Date Rape Definition
Date rape refers to forced sexual intercourse without consent that is perpetrated by someone familiar to the victim, usually an acquaintance or date. Although date rape can be perpetrated by women, the typical date rape occurs when a man uses physical or psychological intimidation to force a woman to have intercourse against her will. Date rape also occurs when men have sex with women who have been incapacitated with alcohol or drugs and thus unable to consent to sex. Many social psychological factors influence how date rape is defined, perceived, and experienced by victims and perpetrators. These factors include stereotypes, scripts, gender roles, and elements of the sexual situation.
Stereotypes of rape lead many people to believe that rape occurs when a woman is attacked by a stranger in a dark, secluded street. In fact, the vast majority of rapes are committed against women by men they know, including former lovers, current boyfriends or spouses, friends, and acquaintances. The typical date rape occurs after a man and woman have had several dates. The couple has previously engaged in some level of consensual activity like heavy petting or oral sex. The man wants to continue, but the woman refuses. Most men stop at this point, but date rape occurs when the man forces the woman into sex despite her rejection.
Why Does Date Rape Occur?
Theories to explain rape have focused on whether rape is sexually motivated or motivated by the male goals to exert power over women. Early views emphasizing sex often blamed rape victims for tempting men with their style of dress or behaviors. Rapists could not control their sexual desire in the face of such temptation. This view was challenged in the 1970s by feminist theories. Feminists proposed that most or all men are socialized by culture to rape, and that all men support and encourage rape because rape functions to instill fear in women. According to feminist theory, rape is one way that men can keep women in less powerful positions in society. The feminist view of rape can be credited for helping to dispel the victim-blaming of earlier theories, though it does not have much supporting evidence itself. Today, many psychologists believe that date rape results from a combination of personality and situational factors. These factors consider the background and personality of rapists as well as social-psychological factors related to the situation.
Factors Related to Rapists
Date rapists tend to explain their motives in terms of sex rather than power. They report having more sexual partners and sexual activity than other men. Date rapists prefer not to use force to get sex, but they will use force or intimidation if necessary. Risk factors for rapists include backgrounds with violent home life, delinquency, and macho peer groups that encourage sexual promiscuity and conquest. Date rapists also identify with exaggerated masculine gender roles. For example, they may endorse views that equate masculinity with hostility toward women and femininity, sexual conquest, and acting macho. Date rapists are egocentric and lack empathy toward their victims. They may justify their actions by blaming their victims for being a tease or wasting their time and money on the date. Many date rapists do not interpret their actions as rape. The common belief that their victim actually enjoyed the rape is a sign of the rapist’s distorted perceptions and lack of empathy for their victims.
Factors Related to the Situation
Research on date rape has examined how gender roles and sexual scripts may set the stage for sexual miscommunication between men and women. People use scripts or mental frameworks for organizing and guiding behaviors. Cultural standards of masculinity and femininity influence the scripts that men and women have for negotiating sexual activity. Many people possess a sexual script that “no” really means “yes.” A man may believe that a woman’s refusal is just a token so that she will not appear too permissive. The script suggests that if the man persists in his advances, the woman will eventually submit willingly, which is what she wanted to begin with. This script contributes to sexual miscommunication between men and women, and it may distort individuals’ perceptions of other’s sexual motives.
Individuals also have scripts and stereotypes that rape only occurs in the stranger scenario. This script may influence the way that individuals label their sexual experiences. Many women who have experienced nonconsensual sexual intercourse do not label or acknowledge their experience as rape. This is likely due to the fact that their experience does not fit into the stereotypical script for rape. Their rape script focuses on the stranger rape rather than date rape.
A new theory of date rape combines personality factors of the rapist with situational factors. This theory suggests that date rapists are narcissists who are insulted when women refuse their sexual advances. Narcissists feel a sense of personal entitlement. A narcissist may feel that a woman owes him sex after he has spent effort and money on a date. Narcissists are especially sensitive to rejection and may be easily offended when their sexual advances are refused. Narcissists are prime candidates to experience what psychologists refer to as reactance in this situation. Psychological reactance occurs when an individual feels that his or her freedom has been limited. In this case, the rapist feels that his right to have sex with his date has been denied. Reactance theory predicts that a forbidden fruit, once forbidden, becomes more valuable. People will react and reassert their freedom by trying to take that which has been forbidden and aggressing against the person who limits their freedom. In other words, a narcissistic man will be insulted when his date does not submit to his desires. The sexual conquest will then become more valuable to the narcissist, and he will use force or intimidation to reassert his freedom and take that which he desires. Because most men do not rape, this theory is useful in predicting the type of man who will rape when his advances are refused.
References:
- Baumeister, R. F., Catanese, K. R., & Wallace, H. M. (2002). Conquest by force: A narcissistic reactance theory of rape and sexual coercion. Review of General Psychology, 6, 92-135.
- Byers, E. S. (1996). How well does the traditional sexual script explain sexual coercion? Review of a program of research. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 8, 7-25.
- Kanin, E. J. (1985). Date rapists: Differential sexual socialization and relative deprivation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 219-231.