Notebook Entries, July 1997

Notebook entry, July 21, 1997

A young male student emailed me a query that wanted to know how I thought the feminist movement felt about male rape against women. I emailed back that most likely they felt the same way he would feel if made to bend over, and submit to a dominant force. I told him that the sexual act is the end to the behavior mechanism of dominance and submission. Rape is about the person being raped feeling humiliated and giving the rapist a sense of dominance. The need for the sense of power emanates from the male gender's evolved heritage as a hunter. It is the power of the predator over the prey. It is usually the modern male gender who kills for sport. It is usually the male gender who rapes. In my studies, I feel that there are four stages of male behavior, escalating in severity, that lead up to the physical act of rape. They should be considered speculative.

1. Authority: That compliance follows because another's command is reasonable in terms of one's own values. (Having sex with this high-ranking male may advance my career..i.e., the Army sex scandal).
2. Manipulation or Deception: That compliance is secured by controlling the values and desires of others. (You can fool some of the people all of the time...etc.).
3. Force: That compliance is secured by eliminating or precluding choice. (A male prison guard arranges for a female to be located at a particular place at a particular time. A male boss reschedules a female's work time or place...etc.).
4. Coercion: compliance is induced by the threat of sanctions, deprivations or death. Usually accompanied by physical strength if verbal commands are not followed.

Notebook entry, July 19, 1997

Has the female peacock, in choosing the male peacock, with the bright plumage, forced the male into choosing between battle with a competitor or staying close to home in care-sharing and resource accumulation in support of the off-spring?

Is the basic gender behavioral differences between the human female and the human male causing a shift in evolutionary human behavior? Is the female forcing a shift from antagonistic to affliliative? From exclusive to inclusive? Are we entering a 2nd stage of evolution, and perhaps a third?

Is the human male gender in his daily concern with authority, discipline, law and order, possessions, rank, status, and control of the reproductive outcome of the female being shifted and lead by the female and her daily concerns with her behavior of altruism, affiliation, attachment, care-giving, and care-receiving?

Is the human female forcing the human male to replace resource accumulation by intimidation and violence in favor of resource accumulation by personal mental abilities?

Are we entering a third stage of evolution where the human female convinces the human male to devote more resources to those who are not within the circle of inclusive fitness so that they should also survive? Will she convince the male that giving is better than taking and that we are all one and the same?

Update: Sept. 14, 1997:  Recent findings seem to support this position.  In the Aug. 8th 1997 issue of Science, 35 years of observations of female chimpanzees by a group led by Jane Goodall, Anne Pusey, and Jennifer Williams have led these scientists to believe that previous evolutionary beliefs of the female waiting for her prince to come to her and mate is crumbling.  One of the shocking results of the study is that DNA tests indicate that 54% of offspring were sired by males outside their own community.  This rises speculation that the female is actually choosing genes.   What this basically means to you and me is that the female, although not dominate in our society, has a major influence on social results that are not easily observed.   I personally believe that the modern human female has just adapted to her local environment: after setting the stage for the best resources for her present children, she still attempt to influence society through personal choice.

Update: Sept. 25, 1997.  Reference, July 19, 1997: On Sept. 18, 1997 the media mogul Ted Turner announced that he would donate one billion dollars over a ten year period to the United Nations.  Hmmmm...do I hear the whispers of his wife, Jane Fonda, making suggestions in his ear?

Notebook entry, July 21, 1997

A young male student emailed me a query that wanted to know how I thought the feminist movement felt about male rape against women. I emailed back that most likely they felt the same way he would feel if made to bend over, and submit to a dominant force. I told him that the sexual act is the end to the behavior mechanism of dominance and submission. Rape is about the person being raped feeling humiliated and giving the rapist a sense of dominance. The need for the sense of power emanates from the male gender's evolved heritage as a hunter. It is the power of the predator over the prey. It is usually the modern male gender who kills for sport. It is usually the male gender who rapes. In my studies, I feel that there are four stages of male behavior, escalating in severity, that lead up to the physical act of rape. They should be considered speculative.

1. Authority: That compliance follows because another's command is reasonable in terms of one's own values. (Having sex with this high-ranking male may advance my career..i.e., the Army sex scandal).
2. Manipulation or Deception: That compliance is secured by controlling the values and desires of others. (You can fool some of the people all of the time...etc.).
3. Force: That compliance is secured by eliminating or precluding choice. (A male prison guard arranges for a female to be located at a particular place at a particular time. A male boss reschedules a female's work time or place...etc.).
4. Coercion: compliance is induced by the threat of sanctions, deprivations or death. Usually accompanied by physical strength if verbal commands are not followed.

Copyright, William A. Spriggs 1999