How odd. I came across this while verifying the etymology of ravin and rape in OED. The most important verb-sense of 'rape' is of course the sexual one.
OED gives nine sample quotes, and the first four are just what you'd expect: women victims of men:
1577 The Sichemites raped Dina; persecuted strangers; ravished their wives. a1641 To … torment their bodies, rape their wives and daughters. 1861 She charged that … he had violently assaulted and raped her. 1885 Females who have been raped or indecently assaulted.
But all the rest – the most-recent five – involve male victims of rape (and in all but one, female perpetrators).
1928 Why do men only thrill to a woman who'll rape them? (D. H. Lawrence Let.) 1971 The first of the series of sexually voracious women who seek virtually to rape him. 1972 The girls had taken their clothes off and intended to rape him. 1977 These women have been confined for a variety of offences, chief among which are soliciting and manslaughter. When a man finds his way into their midst, he is promptly raped. 1977 A man … claimed he had been assaulted and raped by four other prisoners.
Hmmmmmmmmm.¹ Do you think OED's 20th-century editors just might conceivably been influenced by the nature of their own personal sexual fantasies?
¹ OED's pattern is similar for 'rape' as a noun.¹ Here are its 20th- or 21st-century examples:
1976 The brutal assault with flagellation and homosexual rape. 1981 The president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association … is bringing a summons against the director of the play … over the scene of homosexual rape. 1977 Hardly a year goes by without a gang rape at Green Haven. On New Year's Eve, 1976 … a … man was forcibly assaulted and sodomized. 1975 [figurative] It is his job to save Juli from the hangman and, in the final court scene, he does it by the public rape of the boy's secret personality and the destruction of his genius.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: wordcrafter,
September 17, 2007, 17:29
tsuwm
yeahbut, in the noun cases all but one are homosexual rape, and that one is figurative.
September 19, 2007, 02:23
tinman
quote:
Originally posted by wordcrafter: Hmmmmmmmmm.¹ Do you think OED's 20th-century editors just might conceivably been influenced by the nature of their own personal sexual fantasies?
So, you think the male editors of the OED fantasize about being raped by a female and the female editors fantasize about raping a male?
The original meaning of rape was to "seize prey, take by force," according to Online Etymology Dictionary. Rape, in the original sense, wasn't specifically directed against one sex, nor did it necessarily involve sexual acts. It was about a hundred years later before it took on this meaning. And even then, some acts were not considered rape. For example, forced sexual intercourse with a woman by her husband was not considered rape.
The concept of rape has evolved. I first heard of two women raping a man in the late '50s or early '60s. Homosexual rape has probably been around for centuries, though it is only fairly recently (as far as I know) that it has been called that.
Definitions of rape vary. Dictionary.com gives nine definitions, one of which is "any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person." Some of the definitions don’t even involve sex; for example, "to seize, take, or carry off by force." Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law (same link, near bottom of page) defines it as "unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception." [emphasis mine] It includes this note: "NOTE: The common-law crime of rape involved a man having carnal knowledge of a woman not his wife through force and against her will, and required at least slight penetration of the penis into the vagina. While some states maintain essentially this definition of rape, most have broadened its scope esp. in terms of the sex of the persons and the nature of the acts involved. Marital status is usually irrelevant. Moreover, the crime is codified under various names, including first degree sexual assault sexual battery unlawful sexual intercourse, and first degree sexual abuse. MedLinePlus (the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health)gives this definition: "Rape is defined as sexual intercourse forced on a person without his or her permission." OneLook lists 43 references for rape.
Sexual violence, including abuse and rape, is thought by many to be committed mostly by men against women. But it isn't necessarily so. The problem of sexual violence against children has been recognized in the past few years. And many women are among the abusers. It was always there, but not thought to be so prevalent. Likewise, homosexual rape and abuse of men and women in prison) is rampant. I have no doubt it's common outside prisons, too. And I think rape and sexual abuse of men by women is much more common than realized.
The Wikipedia article on rape includes references to men being raped by women. Here are a few of them:
Rape Myths By Gillian Greensite (CALCASA - California Coalition Against Sexual Assault)
Myth: Men can never be raped. The assumption in this myth is that men are always in control. Also part of it is the denial that comes with the fear heterosexual men feel about male-to-male sexual contact.
