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Skeptic magazine: 'The Delicate Dilemma of Defining Rape'

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Mar 8, 2016.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, I don't see a link yet, but a very strong piece this issue by columnist Carol Tavris on some of the issues we've talked about here, including the notorious "1 in 5" statistic.

    One of the best explanations of "gray area rape" I've seen, as well:

    Davis and her colleagues Guillermo Villalobos and Richard Leo have suggested that the primary reason for the many "he said/she said" reports that make the news is not that one side is lying. Rather, each partner is providing "honest false testimony" about what happened between them. That is, both parties believe they are telling the truth, but one or both may be wrong because of the unreliability of memory and perception, and because both are motivated to justify their actions. Because memory is reconstructive in nature, and susceptible to suggestion, and because we distort or rewrite our memories to conform to our views of ourselves, people can "remember" saying things that they only thought about or intended to say at the time. As a result, a woman might falsely remember saying things that she thought about (but did not say) to stop the situation, because she sees herself as an assertive person who would stand up for herself. A man might falsely remember what he did to verify the woman's consent that he did not do, because he sees himself as a decent guy who would never rape a woman. She's not necessarily lying; she's misremembering. He's not necessarily lying; he's self-justifying.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2016
  2. Chef2

    Chef2 Well-Known Member

    Oh this should end real well.
     
  3. TigerVols

    TigerVols Well-Known Member

    Dick, is Carol Travis your new pen name?
     
  4. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    We need more support for fraternity rape.
     
  5. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I should be a soothsayer or something. I saw the thread title and was instantly able to divine who started it.
     
  6. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I am sure Carol Tavris will have no problem with that.
     
  7. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

  8. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Seems like a kook.

    Carol Tavris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Tavris received a B.A. in comparative literature and sociology from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan. She has taught psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and the New School for Social Research. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Tavris is also a member of the editorial board of Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Her articles, book reviews, and op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The Times Literary Supplement, Scientific American and other publications.
     
  9. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Is this in reference to two people who have been drinking or doing drugs?

    It's hard to imagine two sober people having completely different accounts of a sexual encounter without one of them just flat out being a liar
     
  10. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    This excerpt does lead directly into a section on the effect of alcohol, but I don't think she's exclusively referring to that.

    I would theorize that, beyond just the psychological effects that she lays out in the excerpt, sexual arousal probably has an effect on the reliability of memory, as well.

    It's a good piece.
     
  11. BitterYoungMatador2

    BitterYoungMatador2 Well-Known Member

    I thought WE were the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
     
    Dick Whitman likes this.
  12. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Interesting. I'll have to read it, even if I'm real dubious that sexual arousal - without alcohol - would lead to something akin to "honest mistake" memory loss.

    Nothing is sure fire - read that again - but I'd think the best way to drastically reduce gray area rape is to eliminate the gray area - and not drink alcohol in any setting where you don't know every person. Not at bars. Not at parties. It sucks, that it might be so, but if gray area rape prevention was my No. 1 aim, that's the advice I guess I'd give.
     
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