deicide said:
tell why some chicks like the fantasy of a stranger forcefully taking advatange of them. its the same as rape, yet theyre full hot for it.
Women's erotic rape fantasies: an evaluation of theory and research.
Sexual fantasies or daydreams can range from brief thoughts or images to stories with detailed plotlines. They may deal with actual past experiences, purely imagined experiences, or a mixture of both (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995). Although psychology has emphasized the study of overt behavior, the investigation of fantasy may provide unique contributions to the field. As sexual fantasies are relatively unconstrained by social consequences, they may reveal underlying psychological processes, motives, and predispositions more clearly than does overt behavior (Ellis & Symons, 1990).
In the realm of sexual fantasies, the area that almost certainly has posed the greatest conceptual challenge for researchers is that of "rape fantasies." Women's rape fantasies exist as a psychological enigma. As Hazen (1983) articulated, "It does not seem normal that a person should want to imagine rape. The true mystery is why anyone does" (p. 23). Although people often daydream about events that they do not want to happen, rape fantasies differ in key respects. For example, one could fantasize an extramarital affair. For some, an affair would be exciting, both as fantasy and in actuality, but they may not want to engage in actual infidelity because of negative consequences to the marriage. In contrast, rape would be avoided not only because of unpleasant consequences, but, more importantly, because the experience of the rape itself would be abhorrent. And although fantasies about unpleasant events, such as a feared performance evaluation, are not rare, these fantasies are not pleasurable. In contrast, fantasies of forced sex are often exciting, pleasurable, and sexually arousing (Kanin, 1982).
write_ads(2,1)Although women's rape fantasies have been a subject of formal study since the 1940s, they are not well understood. For example, the existence of these fantasies, along with the belief that fantasies often operate in terms of wish fulfillment, allows a possible interpretation that, at some level, women may want to be raped (Deutsch, 1944; Maslow, 1942). Although many researchers have argued against such an interpretation, their positions have not been entirely convincing, largely because of gaps, ambiguities, or other weaknesses in the explanations given.
One reason why these fantasies are not well understood is that the study of women's rape fantasies may have been systematically avoided by some researchers and theorists. Greater awareness that some women have erotic rape fantasies could reinforce the myth that women want to be forced into sex, and this might encourage male sexual aggression. In addition, psychoanalytic (Deutsch, 1944; Freud, 1933/1965) and some feminist positions (Brownmiller, 1975; Russell, 1980) have maintained that rape fantasies are masochistic and pathological, which suggests that there is something wrong with the women who have them.
As pioneering sex researcher Alfred Kinsey and colleagues (1953) forcefully argued, avoiding an area of study that is difficult to understand and perhaps uncomfortable to discuss blocks the growth of knowledge, perpetuates ignorance, and, in the long term, diminishes societal well-being. Just as important, an avoidance of this topic sends the false and disturbing message that there is something shameful about women's sexuality.
One purpose of the present analysis is to develop a more integrated, comprehensive, and contextual explanation of the phenomenon of rape fantasies so that individuals can better understand why the speculation that women want to be raped is in error. We will evaluate existing theories of rape fantasy, seek out other theories that can be applied to this phenomenon, and identify which lines of explanation appear to be rationally sound and empirically viable. At the rational level the focus will be on whether the theory makes sense. Do its conceptual strands fit together in a logical and internally consistent manner? Which aspects of rape fantasy does the theory address and which aspects go unexplained? At the empirical level the focus will be on how consistent the theory is with data obtained by third-person and self-observations, along with a methodological evaluation of the quality and credibility of these data.
Key questions will guide the analyses: How many women engage in fantasies of forced sex? Are there personality differences between women who have rape fantasies and those who do not? And what function do these fantasies serve? Finally, we will begin the process of integrating the lines of explanation into a more complete understanding of women's rape fantasies.
