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Why evolutionary scientists should not get near our kids or schools!
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Thornhill and Palmer(both US Evolutionary biologists) argue that rape evolved as an "alternative mating strategy", and they contend that it is a "natural, biological phenomenon and a product of our evolutionary heritage". They also take issue with the idea that rape is fundamentally an act of violence. That theory was put forward 25 years ago by feminist scholar Susan Brownmiller. In her treatise Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, she described rape as an attempt by men to dominate and control women.
This week, Thornhill battled it out head to head with Brownmiller on US public radio, arguing that rape be regarded as an act of sex, not violence. Brownmiller was fiercely critical of the theory and of the scientists. "Obviously rape involves the sex organs, but what I was saying (in Against Our Will) was that rape is not sexy," Brownmiller said. "Men had romanticised rape and saw it as a Robin Hood act of machismo. But for women it is not sexy - it is pure humiliation and degradation."
Thornhill and Palmer consistently state that their theory does not justify rape and argue that their aim is to eradicate the behaviour, but they have nonetheless encountered vehement opposition wherever they have gone. Scheduled lectures have been cancelled. And their argument that "just because something is 'natural' does not make it right" has not been persuasive to many who fear that rapists may try to use it as a defence in court.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/150003.article
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Thornhill and Palmer(both US Evolutionary biologists) argue that rape evolved as an "alternative mating strategy", and they contend that it is a "natural, biological phenomenon and a product of our evolutionary heritage". They also take issue with the idea that rape is fundamentally an act of violence. That theory was put forward 25 years ago by feminist scholar Susan Brownmiller. In her treatise Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, she described rape as an attempt by men to dominate and control women.
This week, Thornhill battled it out head to head with Brownmiller on US public radio, arguing that rape be regarded as an act of sex, not violence. Brownmiller was fiercely critical of the theory and of the scientists. "Obviously rape involves the sex organs, but what I was saying (in Against Our Will) was that rape is not sexy," Brownmiller said. "Men had romanticised rape and saw it as a Robin Hood act of machismo. But for women it is not sexy - it is pure humiliation and degradation."
Thornhill and Palmer consistently state that their theory does not justify rape and argue that their aim is to eradicate the behaviour, but they have nonetheless encountered vehement opposition wherever they have gone. Scheduled lectures have been cancelled. And their argument that "just because something is 'natural' does not make it right" has not been persuasive to many who fear that rapists may try to use it as a defence in court.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/150003.article