Rape: Against Our Will
Dreamer: Jeannie, 22, North American
For the last year or so, I've been having this dream where I'm getting raped. I have the same dream every night and it's very vivid. I can smell this person and see everything except his face and his voice sounds muffled.
I've never been raped or molested so I have no idea where this is coming from. If you could help me I'd appreciate it very much. Thank You.
Mr. Hagen's Reply: Against Our Will
Is Rape a Sex Crime? I believe, fundamentally, that the answer is no. Rape is primarily a power crime. Take a look at Susan Brownmiller's book "Against our Will: Men, Women and Rape". I am including a number of perspectives that might help you to understand abuse (psychological as well as physical), assault and rape.
1. Power and Control Perspective:
Rape occurs when persuasion fails (i.e., consent is not given). The rapist is most concerned about the ability to control the victim. The rapist achieves the gratification of superiority through the degradation and humiliation of the victim.
2. Anthropological: Symbolic Interaction Perspective:
Individuals in Western society learn face to face interaction on the basis of shared cultural meanings of roles, rules and relationships. Rape happens when situations are interpreted differently by men and women. Interpretations of a situation can be viewed as dissonant due to cultural pressures on women whose concepts of femininity contain contradictory and confusing personifications. On the one hand women were taught to be passive, receptive and faithful, and on the other, seductive, coy and flirtatious.
Women used such metaphoric exchange strategies to solicit attention and gifts from men. Masculinity by contrast emphasized male conquest of women. Men were stereotypically taught to expect sexual favors for the attention and material rewards bestowed on women. Such stereotypes foster a rape culture.
When dating misunderstandings happen, a rape may be seen as intentionally or unintentionally as victim-precipitated. The rapist's sexual advances being allegedly affirmed, the victim may have led the rapist to believe (through the "come on") that the consent for sex was given. Rape becomes a product of the misunderstood dating situation due to the actions of the other which are interpreted as implied consent.
3. Feminist Perspective:
Feminists believe that patriarchal culture is the root cause of rape.
Feminists criticize the institutions of patriarchy especially the family and the law. The law, so they believe, reinforces the idea that women are a form of property. In laws of early patriarchal societies a raped woman was less valuable to her father and therefore he could collect a fine from the rapist as compensation for his damaged property. The law in Canada and in many states in the U.S. also perpetuated such notions and action, in that rape in marriage was not against the law till 1983. Patterns of coercive sexuality are reinforced encouraging assault by turning sexual relations into a battleground of the sexes.
4. Biotopographic Perspective:
Rape is a multi-vocal narrative. In ancient Greek mythology Medusa shows us the misandric effects, caused by rape. Victims' narratives have traditionally been oppressed and subjugated by the patriarchal ideology. This rhetorical mythology of images, themes and ideas surrounding rape is configured by authority instituted and legitimized primarily in the law, family and society. The dominant narrative structures of patriarchy enforce the culture of rape. A more recent judges' court ruling in Alberta, Canada, cited "not wearing a bonnet" when attending an employment interview as a justification for rape. This ruling was finally overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. The dissemination of rape narratives have been censored and thereby dissociated from conscious collective memory and relegated to communal screen of dreams. Demythologizing dominant narratives of rape can be achieved through subversion. Subversive narratives force the articulation of any repressed, forbidden or oppositional interpretations of collective memory. Subversive narratives represent counter-memories to the meanings which produce dominant narratives.
Subversion can be seen then not only as resistance to censorship (the control over meaning), but also as an instrument to bypass the censorship of the nightmare, trauma and damage of abuse, assault and rape.
Is there anyone in your life forcing you to do things you don't want to do? The vividness of the dream suggests a real person in your life; next time try to see the person's face and listen more closely to his voice. If you want to know more, see "Woman Abuse: Sociological Perspectives" by Walter S. DeKeseredy and Ronald Hinch and "Rape of the Mind" by Joost A.M. Meerloo.
Hope these thoughts are of help and provide some insight,
Mark H.