We will review more than 30 years of research on rape fantasies. It can be argued that, despite this research, any attempt to make final judgments as to the validity of the various theories of rape fantasy would be premature. Early researchers acknowledged the importance of female erotic rape fantasies, and research activity in this area increased vigorously between the 1970s and 1980s. This activity, however, has since diminished. This reduction may have to do with the previously noted social reservations attached to this topic, or researchers simply may have come to a temporary impasse. But the reduction has not come about because researchers have arrived at a consensus as to the meaning and function of rape fantasies. Thus we would argue that, although final judgments are not yet possible, this is the time for taking stock and preparing the way for future developments in an area that is important in its own right, as a major fantasy theme for women, and important as a scientific enigma whose solution can lead to a deeper understanding of female sexuality.
The present analysis covers women's waking, erotic rape fantasies. Although men also have rape fantasies (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995), these should be considered a separate phenomenon and they will not be considered here. In addition, nearly all studies have failed to distinguish between the rape fantasies of heterosexuals and those of lesbians, so conclusions as to possible effects of sexual orientation cannot be reached at this time.
Defining Rape Fantasies
For the purposes of the present review, the term "rape fantasy" will follow legal definitions of rape and sexual assault (Corpus Juris Secundum, 2002). This term will refer to women's fantasies that involve the use of physical force, threat of force, or incapacitation through, for example, sleep or intoxication, to coerce a woman into sexual activity against her will, that is, against the will of the character she identifies with in the fantasy. Thus rape fantasies contain three key elements: force, sex, and nonconsent. Because individuals exert control over the contents of their own fantasies, many rape fantasies involve sexual activities that take place consistent with the will and desire of the fantasizer, even though these activities are against the will of her self-character in the fantasy. From the point of view of the self-character, there is nonconsent, and these are rape fantasies. From the viewpoint of the fantasizer, an implicit consent has been given and these fantasies might be viewed as ritual displays of male dominance and female surrender (Fisher, 1999).
The Prevalence of Women's Rape Fantasies
A thorough review of the literature on women's fantasies of forced sex was conducted. Key word searches were carried out on PsychInfo and EBSCOhost. The key words, along with truncated versions thereof, included the following: sex, rape, sexual assault, force, forced sex, coercive sex, and submission, with each of these combined with fantasy, daydream, and imagery. All sources identified in these searches and their references were examined for possible inclusion.
Table 1 displays the empirical studies that have reported either the prevalence (percent of women) or frequency of women's rape fantasies. Twenty studies were identified. All used convenience samples, seven from the noncollege community and 13 from college students. Several methodological concerns place limits on the conclusions that can be reached from these data. Some measures ask for a direct self-report of whether the individual has ever had rape fantasies, and others ask subjects to write out their favorite sexual fantasies, which are later rated for presence of forced sex. Individuals may have had rape fantasies but do not consider them to be favorite fantasies or they may be reluctant or embarrassed to write out a detailed description of a rape fantasy. Thus the fantasy logs provide valuable evidence but they can offer only lower-bound estimates of prevalence. In addition, when participants are asked directly if they have had rape fantasies, the item used may either appear on its own or as part of a checklist of sexual fantasies. When asked as part of a checklist, which has been the most common procedure, this may guide individuals to respond in terms of fantasies that are more erotic in nature, whereas stand-alone items may be more likely to reflect either erotic or aversive rape fantasies. In the following discussion, results based on stand-alone measures will be identified explicitly.
The term "context" will refer to what activity the individual was engaging in during the rape fantasy, such as masturbation, intercourse, sexual activities with a partner, and nonsexual activity. One study (Hunt, 1974) yielded an unusually low prevalence: 19% of the women who had masturbated reported having rape fantasies during masturbation. In addition, this study included a number of older women. Without a replication of this finding, it is unclear whether this indicates that women typically do not engage in rape fantasies during masturbation or, perhaps, whether it reflects an age-related decrease in rape fantasies, as Hunt suggested that women over 35 showed unusually low prevalence rates. Another study (Talbot, Beech, & Vaughan, 1980) used a sample of author acquaintances and their referrals, making these data nearly uninterpretable. Because of these special methodological concerns, findings from these two studies appear in Table 1 but will not be included in summary statistics.
