Discussion Why are men mostly the perpetrators of sexual violence?

[nigelhernandez]

This question popped into my head as I came across link this question on Reddit. It was of a woman who received a Facebook request at night from a police officer after having reported something stolen. People in the comments say they themselves know women or have experienced similar things from men

Now granted, that's at the very minor end of things in terms of sexual harrasment but it begs the question, why is it that it's mostly men who do this? I know that culturally, female on male harassment is played down by society and even men themselves may fail to acknowledge it but one can't deny that the majority of sexual attention from one gender to another is men on women whether it's verbal or physical harassment. So what is it? Is it how men are raised, biology or a mixture of both?

 

[GrumpyFrog]

I think it's a cultural thing. For men, having sex with an attractive woman is seen as a victory of a sort, a reinforcement of their self-esteem, while it is just not the same for women, society has barely moved on from judging women from having sex out of wedlock at all. You don't usually see women bragging about having casual sex with a hot guy, that is deemed socially unacceptable. For some men, their self-esteem becomes directly tied to their sexual activity, and that makes them willing to go out of their way to get more sexually active, up to doing really questionable things.

 

[Matthias_k]

Because the majority of their functional brain is situated in their dick ? I know it, I'm a guy.

 

[ghostspace]

Because the majority of their functional brain is situated in their dick ? I know it, I'm a guy.

I know you probably didn't mean this seriously or meant it as a joke, but that's kind of a cop out. (not for you personally but for men who commit acts of sexual violence).

 

[Valon]

Men have a much, much higher sex drive than women, and that's honestly all there is to it. There is no denying biology. Rape has been around since the dawn of humanity and many of our ancestors were the product of it.

Obviously I'm not condoning it, that shit has a huge psychological impact on victims. Men are absolutely responsible for their actions, however if it weren't for that powerful sex drive, humanity would have become extinct long ago.

 

[grungeCat]

Because the majority of their functional brain is situated in their dick ? I know it, I'm a guy.

100% agree with you. It's literally truth. I'm a guy too.

 

[Fragile]

Because in nature, consensual sex is not a requirement for procreation, and humans are still just another animal that has these urges.

It's a sad reality, but that's how it is. Even on animal species that have evolved to form bonds and choose their partners, there are still lots of rapes.

At least we have evolved to identify things like rape and murder as a something negative, but some people still follow their basic instincts without even considering the suffering of others.

 

[Final Escape]

This question popped into my head as I came across link this question on Reddit. It was of a woman who received a Facebook request at night from a police officer after having reported something stolen. People in the comments say they themselves know women or have experienced similar things from men

Now granted, that's at the very minor end of things in terms of sexual harrasment but it begs the question, why is it that it's mostly men who do this? I know that culturally, female on male harassment is played down by society and even men themselves may fail to acknowledge it but one can't deny that the majority of sexual attention from one gender to another is men on women whether it's verbal or physical harassment. So what is it? Is it how men are raised, biology or a mixture of both?

I think it could be some biology, but also they can be raised with abuse and conditioned. They form beliefs and ideas about women in childhood that reduce women to being a sexual object or less deserving of respect, and not equal. It's only a certain percentage of men who are stunted developmentally in this way to become abusers. It is not normal. I think the use of porn makes this more prevalent. Also when women become seen as sexual objects they attract more of this negative behavior from men. I'm not saying dressing sexy should not be allowed but expect predatory people to notice u more and u can become a target. There is a thing called misogyny in men and it is formed because the mother abused them in their early years. In some cultures rape and violence on women is more extreme. Other cultures moved to respect women more and I'm not sure why that is but that's what it meant to have civilization. You don't abuse or rape women and children and sex has to be consensual. The reason human beings are not animals was because we were able to make this leap to understand that rape is wrong and so is pedophilia. It is a violation against another person and causes great harm to them. However some people are not as developed to behave in a prosocial ways.

 

[GrumpyFrog]

Because in nature, consensual sex is not a requirement for procreation, and humans are still just another animal that has these urges.

I don't know...In nature, there isn't really a problem with lack of consent because for most species there is simply no difference which male or female to mate with, and the females are attracted to all males when they are fertile, and not attractive to males when they are not. And the species that do have more complex social structure and mating rituals normally don't rape, at least not nearly at a scale humans do.

 

[Final Escape]

I don't know...In nature, there isn't really a problem with lack of consent because for most species there is simply no difference which male or female to mate with, and the females are attracted to all males when they are fertile, and not attractive to males when they are not. And the species that do have more complex social structure and mating rituals normally don't rape, at least not nearly at a scale humans do.

