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From: edhall@randvax.ARPA (Ed Hall)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Nothing ever happens to people unless they want it to
Message-ID: <1676@randvax.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 9-Feb-84 22:58:32 EST
Article-I.D.: randvax.1676
Posted: Thu Feb  9 22:58:32 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Feb-84 05:37:34 EST
References: <6452@watdaisy.UUCP>, <901@ut-sally.UUCP>
Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica
Lines: 41

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I don't think Sophie needs to back down from her statement implying
that many men are potential rapists.  From what I've seen it's very
hard to blame most women for worrying about this, at least in the
backs of their minds.

I'm going to have to dig through old copies of the LA Times to find
the reference (which I'll then post), but there have been studies
in which 1/3rd of a male college-aged population said they might
rape if they could be assured of not getting caught.  (As if the
victim wouldn't notice...)

Even if this figure seems a bit high, I suspect that there are few
women who have done much dating who haven't felt at least once
that they might be in immediate danger of being raped.  Of course,
in talking about it later they might hedge by saying that their
date was being a `bit too aggressive', or `wouldn't take ``no'' for
an answer'.

Such male behavior is considered `normal' in many circles.

We've sexualized violence in our culture; the evidence for this is
so pervasive that a lot of people deny that there could be anything
wrong with it.  (Television, cinema, magazines, popular music--any
mass media--shows our preoccupation with this.)  Sex is often seen
as a form of aggression.  And some of the more hostile men among us
rape as a result.  Others beat wives or girlfriends.  Not a
majority, by any means, but probably a good 10-15%.  (References
will be supplied for this, too--and there are a lot.)

No, John Quarterman, I don't think that just because women have
raped men in the past means that they should be equally worried (or
unworried, as you claim) as men.  The chance of a woman making a
violent sexual assault on me isn't much greater than that of my
getting struck by lightning.  But the odds of a woman getting raped
in her lifetime is variously put at from 1 out of 10 to 1 out of 3,
on the average.  Here in LA the figure is almost 1 out of 2. (Once
again, I'll provide references in a followup.)

		-Ed Hall
		decvax!randvax!edhall