As the number of studies involved with each of the specific comparisons employed below is six or fewer and these studies typically vary in methodology, it would not be meaningful to report aggregated indexes, such as weighted means and confidence intervals; these would give an appearance of conclusiveness that would not be justified by the data (Wilkinson & Task Force on Statistical Inference, 1999). We will, however, characterize the distribution of scores so that their practical and theoretical implications can be determined.
Key comparisons were made regarding type of sample, context, and item wording. Community and student samples would be expected to differ somewhat on age, educational level, and perhaps on socioeconomic status (SES). Table 1 indicates that estimates of how many women have had rape fantasies are comparable for the community and student samples. Community estimates ranged from 31% to 49%, while student samples ranged from 31% to 57%. With regard to context, estimates of ever having rape fantasies with context unspecified show a range of 31% to 57%, while estimates for rape fantasies during intercourse or other sexual activities are comparable, ranging from 36% to 49%. With the possible exception of rape fantasy during masturbation, context does not appear to be a major factor. The wording of the rape fantasy item did not appear to affect results. Studies that used a variation of "overpowered or forced" showed a range of 31% to 55%, while those using the more explicit wording of "rape" ranged from 34% to 57%.
As awareness of rape as a social problem and depictions of rape in the popular culture have increased over the past 40 years (Bevacqua, 2000), it is possible that this has affected the prevalence of rape fantasies. An inspection of prevalence across decades reveals that studies published in the 1970s show prevalence rates ranging from 36% to 49%; studies from the 1980 s show prevalence rates ranging from 31% to 57%; studies from the 1990s show prevalence rates ranging from 36% to 55%; and the study from the 2000s shows a 34% rate. Despite the increased prominence of rape themes in popular culture, prevalence rates for rape fantasies appear to have been relatively stable over the past 4 decades.
Overall, there are nine reports of the percentage of women who have had rape fantasies, with these estimates ranging from 31% to 57%. Estimates were evenly distributed, with a median of 42%. In addition, these may be underestimates. Claims have been made within the academic and popular cultures that rape fantasies reflect personal and societal pathology (e.g., Brownmiller, 1975). Sentiments such as these suggest that many women may be ashamed of having rape fantasies. For example, research (Gold, Balzano, & Stamey, 1991) has found that women who wrote fantasies of forced sex also rated themselves as more frightened, guilty, and disgusted after writing the fantasy than did women who did not write about forced sex.
Table 1 shows that there are eight known estimates of the percentage of women for whom rape fantasies are frequently recurring or preferred sexual fantasies. These estimates range from 9% to 17%, with a median of 14%. As with the prevalence findings, these may be underestimates.
Two ways of considering rape fantasies are to assess their relative prevalence and relative frequency of occurrence as compared with other sexual fantasies. Unfortunately, there is no standardization across studies in their checklists of sexual fantasies, with lists differing considerably in number of fantasy items included, ranging from five items to 34 items. With this caution in mind, relative prevalence indicates that rape fantasies are not the most common sexual fantasies, but they do show a median ranking in the top 10. With regard to relative frequency for those who do have rape fantasies, they show a median ranking within the three most frequently experienced sexual fantasies.
For absolute frequencies of rape fantasies, estimates have varied. Strassberg and Lockerd (1998) found that 55% of females have had rape fantasies, and these females estimated that their rape fantasies occurred an average of three times a month with a median of once a month. Shulman and Horne (2006), in an Internet survey, reported that 10% of women have rape fantasies that occur once a month or more. Two studies (Person, Terestman, Myers, Goldberg, & Salvadori, 1989; Hsu et al., 1994, respectively) have estimated the percentage of women who have had rape fantasies within the last 3 months as 20% and 22%. With the exception of those by Strassberg and Lockerd (1998), the above estimates are fairly consistent.
