Synopsis
Forced sexual intercourse has gained steadily in importance as the status of women in our society has increased. The confusion and lack of clarity in definition, including the inability to establish a clear set of types or clear boundaries around the phenomenon, is extensive and political. The rhetoric, intensity, and lack of specificity and accuracy in research and stated positions work to the disadvantage of the women who are the victims in most of the incidents in which forced sexual intercourse is alleged and in many of incidents in which force is used to gain sexual intercourse - but is not labeled as inappropriate or unacceptable. Two political positions emerge - the first is identified as the feminist movement which is, to some extent, driven by a victim orientation and which is, at times, a label which is externally imposed rather than a matter of self-identification adopted by the researchers. The second movement is identified as sexist, a label which also usually is imposed by others and not accepted by the researchers who question the interpretations of research that is identified as feminist.
There is an implication that the rates of victimization are exaggerated and attempts to increase the level of control of dating courtship and courtship behaviour are excessive - setting standards for men and women which are not realistic. An area of research which is comprehensive, measures community attitudes and examines the relationships among various attitudinal constructs, particularly those attitudes which influence the labelling of forced sexual intercourse as rape, as justified, or as mitigated by a range of contextual factors - such as gender role stereotyping, social context, victim characteristics, victim acceptance of responsibility, acceptance of rape myths, and definitions of appropiate masculine behaviour. Aside from data on violent offenders, there is limited focus on the less extreme offender and the factors which influence his behaviour. Also the focus is on the those women who have been severely traumatized by their victimizations and exclude those who have managed to cope with their victimization.
This text examines the results of these inconsistences in the definition(s) of forced sexual intercourse and the tendency for offenders and victims to define their experiences within the boundaries of appropriate behaviour.
