SexViolHist Bib: Reserch: Process: Theories: Evolutionary Theory

»Sociobiological theories of rape explore how evolutionary adaptation influences the psychology of rapists. Such theories are highly controversial, as traditional theories typically do not consider rape a behavioral adaptation. Some object to such theories on ethical, religious, political, or scientific grounds. Others argue correct knowledge of rape causes is necessary for effective preventive measures.« -- More information: Wikipedia

Thornhill-Palmer Controversy

I n f o r m a t i o n

»A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion is a 2000 book by biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer, in which the authors argue that evolutionary psychology can account for rape among human beings, maintain that rape is either a behavioral adaptation or a byproduct of adaptive traits such as sexual desire and aggressiveness, and make proposals for preventing rape. They also criticize the assumption that there is a connection between what is naturally selected and what is morally right or wrong, which they refer to as the "naturalistic fallacy", and the idea, popularized by the feminist author Susan Brownmiller in Against Our Will (1975), that rape is an expression of male domination and is not sexually motivated.
The book received extensive media coverage following the publication of an extract in The Sciences. It became controversial, received many negative reviews, and was denounced by feminists. Thornhill and Palmer were criticized for suggesting that rape is a reproductive adaptation, misrepresenting Brownmiller, making questionable comparisons between humans and non-human animals such as insects, their treatment of the naturalistic fallacy, and their proposals for preventing rape. In response to their suggestion that rape is a reproductive adaptation, critics observed that many rapes, such as those involving young children, the elderly, or persons of the same sex, cannot lead to reproduction. Critics also characterized A Natural History of Rape as poorly written, and suggested it was part of a trend to blame social problems on biological causes and had received unwarranted attention due to its controversial subject matter.
However, some reviewers commended the book's discussion of evolutionary theory, offered a mitigated defense of the view that rape has an evolutionary basis, or argued that the view that rape is sexually motivated is partially correct, while suggesting that rape might also involve a desire for violence and domination. Defenders of the book, including its authors, argued that much of the criticism it had received was misinformed and misrepresented what it actually argued. Commentators compared the controversy surrounding A Natural History of Rape to that provoked by the psychologist Richard Herrnstein and the political scientist Charles Murray's The Bell Curve (1994), and suggested that it was partly a result of larger controversies surrounding evolutionary psychology.« -- More information: Wikipedia

1 A Natural History of Rape

I. Author Index

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. A natural history of rape. Biological bases of sexual coercion. Cambridge 2000.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. Una historia natural de la violacion. Los fundamentos biológicos de la coerción sexual. México 2007.

2. Reviews and Critics

I. Author Index

[Info] Apostolou, Menelaos. »Circumventing Parental Choice and the Evolution of Rape.« Archives of Sexual Behavior 41 (2012): 1331-1333.

[Info] Apostolou, Menelaos. »The evolution of rape: The fitness benefits and costs of a forced-sex mating strategy in an evolutionary context.« Aggression and Violent Behavior 18 (2013): 484-490.

[Info] Atytalla, John. »Dynamic Ecologies and the Biological Bases of Violence: A Critical Analysis of Jonathan Gottschall’s The Rape of Troy.« Eutomia 1 (2014): 446-470.

[Info] Collins, Sophia. Redrawing rape. Boundary work in Thornhill and Palmer’s "A Natural History of Rape". M.Sc. Thesis, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, 2000.

[Info] Coyne, Jerry A. »Of vice and men. A case study in evolutionary psychology.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 171-189.

[Info] Daly, Martin. »Evolutionary Perspectives on Sex, Gender, and Crime.« The Oxford Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Crime. Edited by Rosemary Gartner et al. Oxford 2014: 245-259.

[Info] Drea, Christine M., et al. »Female sexuality and the myth of male control.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 29-59.

[Info] Eagly, Alice H., et al. »The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior: Evolved Dispositions versus Social Roles.« Evolution, Gender, and Rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 265-303.

[Info] Gowaty, Patricia A. »Power asymmetries between the sexes, mate preferences, and components of fitness.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 61-85.

[Info] Helmreich, Stefan, et al. »Sex on the brain. A Natural History of Rape and the dubious doctrines of evolutionary psychology.« Why America’s top pundits are wrong. Anthropologists talk back. Edited by Catherine Besteman et al. Berkeley 2005: 180-205.

[Info] Kimmel, Michael. »An unnatural history of rape.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 221-233.

