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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!alice!rabbit!jj
From: jj@rabbit.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Rape by Women?!?!? - Prejudice??
Message-ID: <2552@rabbit.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 28-Feb-84 15:48:34 EST
Article-I.D.: rabbit.2552
Posted: Tue Feb 28 15:48:34 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 29-Feb-84 14:14:12 EST
References: <5888@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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While I don't quite agree with John Quarterman (which will be clear
soon, I think), I really can't agree with the comments that
rape affects only females.   

As a man, I find that other people (women in particular) treat
me differently than they would if they had no fear of being
attacked physically.  
I'm not a particularly threatening person, even given my size and
weight, and I tend to act as non-threatening as is reasonable.

What does this have to do with men raping women?  Well, I can't see
why any individual should fear another individual, unless
the lesson that they've learned from life is that 
"All strangers are bad", or "All men are bad" or
some combination of the above.  This is the foremost thing that
a woman learns from hearing about  rape and rape victims.  The effects of this
 fear extend far beyond the victim and the
criminal, in that they are reflected (unjustly, damnit) on to
all males of the appropriate age by a great majority of the
female population.  I am male.  Therefore, I am affected by
the problem of males raping females.  The effect is to create
a form of fear and prejudice not unlike the effects of a greatly
unbalanced racial population, where the weaker population feels
that it is constantly threatened, leading to both fearful
and agressive behavior on the part of both groups. 

I am offended by anyone who feels that men are not affected by,
or are somehow aided/empowered/advantaged by, rape.  I regard
such an attitude as seperatist, divisive, and likely to enhance
the ?rage?anger?whatever? that motivates a rapist in the first
place as well.  (What DOES motivate a rapist, anyhow? I'm sure
that someone knows, and that the subject has been discussed,
but I haven't been in this newsgroup for a while. Maybe a
short mail answer from a qualified person or so would be
useful on that point.)

I do NOT object to measures taken to avoid rape.  I think that
such actions are sometimes necessary, and that it is impossible
to tell if such actions are/were necessary at the time.  I do
object, VERY MUCH, to the attitude of "us vs. them" or 
"get them first" or "They're all rapists".
(I won't discuss my opinions of Brownmiller, et. al.)
These attitudes are nothing but a form of prejudice that is bound
to degrade an unhappy situation further, and to enhance the fears
and emotional damage of those who are attacted or vulnerable to
attack.

I'm not trying to start a fire here, but I do think that 
extreme statements on either side (I'm not referring to either
of the authors that are referred to in the ref's field of this
note, necessarily.) don't help anything, and don't make anyone
better.   We're in this TOGETHER, damnit, let's act that way!
-- 
TEDDY BEARS ARE NICER THAN PEOPLE--
HUG YOUR OWN TODAY !
(allegra,harpo,ulysses)!rabbit!jj