In this blog post, we explore the causes of rape across cultures from the perspective that rape may not be mere violence, but an evolutionary instinct.
Is rape an adaptation? Before addressing this issue, the following must be understood. By arguing that rape is an adaptation and natural selection, I am not claiming that rape is a rational or legal act. This is because even if the proposition “rape is an adaptation” is proven to be true, it would become a scientific fact, but such a factual proposition cannot be a value proposition that includes human justification.
In order to address this issue, we must first examine the meaning of the word “adaptation.” The dictionary definition of adaptation is “to conform to or become suitable for certain conditions or circumstances.” It is the process by which organisms change morphologically and physiologically to suit their environment.
Organisms that adapted to a given environment would have been selected by natural selection and survived, producing many offspring to preserve their species. Conversely, organisms that failed to adapt would have been eliminated by natural selection and would not have been able to preserve their offspring, leading to their extinction.
In order to discuss adaptation, we must first consider natural selection.
Natural selection is a theory first proposed by Darwin, and it is the core concept of his book On the Origin of Species. According to Darwin, even organisms of the same species exhibit various biological variations as they adapt to their environment, and natural selection is the process by which variations that are advantageous for survival and reproduction are passed down to subsequent generations. In order to address whether rape is an adaptation, we must also consider sexual selection.
Sexual selection can answer the question of why organs that hinder survival, such as the colorful tails of male peacocks, have developed. Sexual selection is the process by which organisms with certain traits that are preferred by the opposite sex leave more offspring, thereby preserving those traits.
Now that we have covered the background knowledge on adaptation, let’s tackle the question of whether rape is an adaptation. I believe this proposition is true.
Let’s think about human males. Human males have survived without becoming extinct from the beginning of the species to the present day. They have adapted to their environment in a way that is advantageous to them. They have undergone a process of adaptation since primitive times to become the human males we know today.
Ultimately, the current form of human males is the result of adaptation. In order to address the issue of
rape, I will compare the reproductive methods of males and females. Male reproductive organs are external, so it is not difficult for them to spread their sperm. On the other hand, female reproductive organs are located inside the body and are designed to receive male sperm. Women produce only one reproductive cell per month in their ovaries, and during pregnancy, it is impossible for them to produce any more offspring except for the one in their womb. From the perspective of species preservation, men have an advantage over women in that they can reproduce more easily. The fact that the male reproductive organs are located outside the body means that this is the most suitable form for males to adapt and preserve their offspring.
Through this, we can infer the following. In order to avoid extinction, males needed to engage in more reproductive activities than females in order to preserve their offspring or their genes. Furthermore, having a relationship with only one woman is disadvantageous for the preservation of offspring, and it is advantageous for human males to have the possibility of producing offspring with their genes with more women.
From this perspective, rape is a means for males to have the opportunity to reproduce, and rape is a form of adaptation that has allowed human males to survive in their environment through natural selection.
However, those who do not consider rape to be an adaptation argue that this does not apply to cases of rape against women who are unable to become pregnant. I can refute this argument as follows. According to statistics on rape, 90% of rape occurs against women of childbearing age, and less than 10% occurs against women who are not of childbearing age. Looking at these statistics, rather than thinking that rape is not an adaptation, it is more reasonable to think that rape of women of childbearing age by men is a result of modern male adaptation, and that rape of women who are not of childbearing age, which accounts for less than 10%, is a mutation that has not adapted properly.
On the other hand, some people argue that rape is simply violence and a learned cultural behavior. If we assume that rape is a behavior learned within a culture, then do all cultures that have rape have rape as a common denominator? If so, it seems difficult to find a fundamental solution to rape. Unless the cultural element of rape, which is already ingrained in a culture, is completely eliminated from the culture in which people live, the learned behavior of rape will not disappear.
For this reason, rape is not a learned behavior, but an instinct latent within the male consciousness, that is, an unconscious expression of the desire to preserve one’s genes. However, it is correct to view rape as an act committed by men who are unable to express this desire to preserve their offspring within the boundaries of reasonable law toward women.
