Why does Rape exist?
- Thread starter Vault101
- Start date
rape is a evolutionary accepted form of passing on ones genes that in many humans has been perverted into something less about procreation and more about dominance(though truth be told i dont understand the dominance motivation but i do understand the motivation to pass on genes)
Yeah, it's odd to see how many people think it's about the sex and nothing else.AccursedTheory said:
I'm unhappy with this word. 'Why' implies a motive, which isn't really the point of evolution.Vault101 said:
However!, I'll give myself the detriment of the doubt and presume that I'm being far too literal. So, for the question "How does rape exist?", I'd imagine that, seeing as those who reproduce are the ones who pass on their traits (genetically and socially), then out of those members of our species who couldn't 'get lucky', the ones who didn't resort to rape would be excluded from the gene pool. So from the perspective of natural selection, the 'fittest' isn't the best, or the most altruistic, the 'fittest' is the one who reproduces, which would be the ones having sex. Other beneficial factors don't matter if you don't have sex (unless you consider social evolution, in which case you could be the altruistic uncle that changes the course of history by appreciating his nephew's art, preventing a genocide).
So yeah, survival of the fittest doesn't mean survival of the best, just the survival of those with traits that promote reproduction, from good looks to the lack of social inhibitions that would stop others from raping members of the opposite sex.
No it is not! Rape is not about mating. For mating to work properly both parties, the male and the female, have to be willing participants. That's why most other species, esp. other mammals, have elaborate mating and courtship routines. If it was simply a matter of picking a female a boinking her, whether she wanted you to or not, those afor mentioned routines wouldn't be present.iblis666 said:
I once worked as a translator for a group that dealt with male violence. That included domestic violence, rape, and violence against other men. What I learnt from that experience is that it is primarily about dominance, power, and the need to control. When you think about it those terms, the impulse to rape and pillage during wars both old and new - like the Battle of Badajoz during the Napoleonic wars, the Nanking Massacre of WW2, or more recent atrocities in Sudan - makes more "sense" than if it was merely about sexual release. Sorry, tangent...
OT: In my opinion, most men who rape have low self-esteem issues and/or control issues. They might of course seem to have tremendous self-confidence, but that's usually common in people with low self-esteem. Thus they need to assert themselves over other people, and rape is tool to do just that.
There is also what I might call "accidental rape", where the man doesn't set out to rape, but due to misunderstanding or inebriation ends up raping their girlfriend/wife/one-night-stand anyway. In those cases the men sometimes don't know they raped anyone until they get arrested.
Need I say I hate the whole "No really means yes" thing? Men need to stop assuming that it's true, and women need to stop saying no when they really mean yes just so they can feel like good girls. If you want it say YES. If you're not sure say NO instead of waffling.
/rant
EDIT: Oh, from an EVOLUTIONARY perspective. That's what I get for speed reading I guess. Well, I suppose it could have been way to establish dominance over a conquered tribe as well as to make sure one's tribe's genetic material had a better chance to thrive - ad even that has an element of humiliation aimed at the conquered to it.
OT: In my opinion, most men who rape have low self-esteem issues and/or control issues. They might of course seem to have tremendous self-confidence, but that's usually common in people with low self-esteem. Thus they need to assert themselves over other people, and rape is tool to do just that.
There is also what I might call "accidental rape", where the man doesn't set out to rape, but due to misunderstanding or inebriation ends up raping their girlfriend/wife/one-night-stand anyway. In those cases the men sometimes don't know they raped anyone until they get arrested.
Need I say I hate the whole "No really means yes" thing? Men need to stop assuming that it's true, and women need to stop saying no when they really mean yes just so they can feel like good girls. If you want it say YES. If you're not sure say NO instead of waffling.
/rant
EDIT: Oh, from an EVOLUTIONARY perspective. That's what I get for speed reading I guess. Well, I suppose it could have been way to establish dominance over a conquered tribe as well as to make sure one's tribe's genetic material had a better chance to thrive - ad even that has an element of humiliation aimed at the conquered to it.
