Shyness and Rapists

I don't think there is any particular tendency either way.

But Cen what makes you think that way

Common sense, mainly.

Descriptions such as "shy" and "assertive" are difficult to pin down scientifically.

Nicholas Groth* has described three types of rape, based on the goal of the rapist.

Anger rapist - aims to humiliate, debase, and hurt their victim

Power rapist - rape to compensate for their underlying feelings of inadequacy and feed their issues of mastery, control, strength, authority and capability.

Sadistic rapist - for these rapists, there is a sexual association with various concepts, so that aggression and the infliction of pain is eroticized.

* Groth, Nicholas (1979). Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. pp. 44–45.

Among these types, I think you will find a distribution of "shy" and "assertive" men similar to the general population.

That leaves out the male (usually) who expects sex with no shown sexual interest from a woman but doesn't listen to NO.

I'd call him a hunger rapist.

centrox-

Thank you.

You could be right. I suspect the shy man who may have been humiliated (or so construed it), or doesn't have the social skills to get what he wants, would be the more likely rapist than the assertive man who know how to get what he wants.

This seems like a odd little thread. Would this question be asked about any other type of crime? There is a danger that by assuming that rapists are all one way, you will miss the rapists who don't fit your stereotype.

I am highly skeptical of offender profiling in general.

maxdancona-

Thank you.

An assertive man may possess the social skills to persuade a nubile girl to give him what he wants.

But a shy man and men with weak social skills may be unable to persuade a young woman. Accordingly, a shy man may be more prone to rape than an assertive man.

With other crimes, the same qualities are not relevant.

You can make the same unsupported argument about any crime.

An assertive man may possess the social skills to get a job, or to simply ask for food. A shy man with weak social skills may be unable to get what he needs. Accordingly, a shy man may be more prone to steal than an assertive man.

I would also point out that many rapes happen within an intimate relationship. I am not sure if most rapes fit into the stereotypical box you are building.

maxandana-

I concede, though I suspect that the relationship is stronger with rape than with most other crimes.

There have been a parade of male perpetrators of sexual assault hitting the news; Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill O'Reily... these are all pretty "assertive" men.

The news that Bill Cosby was a rapist was actually a little difficult emotionally. I grew up with him as a role model, and he did not fit my stereotype of a rapist at all.

How does your intuition explain female perpetrators of sexual assault? Do women have the same motivation to rape, or is it different?

maxdancona-

Thank you.

You have a point, though in some of your examples the man used his social skills instead of rape.

maxdancona-

I'm lost. A female assaulting another female?

There was a case recently in Britain where a woman pretended to be a man on a dating site and met in person another woman. They started a relationship and always had sex in the dark. She used a fake penis
When the victim found out she went to the police. The perpetrator was charged with "indecent assault by penetration".

centrox-

Thank you.

What a world we live in.

Or a female assaulting a male. Peer reviewed research suggests that both of these cases happen far more than people think. There is a big problem when males are victims because even now people don't take the rape victim seriously.

My point is that rapes often don't fit into stereotypical boxes, and sometimes the stereotypical boxes are harmful to the victims who aren't taken seriously when their rape doesn't fit society's expectations.