Erotic and Aversive Rape Fantasies
Kanin (1982) has presented the most detailed content analysis of rape fantasies. In estimating prevalence of rape fantasies, he asked a solitary question rather than embedding the rape item within a checklist of sexual fantasies, and he used unusually direct and explicit wording (see Table 1), which may have primed participants to report more fearful or aversive fantasies. Kanin stated that some women have rape fantasies that are exclusively sexual and erotic, while other women have rape fantasies that are exclusively fearful and aversive. This conclusion may be somewhat misleading, as 21% of his participants classified their fantasies as reflecting a combination of sexual excitement and fear/terror, and 54% of fantasies that were characterized as exclusively fearful contained male rapists who were described as physically attractive.
According to Kanin, erotic rape fantasies contain low to moderate levels of fear with no realistic violence. In these fantasies, women typically are approached aggressively by a dominant and attractive male who is overcome with desire for her; she feels or expresses nonconsent and presents minimal resistance; he overpowers her and takes her sexually. Kanin made the interpretation that these were not true rape fantasies, that the described resistance amounted to a "token no," and he called these "seduction fantasies." Participants themselves characterized these as rape situations, however, and the self-character in these fantasies showed nonconsent. As no evidence was presented that the self-character's nonconsent was insincere, the label of "seduction" does not seem justified. Certainly, in actual rapes minimal resistance and female sexual arousal do sometimes occur (Duddle, 1991; Johnson, 1985), and their occurrence would not render the encounter a seduction rather than a rape.
Aversive rape fantasies come closer to representing realistic rape. In these fantasies, the male is more likely to be older, unattractive, and a stranger. These fantasies contain coercive and painful violence, and little or no sexual arousal. A typical scenario for an aversive fantasy would consist of an assailant "grabbing, throwing to the ground, ripping off clothing, while the victim is fighting to keep the aggressor from achieving penetration" (Kanin, 1982, p. 117). Kanin found that women with aversive rape fantasies were more apprehensive about actual rape and more likely to have dreams of rape than were other women. The more aversive rape fantasies may operate as attempts to deal with the fear of actual rape by gaining some sense of control over rape situations and rehearsing how one might deal with actual rape (Gold & Clegg, 1990; Gold, et al., 1991).
Kanin (1982) found that 29% of his subjects reported having aversive rape fantasies. No other studies have classified rape fantasies in this way, and his methods were unique and may have primed participants to recall aversive fantasies. Several studies using more conventional methodologies have suggested that a small proportion of rape fantasies are aversive (Maltz, 1995), including those of some women who were sexually abused as children (Gold, 1991). Women who have been raped as adults, however, are not more likely than other women to have rape fantasies (Gold et al., 1991; Gold & Clegg, 1990; Kanin, 1982), suggesting that these fantasies are not reexperiences of past adult sexual aggression. It appears that most of the current research deals with erotic rape fantasies, and these will be the focus of the present investigation.
Current Explanations for Rape Fantasies
Researchers and clinicians have created a number of theories for explaining rape fantasies. Each of the major theories will be examined and evaluated in an attempt to develop a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of why some women have rape fantasies. It is unlikely that one of these theories is right and all the others are misguided, and it is unlikely that all women have rape fantasies for the same reason. Instead, a theory may provide a valid explanation for one component of rape fantasies, so that various theories would need to be combined and integrated to approach a comprehensive understanding. At the same time, it is clear that some of these theories are incompatible with one another, and some stand on stronger ground than do others.
An acceptable explanation should address the three defining features of erotic rape fantasy: sex, use of force to obtain sex, and female nonconsent. In particular, a theory should explain why many women actively engage in rape fantasy for their own enjoyment and erotic arousal when their dominant reaction to actual rape is one of repugnance. And as a large majority of women have consensual sexual fantasies (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995), it should explain why women engage in rape fantasies when they could just as easily initiate a consensual fantasy.
Masochism
The earliest major theory of rape fantasy is a psychoanalytic position developed by Deutsch (1944), which states that rape fantasies are an expression of women's innate masochism, i.e., their unconscious desire for suffering and pain. Deutsch speculated that, because girls are physically weaker and more in need of protection than are boys, movements toward independence from the parents and the expression of natural aggressive impulses are more strongly inhibited in girls than they are in boys. To help induce this renunciation of independence and aggression, parents offer their daughters the reward of being loved and cared for: "In this renunciation the aggressive forces that are not actively spent must find an outlet, and they do this by endowing the passive state of being loved with a masochistic character" (Deutsch, 1944, p. 251).
