The Mythology of Rape
2. A second myth is that all rapist are pathologically sick and perverted men. Evidence does not support this view of the rapist. According to Dr. Amir, men convicted of rape were found to have normal sexual personalities, differing from the norm only in their greater tendency to express violence and rage. Sex, therefore, is not the motivating factor in rape, it is merely the chosen mode of expression. Alan Taylor, a parole officer who has worked with rapist in the prison facilities at San Luis Obsipo, California, said about the men, "those men were the most normal men there."
3. Another popular myth is that most rapes occur in dark back alleys or only to women who go to bars. Some people feel the solution to rape is for women to spend their lives staying at home. But Dr. Amir's study clearly shows the fallacy in this type of thinking. A man who forced his way into the victim's home commits more than one third of rapes! And over half of all rapes committed occur in a residence.
4. Most people believe that the typical rapist is a stranger to the victim. This just isn't so. Dr. Amir's study found that forty-eight percent of the perpetrators ranged from men who were merely casual friends to those who were close relatives of the victim.
5. The age old myth that African American men rape Caucasian women at every opportunity is still perpetuated even though Dr. Amir reports that in 93.2% of rape cases both the man and woman are the same race.
6. Many people are inclined to believe that a raped woman was somehow at fault--that she probably provoked to attack. This provocation, considered a mitigating factor in a courtroom, may consist of a gesture or a particular way of dressing. Even using this extreme scale, the Federal Commission on Crimes of Violence reports that only 4% of reported rapes involved any precipitated behavior on the part of the women. In some cases preciptate behavior is nothing more than walking and dressing in a way that is socially defined as attractive. Our society applauds women who are sexy, but those unlucky enough to be raped are dismissed as tramps.
7. Some persons believe that rape is impossible without consent, that a normal man cannot rape a woman unless he has assistance. Unfortunately, it is simply not true that a woman who does not want to be
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