The title of the thread, "rape is not about sex, it's about power" is correct.
What the research done in the quoted article indicates, is that there is not a set pattern of thinking that delineates a rapist from a non-rapist. They are indicating that there is no "type"- rather it is a combination of many traits which seem to be so common, there is no method of isolating behavior patterns in a broad enough way that give us a psychological profile of "a rapist".
There are fairly reliable psychological profiles of different types of murderers. They can narrow down the "type" of person you're thinking already is, or might be at risk to become, a murderer. The study indicates that there is no discernible "pattern" to rapists, making it impossible to form a psychological profile- furthermore, they seem to indicate that it's possible for practically anyone to suddenly develop the impulses to rape, regardless of their psychological profile. In other words, they are saying that almost anyone can suddenly want to rape someone, and there's no pattern of thought we can use to trend and identify this impulse by their behavior.
Saying that "rape is not about sex" is a fairly generic phrase to toss out there- but the point of it is to immediately rebut the more commonly-found belief that rape is about sex. This is like saying the "morning after" pill is not an abortion pill... this is certainly a very generic statement, but it is one of the most common dissenting opinions. To state simply what it is not, is definitely more succinct- and directly answers the majority opposing viewpoint- rather than going to great length about what it is, and not directly addressing the prevailing issue... which can ultimately leave the whole issue more muddied than when you came in.
|