Many cases of rape are planned, others are opportunistic in that men prey on women who are alone, intoxicated/drugged or vulnerable. Some theorize that rape is about power, but it is also about male pleasure achieved only by making someone, anyone, their 'bitch'. It involves subjugation, bringing someone under control. In the prison system stronger men make weaker ones their 'bitch' by forcing them into unwilling homosexual activity. It involves raping that man until he finally, willingly, conforms to the desire of the other. In the general community rape (generally perpetrated by men over women) is about treating a person as an object, a hole, a cunt to be used and abused. Rape is total disrespect for an other's body integrity. Germaine Greer says that 'Although some of us might like to think of the vagina as sacred, and casual use of it as a desecration, it has never been revered' (p.1) however it IS the most private part of the female body and women fear rape as an unwelcome violation that will cause pain, possible disease or an unwanted pregnancy, and they know that if they resist the demands of the perpetrator they may sustain greater injury and death, since many rapes are accompanied by threats of violence. In every attack of one person upon another there are microseconds in which the body of the victim acts or remains silent. On the occasion of rape the woman decides whether to scream and fight back or whether to conform to the request, knowing full well that to say no is to place herself in greater danger. In many cases it comes down to a matter of survival.
In Greer's extended essay/book called 'On Rape' she maintains 'You can rape a woman without even waking her up' (p.3) suggesting that penetration of the vagina without force or violence is still rape, in contrast to those who maintain 'Non-consensual sex without force is not rape' (p.4). However she fails to acknowledge that conjugal rights in marriage asserts an expectation (for both partners) of sexual activity/intimacy whether consensual or not. Interestingly enough the words conjugal and subjugate derive from the Latin word 'iungere' to join; both implicitly suggest that one person is placed under the yoke or power of another. On consideration, I think that men have extended the idea that sex is their right not only in marriage but with partners and casual relationships with women. In other words, men expect sex and sadly women trade sexual favors for financial security for themselves and their children. It seems to me that Greer's argument throughout the essay is an emphasis on non-consensual sex, which according to her is 'commoner than deep communion between male and female' and further that we 'must make an attempt to stem its deadening spread' (p.86, 87)
I am left thinking after reading this essay last night that Greer's anger is undoubtedly, finally expressed when she says that surgical or chemical castration 'will not eliminate men's hatred of women. Rape is not a sex crime, but a hate crime' (p.69).
In Greer's extended essay/book called 'On Rape' she maintains 'You can rape a woman without even waking her up' (p.3) suggesting that penetration of the vagina without force or violence is still rape, in contrast to those who maintain 'Non-consensual sex without force is not rape' (p.4). However she fails to acknowledge that conjugal rights in marriage asserts an expectation (for both partners) of sexual activity/intimacy whether consensual or not. Interestingly enough the words conjugal and subjugate derive from the Latin word 'iungere' to join; both implicitly suggest that one person is placed under the yoke or power of another. On consideration, I think that men have extended the idea that sex is their right not only in marriage but with partners and casual relationships with women. In other words, men expect sex and sadly women trade sexual favors for financial security for themselves and their children. It seems to me that Greer's argument throughout the essay is an emphasis on non-consensual sex, which according to her is 'commoner than deep communion between male and female' and further that we 'must make an attempt to stem its deadening spread' (p.86, 87)
I am left thinking after reading this essay last night that Greer's anger is undoubtedly, finally expressed when she says that surgical or chemical castration 'will not eliminate men's hatred of women. Rape is not a sex crime, but a hate crime' (p.69).
Germaine Greer, On Rape, Melbourne University Press, 2018
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