The empirical evidence does not support masochism as a general explanation of rape fantasies. Kanin (1982) examined women's written descriptions of rape fantasies specifically to determine if, in the fantasy, women appeared to be deriving sexual pleasure from the pain and suffering of rape, and he found no evidence for masochism. Bond and Mosher (1986) presented women with either realistic depictions of rape containing pain and suffering or with depictions containing minimal discomfort and found reported sexual arousal to be much higher in the latter. Most women, over 99% by one assessment (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994), clearly state that they do not want to be raped in reality, and considerable evidence supports the demonstrated fact that they would be repulsed and traumatized by actual rape (Bond & Mosher, 1986; Gold et al., 1991; Resnick & Acierno, 1997; Wilson, 1987).
On the other hand, Hsu and colleagues (1994) found that 8% of women in a sample of college students had fantasies of being sexually degraded, and 5 % had fantasies of being whipped or beaten by a partner. Estimates are that between 5% and 10% of the general population has engaged in some form of sexual masochism and that these acts generally are consensual, pleasurable, and nonpathological (Baumeister & Butler, 1997). As might be expected, some research (Gosselin, Wilson, & Barrett, 1991) indicates that women who engage in masochistic sex are more likely than other women to fantasize about being forced to do something sexual. Taken together, these findings suggest that masochism may play a role in the rape fantasies of a small proportion of females. Deutsch's theory of the origin of female masochism, however, remains untested.
Sexual Blame Avoidance
The most frequently cited explanation for why some women have rape fantasies is that these fantasies allow women to avoid blame or responsibility for expressing their sexuality (Crepault et al., 1977; Deutsch, 1944; Hollender, 1970; Knafo & Jaffe, 1984). According to this explanation, women have been socialized as to the importance of not being perceived as promiscuous, overly sexual, or insufficiently reticent with regard to sex. Powerful labels, such as "loose," "easy," "tramp," and "slut" have been used to control and restrict women's sexual behavior and, by extension, their sexual feelings. This theory suggests that, for some women, a sexual fantasy of their own in which they participate or seek out consensual sex may arouse anticipations of self-blame and feelings of guilt, anxiety, and depression, which would inhibit sexual gratification. By having the fantasy take the form of rape, the woman is forced to do something she does not want to do, so she cannot be blamed for what happens. The use of force combined with her own nonconsent allows her to avoid blame, reduce guilt and shame, and therefore enhance sexual gratification as compared with engaging in a fantasy of consensual sex.
It has been well documented that, across nearly all cultures, female sexuality has been actively suppressed (Allgeier & Allgeier, 2000; Baumeister & Twenge, 2002; Brownmiller, 1975). Thus the precondition for this theory is sound. Researchers have inferred from this theory that women who are raised in sexually repressive environments, women who are high in sex guilt, and women who have negative attitudes toward sexual stimuli would be more likely than other women to engage in rape fantasies.
Studies have produced conflicting evidence, with the majority of research at odds with blame avoidance. In support of the theory, some studies have found that rape fantasies were more likely in women with high sex guilt (Moreault & Follingstad, 1978) and in women who were reared in sexually repressive families (Hariton & Singer, 1974). One study found no relationship between rape fantasies and sex guilt (Pelletier & Herold, 1988). In direct opposition to blame avoidance, other research has found that women who had rape fantasies scored lower than other women on sex guilt (Shulman & Horne, 2006; Strassberg & Lockerd, 1998) and they scored higher than other women on positive attitudes toward sexual stimuli (Gold et al., 1991; Shulman & Horne, 2006). Thus studies that have provided the most direct tests of the sexual blame avoidance theory, taken as a whole, do not support it as a general explanation for rape fantasies.
