I think he’s arguing it’s primarily sexually based and that there is some truth in that rapists can’t control their urges (hence it’s on the victims, at least somewhat). But the phenomenon is more complicated than that, as I’m sure you understand.
Are we to believe them, take them at their word? If so why, if not why not? And what about the invisible, motivations that they might not be aware of themselves?
Sure. My point. If it’s not about urges, then what it is? It’s not just an individual choice that emerges from an individuals own mind. It’s also cultural and collectively constituted, which is what I’m driving at about power. It often works in ways that we can’t always account for individually because it’s just so baked into the culture. If our culture regularly diminishes some people (and I think it absolutely does!), then some are going to take advantage of that, even if they don’t really have the words to describe what they are doing. Women are no less prone to being part of the dominant narrative about weakness and the ability to take advantage of it in a way that makes them feel better about themselves, including rape.
Sure, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t also driven by a desire to prove themselves more powerful than another person. They can take what they want from someone they perceive as weaker.
I’ll agree with you that motivations are not simple - fair enough. But I will hold fast to the notion that the way power operates in our culture, in such an almost invisible way, makes people act out in order to exert themselves over others. Our culture values people who can indeed act as “individuals” and take what they want. We absolutely (as a culture, not you and I individually) value powerful, masculine people who take all the things they want or need for others. I mean, we just elected a CEO as president of the US, one who most likely sexually assaulted women “because he could.” I think that speaks volumes to the hidden ideology of our society (sadly).