[Info] Koss, Mary P. »Evolutionary models of why men rape. Acknowledging the complexities.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 191-205.

[Info] Lloyd, Elisabeth A. »Violence against science. Rape and evolution.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 235-261.

[Info] Mackey, Wade C. »The evolutionary value of the man (to) child affiliative bond. Closer to obligate than to facultative.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 305-336.

[Info] Martin, Emily. »What is "rape?" Toward a historical, ethnographic approach.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 363-381.

[Info] Palmer, Craig T., et al. »A posse of good citizens brings outlaw evolutionists to justice. A response to Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl Brown Travis. (2003). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.« Evolutionary psychology 1 (2003): 10-27.

[Info] Palmer, Craig T., et al. »Straw men and fairy tales. Evaluating reactions to – A natural history of rape.« Journal of sex research 40 (2003): 249-255.

[Info] Rosser, Sue V. »Coming full circle. Refuting biological determinism.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 413-423.

[Info] Sanday, Peggy R. »Rape-free versus rape-prone. How culture makes a difference.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 337-361.

[Info] Scott, Eleanor. »The use and misuse of rape in prehistory.« Indecent Exposure: Sexuality, Society and the Archaeological Record. Edited by Lynne Bevan. Glasgow 2001: 1-18.

[Info] Shields, Stephanie A., et al. »Does self-report make sense as an investigative method in evolutionary psychology?« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 87-103.

[Info] Sunday, Suzanne R., et al., eds. Violence against women. A critique of the sociobiology of rape. New York, 1985.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »Human rape. An evolutionary analysis.« Ethology and sociobiology 4 (1983): 137-173.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »The Biology of Rape.« Rape: An Historical and Social Enquiry. Edited by Sylvana Tomaselli et al. Oxford 1986: 102-121.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »Human rape. The strengths of the evolutionary perspective.« Sociobiology and psychology. Ideas, issues and applications. Edited by Charles B. Crawford et al. Hillsdale 1987: 269-291

[Info] Thornhill, Randy. »The biology of human rape.« Jurimetrics 39 (1999): 137-147.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »The evolutionary biology of rape.« Next sex. Sex in the age of its procreative superfluosness. Edited by Gerfried Stocker et al. Vienna 2000: 118-134.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »Serial rape. An evolutionary perspective.« Serial offenders. Current thought, recent findings. Edited by Louis B. Schlesinger. Boca Raton 2000: 51-65.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »What A Natural History of Rape really says.« Independent (2000): 5.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »What does "A Natural History of Rape" really say.« Albuquerque tribune (2000): C1-2.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »Just why do men rape. Authors’ reply.« Sciences 40 (2000): 6 and 46-47.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »Why men rape.« Sciences 40 (2000): 30-36.

[Info] Thornhill, Randy, et al. »Why men rape.« Rape. Edited by Mary E. Williams. San Diego 2001.

[Info] Tobach, Ethel, et al. »Understanding rape.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 105-138.

[Info] Tobach, Ethel, et al., eds. Violence against women. A critique of the sociobiology of rape. New York 1985.

[Info] Travis, Cheryl B., ed. Evolution, gender, and rape. Cambridge 2003.

[Info] Travis, Cheryl B. »Talking evolution and selling difference.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 3-27.

[Info] Travis, Cheryl B. »Theory and data on rape and evolution.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 207-220.

[Info] Vandermassen, Griet. »Evolution and Rape: A Feminist Darwinian Perspective.« Sex Roles 64 (2011): 732-747.

[Info] Vickers, A. Leah, et al. »Pop sociobiology reborn. The evolutionary psychology of sex and psychology.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 139-168.

[Info] Ward, Tony, et al. »Rape and evolutionary psychology. A critique of Thornhill and Palmer’s theory.« Aggression and violent behavior 7 (2002): 145-168.

[Info] Wheeler, Vega J.A. »Naturalism and feminism. Conflicting explanations of rape in a wider context.« Psychology, evolution & gender 3 (2001): 47-85.

[Info] White, Jacquelyn W., et al. »Understanding rape. A metatheoretical framework.« Evolution, gender, and rape. Edited by Cheryl B. Travis. Cambridge 2003: 383-411.

[Info] Zeedyk, Suzanne. »the science of rape: (mis)construction of women’s trauma in evolutionary theory.« feminist review No. 86 (2007): 67-88.

II. Speaker Index