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From: inspect@blic.BLI.COM (Mfg Inspection)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Rape a reproductive advantage?
Summary: justification
Message-ID: <146@blic.BLI.COM>
Date: 21 Jan 88 20:32:04 GMT
References: <517@gtx.com> <248@nancy.UUCP> <6852@ihlpa.ATT.COM> <144@blic.BLI.COM> <2403@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
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Organization: Britton Lee, Los Gatos, CA
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In article <2403@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>, lazarus@athena.mit.edu (Michael Friedman) writes:
> In article <144@blic.BLI.COM> inspect@blic.BLI.COM (Mfg Inspection) writes:
 
> >Whether it is rationalised as biological, hereditary, sociological,
> >psychological, reproductive, dominating behaviour, or whatever, it [rape]
> >is not justified. 
 
> I don't think a single poster has said it was. What we have been
> pointing out is that rape is evolutionarily advantageous and that is
> why it occurs, not because of society or politics or male domination
> of females.

The justification is implied, perhaps unconciously, that since animals engage
in rape behaviour it is NATURAL and REPRODUCTIVE, the biological equivalent 
of "lie back and enjoy it ladies" because it is just a natural and normal
biological function.  Many posters have brought up the issue of the rapists'
choice of prepubescent children, postmenopausal women, other men, and the
acts of sodomy and fellatio, NONE of which lead to pregnancy. That seduction
and/or committment are far more likely to produce conditions more conducive
to reproduction among animals, including humans, seems to be beside the point.
The vociferousness of the "rape is a reproductive function" faction seems a
thinly veiled justification for perverted behavior. Chalk it up to biology!
If rape is so reproductively advantageous why do not more women use it to 
concieve? There is a biological, not the least intellectual, desire on the
part of women to have children whether the woman indulges in that desire or
not. Given that drive it is surprising to me that more men are not raped by
women. (Men who are seduced into liaisons with women and find themselves in
paternity court have only themselves to blame. They could have used a con-
dom. Evenso, no physical injury has been dealt the man by the woman, so we
cannot call this physical rape. Financial rape, ok, but I don't think there
is an animal model for financial rape, though ducks do have bills.) Yes, 
women do rape and it is traumatic to the man and it is an attack at the core
of his being. Is there an animal model for female rapists? But where is the
reproductive component of rape if the rapist kills his victim? And where is
the data linking rape with reproductive desires? Who did the research and
what is the bias of the researcher? If rape occurs with unimpregnable vic-
tims and the victims are sometimes killed, it seems there is a larger com-
ponent of domination than reproduction. 

Regarding other postings:
As to why researchers do not study female rape, up to recent years MOST re-
searchers were men. Females raping men, practicing on men what men practiced
on females (read weaker persons), is very threatening to the dominant sex.
Denial is often preferable to reality. Male aggression is natural and rape 
is one manifestation. Females are aggressive, as well, but the same social
conditioning that encourages aggression in males denies and punishes it in
females. Females learn that seduction works very well and they do not often
resort to rape. It is difficult to make a study on a tiny population and
female rapists are a tiny population.