jan 88 00:36:51 GMT
References: <517@gtx.com> <5129@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> <2201@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
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In article <2201@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> joe@athena.mit.edu (Joseph C Wang) writes:
>Forced copulation in humans and ducks are completely different phenomenon.

This simply isn't correct.

Monogamy is a reasonable strategy for living and for child raising. Its wide
presence in both birds and mammals demonstrates that it has a fundamental
advantage. But, this implies the existence of bachelors, who will not
reproduce at all, unless they rape. Now that we have this insight, field
researchers have reexamined notes, and made new observations, and sure
enough, rape is seen. It would be presumptous of us to think that we stand
apart from this pattern: "we aren't animals, after all!".

If it was just mallards, well, we do act very differently from mallards.
But, if it's a broad observation about higher animals, with a reasonable
logic going for it, then I think it does apply to us. Not as an overt thing,
of course: the rapist does not think in these terms. But, the mallard didn't
either.

This is sad, and not too useful, until we notice the "rerape" that mallards
do. (The husband has a quick shot at getting his genes in there before the
invading ones have beat him to the egg.) Suddenly, we have an explanation
for the way that rape victims are often treated, by police, by boyfriends,
and by courts. 
-- 
	Don		lindsay@k.gp.cs.cmu.edu    CMU Computer Science