An issue that has not been discussed in this literature is that nearly all individuals who have rape fantasies also engage in consensual sexual fantasies. For example, Strassberg and Lockerd (1998), in a sample of college women, found that 97% had experienced the fantasy, "I imagine I am having sex in a secluded setting (island, cabin, etc.)," while 55% have had rape fantasies. Nearly all women who have rape fantasies also have consensual fantasies. As the same women are experiencing both consensual and rape fantasies, it does not seem likely that they are using the rape fantasies to escape blame for expressing their sexuality. It is possible, however, that rape fantasies are situationally triggered; that is, conditions that make sexual taboos more salient also may increase the likelihood of rape fantasies.
Other research on rape fantasy and personality suggests that sexual blame avoidance may be applicable for some women. Hariton and Singer (1974), in a community sample of married women, found that having rape fantasies during intercourse correlated with marital contentment and erotic arousal leading to orgasm. Hariton (1976), in further qualitative analyses, suggested that there may be two different types of women who have rape fantasies and a third type that does not have any sexual fantasies during intercourse. The first type, comprising 14% of their sample, reported having rape fantasies during intercourse "very often." These women described their rape fantasies as highly erotic, often leading to orgasm. Women in this category reported having positive relationships with their husbands and being relatively passive during intercourse. These women were characterized as dependent, unobtrusive, controlled, serious, inquisitive, and conformist. Hariton's (1976) second group experienced a wide variety of sexual fantasies during intercourse, including rape fantasies. This high-variety group was described as impulsive, independent, aggressive, and nonconformist. This group engaged in rape fantasies, but not with the frequency of those in the first group. The high variety group showed an active, exploratory approach to sex, engaging in premarital and extramarital sex, suggesting that they were not sexually repressed. A third group was brought up in a background of sexual repression, but these women reported no fantasies at all during intercourse, and they had difficulty with orgasm and sexual arousal.
Overall, the evidence for the sexual blame avoidance theory is not strong, but it would be premature to conclude that this theory is not helpful for understanding rape fantasies. Based on Hariton's (1976) analysis, it is possible that blame avoidance will have validity for women who use rape fantasies very often. But her research also suggests that if the level of sexual repression is too high, there may be a shutdown of all sexual fantasies during intercourse.
Studies have found that women with high sex guilt have fewer sexual fantasies in general (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995; Moreault & Follingstad, 1978; Pelletier & Herold, 1988). This creates a problem for a strong interpretation of the blame avoidance theory, since its prediction of sex guilt leading to rape fantasy goes against this general restriction on sexual fantasies for those with high sex guilt. It is possible that those who are high on sex guilt do not differ from those who are low on sex guilt in frequency of rape fantasies, but when they do have a sexual fantasy, it may be more likely to involve forced sex than would the fantasies of those with low sex guilt. Thus individuals with high sex guilt may show a higher proportion of rape to nonrape sexual fantasies than those who are low in sex guilt. In other words, previous research may have used an inappropriate metric to test this theory.
Openness to Sexual Experience
In direct contrast to sexual blame avoidance is the openness to sexual experience theory. Instead of being driven by repressed sexuality, this theory states that rape fantasies may just be part of a woman's generally open and accepting attitude toward sex (Gold et al., 1991; Pelletier & Herold, 1988; Strassberg & Lockerd, 1998). This theory is more descriptive than explanatory. What it does is to identify a pattern of empirical findings and describe what appear to be their direct implications.
Pelletier and Herold (1988) found that women who had experienced a greater variety of sex acts and those who had more sexual partners had a greater variety of sexual fantasies, fantasized more often about sex, and were more likely than other women to have rape fantasies. The researchers interpreted this to mean that as women have more sexual experiences, their diversity of fantasies also increases, including rape fantasies. The connection between experience and fantasy has not yet been elaborated on in this theory. For example, does the diversity of fantasies come from women having fantasies about their actual experiences? With regard to rape fantasies, this does not appear to be the case, as women with rape fantasies are not more likely than other women to have experienced actual rape (Gold et al., 1991; Gold & Clegg, 1990; Kanin, 1982).