Actually the animals do not mate with just any other animal of the same species. The females do choose some males over other males because of the hierarchy. Or select for the healthiest or best genes, highest status male. It's the same as with humans but the only difference with human beings is that we try to ensure that the male will stick around and provide which alters how a human female will choose. Women will also consider other factors besides wether the guy has best genes, but will he stick around and provide. So sometimes women will not choose the most attractive partner but the one that can provide the most resources which enhances that the offspring will survive. Often the highest status males will not commit to just one woman or tend to see multiple women.

 

[GrumpyFrog]

Actually the animals do not mate with just any other animal of the same species. The females do choose some males over other males because of the hierarchy.

Some species indeed do have a hierarchy. Some don't, it depends.

It's the same as with humans but the only difference with human beings is that we try to ensure that the male will stick around and provide which alters how a human female will choose. Women will also consider other factors besides wether the guy has best genes, but will he stick around and provide. So sometimes women will not choose the most attractive partner but the one that can provide the most resources which enhances that the offspring will survive.

That makes sense to an extent, but if we stick to this theory, how come some women are not attracted to men at all?

 

[Final Escape]

Some species indeed do have a hierarchy. Some don't, it depends.


That makes sense to an extent, but if we stick to this theory, how come some women are not attracted to men at all?

It could be antidepressant medication, some negative event in childhood, or even repeated negative events with opposite sex, social conditioning, birth control can kill desire. It's become more common now than decades ago. I think that social engineering has made more women shy away from men because they are having negative experiences. Men are also shying away from women because the gender dynamics are turning men off to women. Women are becoming masculinized and men feminized. This turns the sexes off to each other. Men have less testosterone now than generations in the past. Women are conditioned to be independent of men and focus on career. Basically they want us to not reproduce so it makes sense. That's why such a big push to contracept on everyone too.

 

[Fragile]

I don't know...In nature, there isn't really a problem with lack of consent because for most species there is simply no difference which male or female to mate with, and the females are attracted to all males when they are fertile, and not attractive to males when they are not.

This is very inaccurate, some animals have complex mating rituals that allow them to choose a partner depending on their looks or performance, and not all females are attracted to all males when they are fertile, it depends on the species and on many other factors.

And the species that do have more complex social structure and mating rituals normally don't rape, at least not nearly at a scale humans do.

To say that they don't rape just because they have a complex social structure is wrong, primates have very complex societies and they rape like crazy, and it's the same with many other species like dolphins, ducks, even seals. I don't know what make's you think that humans rape more than other animals, but if you have sources on it please share them, I couldn't find any.

 

[HowSoonIsNow]

Misogyny

 

[Chupacabra 44]

Testosterone, or T for short if you prefer.

 

[262653]

I said recently that men are looking for quantity while women are looking for quality. (With an evolutionary explanation but personal observations correspond with that too.) I think that means that if we take a woman and a man randomly from the whole human population, there's a higher likelihood that rando man would like rando woman, than the other way around. (If there is a conflict of interest, it's more likely that a man is the one who's more likely to want to have sex, and a woman is the one who doesn't want.) Then there is the power disparity, generally men are physically stronger than women, so... here we are.

I guess some could introduce other variables, but I don't know much about how they influence the situation. Feel free to add anything you like, or don't like.

Law (rules) is an interesting variable here. On one hand the third power is introduced which may discourage (with punishment) the rapists from committing sexual assaults. On the other, would it be harder for a rapist to get away with sexual violence than for a victim to get away with mutilation or murder? It's not clear to me which side has an advantage here.

There was something else I wanted to say, but I forgot what it was.

 

[MrBlue]

I think men tend to have higher sex drives, and are maybe under more pressure (real or imagined) to have sex than women are. Obviously not excusing it though, guys that put having their short term satisfaction over another persons right to basic respect are fucked in the head. It could be that women perpetrate more sexual violence than is recorded/known, and it just not recognised as such. Though I'm definitely not an expert on it.

 

[ForcedLifeResistant]

I'm not gonna claim that I know why but it makes a certain kind of sense to me.

In a state of nature, there's no contraception and no infrastructure in place to facilitate safe abortions. Your average human male will be able to conceive far often than any human female in the same amount of time. All of this has been true since anatomical modernity, some 200,000-300,000 years ago, and modern society has, more or less, halted evolution (or, at least, some of its mechanisms, such as natural selection). What that likely means is that behavior that our evolutionary history has predisposed us to (i.e. that has been selected for) is still exhibited by us. This includes males trying to mate with as many females as possible, by whatever means, as this provides an evolutionary advantage in the short term (particularly when contraceptive practices and intentional pregnancy termination are not factors).

Our interpersonal and sociocultural practices have become more sophisticated as we've further approached (in the developed world) a post-scarcity existence. Courtship is often a more involved and protracted undertaking than it would have been in the prehistoric times from which we emerged (i.e. more energy is being expended in attempts to find a mate).