Fact: Men can be and are sexually assaulted. According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics from 1997, an estimated 9 percent of rape survivors are male.(8) Their attackers are almost always other males. Sometimes the man who rapes another man is heterosexual and homophobic, and the rape is an expression of the contempt he feels for the other person, whom he views as not being sufficiently masculine in appearance and behavior. In other cases, the assailant is indiscriminate in his choice of a male or female victim. In all cases studied by Nicholas Groth and Ann Burgess, “the sexual assault was an act of retaliation, an expression of power, and an assertion of their strength and manhood.”(9) The survivor in such sexual assaults is not necessarily, nor usually, gay.
There are different problems for men than for women after rape. Expectations around masculinity assume that rape is an impossibility. Gay men have particular fears about reporting, especially in conservative communities. It is important that male rape has been acknowledged. As more men are willing to talk about being raped and offer help to other male survivors, the trauma of the aftermath of rape for males will be eased.
Myth: Women don’t rape. The invisibility of lesbian relationships and the romantic myths about women’s inherently gentle nature has made it difficult to accept the reality that women can force sex on their female partners or acquaintances. This myth also suggests that a woman could never sexually assault a male because of the difference in strength and power.
Fact: Women are sometimes sexual aggressors. Much more attention is being given to same-gender rape than in past years. Accurate statistics are difficult to find, but as more research is done information should improve. Although all rape survivors have much in common, there are particular issues involved in women raping women that need careful attention. Often, in a relatively small lesbian community, privacy is difficult. Other people’s reactions become a big issue. Heterosexist assumptions on the part of those in a position to help can also be a problem.
Women raping men is rare, but not unknown. Most situations reported involve a woman assailant in conjunction with a male assailant, a group of women targeting a male victim, or a woman exploiting a male’s inability to resist because of too much alcohol or other conditions.
Note: The myths and facts about men being raped and about women being rapists do not include reference to the sexual abuse and/or molestation of children, which is a distinct issue.
Fact: There were approximately 20,000 sexual assaults of males ages 12 and over in the United States in 1991. (Bureau of Justice statistics, 1992)
Myth: Only women and gay men get raped.
FACT The vast majority of male rape victims, as well as their rapists, are heterosexual. Male rape victims now represent 8% of the primary victims served by the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. Rapists are motivated by the desire to have power and control over another person, not by sexual attraction. Male rape is not homosexual rape. Many male victims do not report the assault because they fear further humiliation.
Myth: Rape is a minor crime affecting only a few women.
FACT It is estimated that 1 in 8 women will be raped in her lifetime. Because of low reporting rates, it is not known how many adult men are assaulted. It is also estimated that 1 out of every 4 girls, and 1 out of every 8 boys are sexually assaulted in some way before they reach adulthood. Rape is the most frequently committed violent crime in this country.
Myth: It is impossible to sexually assault a man.
FACT Men fall victim for the same reasons as women: they are overwhelmed by threats or acts of physical and emotional violence. Also, most sexual assaults that involve a male victim are gang assaults.
Rape is a heinous crime perpetrated against women, men, girls, boys, and babies.
TinmanThis message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,
September 24, 2007, 12:52
wordcrafter
quote: Rape is a heinous crime
Agreed -- and I hope and trust that no one mis-interprets my post as trivializing the crime of sexual assault.
I am merely pointing out that of OED's 20th-century quotes illustrating the word 'rape', none involves the particular type of rape which (I believe) is overwhelmingly the most common type and is the type which the word immediately calls to mind. Such a selection of quotes seems, to me, odd enough to raise the questioon of why they were so selected.
September 24, 2007, 13:45
shufitz
quote: yeahbut, in the noun cases all but one are homosexual rape, and that one is figurative.
yeahrebut™ [love that word!], not one of the nine quotations involves what is the typical case: female raped by male.
September 24, 2007, 20:37
Kalleh
I don't think Wordcrafter ever meant to say that rape is only a word to describe sexual assault of a woman by a man. Instead, one might find it curious to see so many quotes relating to women raping men. Yes, it can occur. What would one think the percentages of each are? I won't take a guess, but clearly no one would dispute that over 50% of the time a man rapes a woman, correct? Thus, the interesting choice of quotes.