Against Our Will
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Against Our Will
| Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape | |
|---|---|
 The 1986 Pelican Books edition |
|
| Author(s) | Susan Brownmiller |
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Sociology |
| Publication date | 1975 |
Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape is a 1975 book by Susan Brownmiller. The book, which is widely credited with changing public outlooks and attitudes about rape, promoted the concept that rape was not the victim's fault. Brownmiller described rape as "a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear."[1] In short, Brownmiller believes that "rape is a crime not of lust, but of violence and power."[2]
Brownmiller sought to examine general belief systems that women who were raped deserved it, as discussed by Clinton Duffy and others. Believing that rape was a way for men to instill fear in women, she compared it to the gang lynchings of African Americans by white men.[1] This comparison was used to show how lynching was once considered acceptable by communities, and then attitudes changed, following by changed laws; Brownmiller hoped the same would happen with rape.[2] The book is cited as having influenced changes in law regarding rape, such as state criminal codes that required a corroborating witness to a rape, and that permitted a defendant's lawyer to introduce evidence in court regarding a victim's prior sexual history. After her book was published, all fifty United States eliminated marital rape exemptions.[1]
Brownmiller's conclusions about rapists' motivations have been criticized by Donald Symons in The Evolution of Human Sexuality,[3] and by Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer in A Natural History of Rape.[4]
Further reading
- Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. New York: Ballantine Books (1993). ISBN 0-449-90820-8
References
- ^ a b c Kathryn Cullen-DuPont (1 August 2000). Encyclopedia of women's history in America. Infobase Publishing. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-8160-4100-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=oIro7MtiFuYC. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ a b Sally Moore (1975). "'Rape Is a Crime Not of Lust, but Power,' argues Susan Brownmiller". Archive. People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20065841,00.html. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ Symons, Donald. The Evolution of Human Sexuality. Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 278.
- ^ Thornhill, Randy & Palmer, Craig T. A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion. The MIT Press, 2000, pp. 133-135, 138-139.
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