Gold and colleagues (1991) had college females write out their three most frequently occurring sexual fantasies. Those who wrote a fantasy that included forced sexual activity also had written fantasies with more themes of group sex and sex with strangers. These women had also read more soft-core pornography and had seen more pornographic movies than those who did not include forced sex in their written fantasies. In a second sample, women who had written fantasies that included forced sex were more sexually experienced in terms of number of partners and variety of sexual acts, and they had more positive feelings toward sexual stimuli. Researchers concluded that women who have fantasies of forced sex are interested in a range of sexual stimuli and activities.
Strassberg and Lockerd (1998) found that college women who had rape fantasies and those who included forced sex in their written fantasies scored lower on sex guilt than did other females. Those who had rape fantasies also scored higher in sexual experience, had more nonforce sexual fantasies, and showed more positive feelings and expectations toward sexual stimuli than did other women. The authors concluded that rape fantasies seem to be "just one more expression of a generally open, positive, unrestrictive, and relatively guilt-free expression of one's sexuality" (p. 413).
The openness explanation for why women have rape fantasies may complement Hariton's (1976) descriptive system. Recall that one of the types of women that Hariton identified had a wide variety in their fantasies, with rape being only one of their many sexual fantasies. These women were described as impulsive, independent, aggressive, nonconformist, and exploratory in their approach to sex. Hariton's group that reported frequent rape fantasies on a checklist, however, does not appear to match the Gold and colleagues (1991) openness pattern of those who wrote out frequently occurring fantasies that involved rape. Research that employs both checklist and fantasy log methodologies may be able to clarify this issue.
Although the openness theory does appear to describe the rape fantasies of many women, it may be deficient in explaining why women would choose to include force in their fantasies, and if force is chosen, why the self character in these fantasies experiences nonconsent. The openness theory avoids and thus fails to explain the most central, paradoxical aspects of rape fantasy.
Desirability
Another explanation for women's use of rape fantasy considers its implications for a woman's sense of sexual attractiveness and desirability. The essential idea here is that the rape fantasy portrays the woman as so attractive, seductive, and desirable that the man loses control, breaking core expectations of civil decency in order to have her (Hariton, 1973; Heiman et al., 1976; Kanin, 1982; Knafo & Jaffe, 1984). In this way, the rape becomes a testament to her sexual power. Kanin (1982) suggests that such a fantasy not only enhances the female's self=esteem, but also generates excitement as she feels the extent of the man's desire. Women often mention "feeling desired" by a partner as an excitatory factor in sex (Graham, Sanders, Milhausen, & McBride, 2004).
Zurbriggen and Yost (2004) found that fantasies with forced sex were no more likely than other fantasies to include descriptions of the male's sexual desire. Although inconsistent with one implication of desirability theory, this study does not provide a direct enough test of the theory to place it in jeopardy. Researchers might investigate, for example, whether women who are most insecure about their attractiveness to men are more likely than others to have rape fantasies or whether, among women who do have rape fantasies, those who are more insecure about their desirability have these fantasies with greater frequency.
It seems likely that desirability contributes to the occurrence of rape fantasies, but there are other fantasy themes that also, and perhaps more directly, focus on the woman's desirability. For example, Strassberg and Lockerd (1998) found the following themes to be similar in prevalence to rape fantasies: "I imagine myself delighting many men," and "I pretend that I am another irresistibly sexy female." Desirability theory could be tested by determining whether women who have rape fantasies are also more likely than other women to have other desirability fantasies.
Male Rape Culture
Brownmiller (1975) argued that women's rape fantasies are a pathological manifestation of male-dominated culture. She maintained that, "the rape fantasy exists in women as a man-made iceberg" that can and should be destroyed by feminism (p. 322). Brownmiller observed that American culture is saturated with fantasies of men as the conquering sexual hero and sexual aggressor, while women's attractiveness to men is predicated on showing vulnerability and playing the victim. She argued that, as women have not been given the opportunity to explore and create their own sexual fantasies, the fantasies they do have are a product of male conditioning. In her view, rape fantasies are "a pitiful effort on the part of young girls.., to find their sexuality within the context of male [desires]" (p. 325).