AccursedTheory said:
Yeah. It's a problem that's not even exclusive to this. You know, the mindset that Rape is all about the sex, depression is when you're feeling bummed, ect.
Ignorant people will be ignorant, I guess.
No it's not "simple as" because that's fairly wrong. Sure some date rapes probably happen because of desire. Most violent rapes have little if anything to do with pure sexual attraction. There might be some attraction that triggers the obcession but it always plays a back seat to other factors.bahumat42 said:
Dogs show dominance the same why. You don't really think when a female dog humps your leg that the ***** is trying to pass on her genes. Male dos often hump other male dogs for the same reason.iblis666 said:
keep thinking that even though in nature there are countless examples to the contrary hell just for example there is a fish that has a elaborate mating ritual but as soon as the female drops her eggs for the courting male another male will swoop in and deposit his seed as well fertalizing some of themcanadamus_prime said:
Well let me BIG TIME preface myself here by saying that I strongly disapprove of rape, that said, I can see how it would be an evolutionarily beneficial strategy for the male involved. See, for women it is, from an evolutionary perspective, strongly beneficial to select the optimal mate, one bearing good genes and who will stay to help raise the child, because for women the time and energy investment in having a child is more than a little bigger than it is for men. For men, however, while playing into that (IE, becoming the perfect mate) can be an adaptive strategy, another very adaptive strategy can simply be to mate as many times as possible. A male who commits rape doesn't have to stay around to raise the child, in the mere act of forcing impregnation he has achieved his evolutionary goal, and is free to move on and impregnate another woman. While these children have a lower rate of survival, because they won't have the same level of care, in the mere act of increasing the number of times he mates (and as a result, the number of children he has) the male has found a strategy which will pass the gene which lead to the mental state which predisposed him to rape.
Now that's not to say that there are not other reasons. There most definitely are societal and psychological issues that play into rape as we see it today.
Whatever the reasons, it's an ugly phenomenon. It's unfortunate that it is a part of our evolutionary history as a species, but unfortunately nothing has ever been prevented merely because it was unfortunate.
Now that's not to say that there are not other reasons. There most definitely are societal and psychological issues that play into rape as we see it today.
Whatever the reasons, it's an ugly phenomenon. It's unfortunate that it is a part of our evolutionary history as a species, but unfortunately nothing has ever been prevented merely because it was unfortunate.
That's a pretty scary reality. Like I said it'll happen if the person thinks they can get away with it. Which is the case with people that are trusted. Probably lots of rapes that never go unreported. Loved ones are supposed to prevent this sort of thing which is why it's deviant and done only in secret. If humans were solitary animals it might evolve to be a form of mating(messed up, I know).Rem45 said:
I don't understand the mind of a rapist but I'm pretty sure it's about dominance and spreading DNA, both in humans and other animals.
I don't like jokes about it either.
It may be a way to show dominance but it evolved that way because the dominant who raped were the ones who had the most children.
I think that's the heart of the issue.
I think that's the heart of the issue.
Because some people are fucked in the head. That's the only reasonable answer to the question franklyVault101 said:
from mabye a natural or evolutionry pespective why does rape exist? has it got somthing to do with family bonds?
Not really sure what family bonds have to do with anything, but biological theory pretty much says people rape to spread their seed and continue the existence of the species. Rape isn't human exclusive, you can see it in numerous other animals species.
Mabye the definition of "rape" was very different in prehistoric times, do you supose it was still traumatic then?
I don't see why it wouldn't be. What changed recently that made people not like being violated in the most intimate, personal manner?
At least it proves that they're mentally stable enough that they can't grasp the real reason? Maybe? I guess?katsumoto03 said:
Seriously guys, it's not about "sexy lady, me want, me take." I know a lot of women who think this too. Some of them even think that dressing in frumpy clothes is enough to deter rape. I do my best to set them straight whenever I can, because that's just terrible.