Attitudes toward women, violence, and rape: A comparison of convicted rapists and other felons

Literature in the area of rape has been dominated by the psychiatric perspective leading to the view of rape as an individualistic, ideosyncratic and psychopathological problem. This leads to a conception of the rapist as a special criminal who is somehow different from his fellow prisoners. This paper proposes to study rapists as emotionally average men who have been socialized to view aggressive sexual behavior as appropriate in various situations. A comparison of rapists’ attitudes toward women, violence and rape with that of other felons reveals that their rape relevant attitudes are more extreme. It is proposed that the prevailing rape myths that exist in the society at large serve the function of providing excuses and justifications for rapists.