News Flash: Is Rape Caused by Evolution or by the Environment?

Rape exists in society because it is evolutionarily advantageous for men to carry and pass along a certain gene that gives them an urge to rape women. Believe it or not, this appalling claim was actually developed and supported by evolutionary psychologists in the 1980’s. Leaders in this field claimed the men who carried rape genes possessed a reproductive and evolutionary edge over men who did not because they could not only reproduce with willing mates, but could also reproduce with unwilling ones, thus increasing their chance of creating offspring that would pass on these characteristics to future generations. These evolutionary psychologists used this logic to explain why men are compelled to rape women. In Sharon Begley’s article in Newsweek entitled “Why Do We Rape, Kill, and Sleep Around?” she refutes this argument by claiming that the evolutionary costs of rape are far larger than the evolutionary benefits. She points out that evolution does indeed cause humans to adapt and to mold their behavior based on social and physical demands, and because the evolutionary costs of rape outweigh the benefits, this is not the reason why men are raping women. In assessing why rape occurs, evolutionary psychologists failed to realize the effect that the existing gender hierarchy has on men along with the gender roles and stereotypes that are perpetuated by the media, and how these external factors cause men to rape women.

Before addressing more plausible causes for why men rape women in our society, it is important to show how the evolutionary basis for the rape gene is falsified. Begley refers a study conducted by Kim Hill that evaluated the evolutionary costs and benefits of rape for a 25 year-old man. If this evolutionary basis for rape was accurate, Hill assumed that rapists would target only women of reproductive age (10-60 years old) even though rape victims often fall outside of this age group. Hill then calculated a rapist’s fitness costs and benefits. For example, a rapist loses fitness points if the woman’s husband or relatives kill him or if the mother refused to raise the child. He would gain fitness points based on the fertility of the victim (15%), the chance that she would be able to conceive a child at the time of the rape (7%), that she would not have a miscarriage (90%), and that she would not let the baby die even though she had been raped (90%) (Begley). The results of this cost benefit analysis show that the evolutionary costs far exceed the benefits, and that it was as much as 10 times more costly than beneficial (Begley). Therefore, it does not make sense evolutionarily for this trait to be adapted and passed on to future generations.

Instead of turning towards evolution to explain why men commit these awful acts of sexual violence towards women, the discourse should really be turned towards the gender hierarchy that is in place in society. As Gloria Steinem points out in her article entitled “Supremacy Crimes,” it is white, heterosexual, middle class men who usually perform hate crimes and mass killings in our society, and their identity is often overlooked when discussing these crimes (Steinem). The fact that these men embody the patriarchal norm that our society endorses and that this is never addressed in the discussion of their actions suggests a lot about how society views our social hierarchy in terms of gender, race, and class. The people who commit these crimes are often deemed “troubled,” or their actions are attributed to their young age, yet no one is addressing the real problem; these crimes are committed because their superiority and dominance are challenged in some way or another. This can be applied to sexuality and the same influences can be seen when trying to explain why men rape women. Men are in a position of undeniable power in our society that affords them numerous privileges. However, in times when this dominance and power are challenged or threatened, men feel the need to gain it back and one way of doing so is by exerting their force over women. It is because of this hierarchy that men feel that it is acceptable to want to regain this power and dominance. Rape takes place as a result of distorted power relationships and not because it is naturally occurring based on its evolutionary benefits.

Furthermore, Begley also addresses the fact that evolutionary psychologists are incorrect in their claim that a universal rape gene exists innately because adapted traits are not necessarily innate and are often selected for based on the social environment in which they occur. Begley uses the example of how men do not share a universal innate attraction towards one type of woman. Begley points out that in some cultures men like their women to have an hourglass shape and in others men find this to be repulsive. She mentions a study published in Current Anthropology that found that men in countries where women are economically independent prefer the non-hourglass figure, whereas men in countries where women are economically dependent on men prefer their women to look like “Barbie” (Begley). Because the environment in which preferences and behaviors occur can vary, the media can play an enormous role in suggesting and influencing how women and men should act and present themselves.

The media in our country helps perpetuate this idea of male dominance in society and this notion is seen in commercials, advertisements, commercials, TV programs, and in movies. Since the media is able to shape the views of our citizens to such an extent it is crucial to realize that this contributes to the gender and power hierarchy that exists. Ariel Levy’s chapter entitled “Pigs in Training” underscores this point by pointing out how girls are made to feel that they should cater to the needs of boys and to dress in certain ways to receive attention even though they may not want to (Levy). Furthermore, girls are being told that they are not the ones in power and that their self-worth is determined by how the opposite sex views them at a very young age (Levy). These messages that are disseminated by the media are instrumental in causing men to feel this dominance over women and the role that the media plays in fostering an environment of rape culture should definitely be evaluated.

In conclusion, the claim made by evolutionary psychologists that rape is an adapted gene that is inherited through generations can be seen as outdated and false. However, this raises an important question of what is in fact causing men to exert such physical violence over women in our society. Begley’s article alludes to the fact that there are factors in society that are responsible for why men rape women. It is important to consider the environmental factors that can lead men to perform certain behaviors, and how the gender hierarchy in society can foster this feeling of male superiority. Men are accustomed to feeling a sense of power and dominance in society because it has been established and accepted that they are the ones in power. It is when this position of power is challenged and jeopardized that some men feel the need to regain it, and this manifests itself in the rape of women.