Someone mentioned sex drive. One might call it a biological imperative. Instinct, even. However you choose refer to it, I think there may well be some type of compulsion - a holdover from prehistory - that's generally found in men to spread their seeds as far as possible and that this compulsion may be stronger, sometimes much more so, in some men than in others. A man in whom this compulsion is strongest may perpetrate acts of sexual violence, as there's no other way to mate as often as he's compelled to without expending energy he'd need to hunt, evade, fend off other animals, etc.

 

[Masonfight]

Men have much high sex drives. It's also because they have much more of a physical ability. You don't hear about men going for a jog only to be plucked off the tail and raped. I'm sure there's some crazy things here and there but it's pretty basic to me. There is also the societal and probably genetic make up that makes men want to conquer more than women generally speaking. Add those elements and testosterone the math becomes clear.

 

[deadbeat]

Men rape for control and power, not because of their sex drive.

 

[StringPuppet]

Has men having higher sex drives ever even been proven? I feel like that's just something people came up with back in the old days before people started to realize that women do indeed like sex just as much as men (a fact a lot of men still have trouble accepting).

 

[Masonfight]

You two bozos are seriously telling me women might have a higher or equal sex drive than men! If that was the case many divorces wouldn't happen. And yeah I'll say it- many rapes wouldn't happen. Men have testosterone and rods. Women have estrogen. Do the math.

And, just in case, for the record I'm 100% against rape. No woman deserves to be raped. But I do understand why it happens. Doesn't make it right ever.

 

[StringPuppet]

You guys are seriously telling me women might have a higher or equal sex drive to men! If that was the case many divorces wouldn't happen. And yeah I'll say it- many rapes wouldn't happen. It's anatomy!

Having a high sex drive doesn't mean someone is more prone to be a rapist. Most people with high sex drives just get involved in a lot of hook-ups or whatever, and just jack-off if they can't. As deadbeat said it's about power and control. Rapists get off on exerting power over vulnerable women, allowing them to do things to women that any regular person would be repulsed and turned off by no matter how horny they are.

Frankly I think blaming it on men having higher sex drives paints men in a worse light than I'm sure you guys intended.

 

[Masonfight]

Having a high sex drive doesn't mean someone is more prone to be a rapist. Most people with high sex drives just get involved in a lot of hook-ups or whatever, and just jack-off if they can't. As deadbeat said it's about power and control. Rapists get off on exerting power over vulnerable women, allowing them to do things to women that any regular person would be repulsed and turned off by no matter how horny they are.

Frankly I think blaming it on men having higher sex drives paints men in a worse light than I'm sure you guys intended.

It's just a numbers and ability statistic. 99% of men (I'm guessing) don't rape. Most wouldn't even want to. However, men have a higher sex drive. Couple that with ability, 1 out of a certain percentage will rape. That's the number that started this thread. Men rape; woman can't even if they wanted. However, even so, they desire less. It's really basic.

 

[StringPuppet]

It's just a numbers and ability statistic. 99% of men (I'm guessing) don't rape. Most wouldn't even want to. However, men have a higher sex drive. Couple that with ability, 1 out of a certain percentage will rape. That's the number that started this thread. Men rape; woman can't even if they wanted. However, even so, they desire less. It's really basic.

Unfortunately it's not that simple. Plenty of rapes are committed via date rape drugs (they're called that for a reason), and most of them are committed by people the victim knew personally. All evidence points to rape being more about abuse of power. If 99% of men (hopefully) aren't rapists then don't you think the need to control is what separates rapists from regular men with high sex drives?

 

[Masonfight]

Nope. It's 100% connected. That part in human make up. If you took 1,000 random men and said rape a woman or die; a certain number would do it. If you flipped the equation and asked the same question does anyone remotely think more women than men would rape. Nope.

 

[StringPuppet]

Nope. It's 100% connected. That part is in our make up. If you took 1,000 random men and said rape a woman or die; a certain number would do it. If you flipped the equation and asked the same question does anyone remotely think more women than me would rape. Nope.

Spoiler

Whew this is one wild post. All I can say is speak for yourself then because I have never seen evidence that it's "in our makeup" but plenty of evidence that rape is about control. Your little experiment would produce vastly different results based on the power dynamics between women and men in different cultures.

 

[Masonfight]

And in which culture would women out number men in the rape department?

 

[StringPuppet]

And in which culture would women out number men in the rape department?

Unfortunately there have been many societies throughout history that have placed women lower than men power wise because of biological differences so that's hard to answer, but my point wasn't really to give an answer because a experiment like that is a lose-lose scenario for men and women. The real point is that rapists should be held accountable for their actions and saying some men are just naturally rapists seems to take away that accountability don't you think? If a certain number of men are just expected to be rapists how could we ever expect to lower that number?

 

[Gentleman]

It's a combination of environment and genetics but mostly environment with the 2 main culprits being culture and society.