There is no research that directly tests this theory, but several studies do have implications for its validity. Certainly, the culture is permeated with depictions of men as conquering sexual heroes and women as vulnerable sex objects, and one way of developing a fantasy storyline is to combine these depictions into a theme of rape. In contrast to Brownmiller's position, several studies indicate that roughly 10% 20% of men also have fantasies of being forced into sex (Hunt, 1974; Person et al., 1989; Sue, 1979). This large proportion of men in a submissive role to women is not consistent with the view of a monolithic male culture that forces ideas of rape onto women. In addition, research (Shulman &Horne, 2006) has found that women who espouse feminist beliefs are just as likely to have fantasies of forced sex as are other women.
As the fantasy theme of perpetrating rape on women is not a dominant male fantasy (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995), and since a sizable minority of men themselves have fantasies of being forced into sex by women, it seems unlikely that men would be the source for women's fantasies of forced sex. Currently, it does not seem likely that this theory plays a major role in explaining female rape fantasies, especially since gender roles have changed considerably over the past 40 years (New Strategist Editors, 2006) while, as indicated previously, the prevalence of rape fantasies has been stable.
Biological Predisposition to Surrender
In contrast to Brownmiller's cultural explanation for women's rape fantasies, this theory suggests that underlying biological factors play a role in the attractiveness of rape as a fantasy theme for women. In a number of species, for copulation to take place, the male must present a display of dominance, pursue, and sometimes physically subdue the female (Fisher, 1999). Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1989) explains that the reciprocal display of male dominance/female surrender is a basic pattern in the animal world, and that these predispositions originate from primitive brain regions that have evolved to insure successful mating in reptiles, birds, and mammals. Helen Fisher (1999) suggests that females may have a natural desire to surrender to a selected, dominant male. If so, humans may also have a corresponding tendency to portray this ritual in fantasy. Fisher maintains, however, that the human desire to surrender is not a desire for actual rape. There is currently no evolutionary basis for thinking that women would have a natural predisposition to seek rape. To the contrary, rape almost certainly would have reduced the reproductive success of ancestral human females by making them vulnerable to impregnation by men with inferior genes. Because women's total reproductive output as measured by number of children is relatively restricted, much of their long-term reproductive success would have been determined by the selection of strong, dominant, healthy mates who could pass on some of these advantageous traits to her children (Fisher, 1999). Both rape and any desire for rape by nonselected males would reduce women's reproductive success.
At the present time, it would be premature to attempt an evaluation of the relative contributions of cultural and biological explanations of rape fantasy, and the biological predisposition to surrender has not been directly tested. It is of considerable importance, however, to determine whether women's erotic rape fantasies are arbitrary cultural artifacts or whether they have biological roots.
Sympathetic Activation
Although theory and research on sympathetic physiological activation have not previously been linked to rape fantasies, this literature makes an important contribution to understanding how rape fantasies might function. Sympathetic activation enhances "fight or flight" reactions by, for example, dilating pupils to facilitate vision, constricting peripheral arteries to supply more blood to the muscles and brain, and secreting epinephrine to increase metabolism. A growing body of evidence indicates that anxiety, fear, and anger, which activate sympathetic arousal, can enhance sexual response.
Some of the fear-inducing stimuli that have been used include crossing an unstable bridge (Dutton & Aron, 1974) and threat of electric shock (Barlow, Sakheim, & Beck, 1983). Palace and Gorzalka (1990) found that, during an erotic video, female subjects with anxiety pre-exposure showed enhanced rate and magnitude of genital arousal (vaginal blood volume), as compared to those with neutral preexposure.
Recent work on the physiology of sexual arousal suggests that the interaction of both sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is crucial for women's sexual response (Motofei & Rowland, 2005). Palace and Gorzalka (1990) state that anxiety may enhance sexual arousal through the direct instigation of sympathetic activation (i.e., increased blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and muscle tension), which prepares the way for genital arousal and vaginal lubrication. They explained that an anxiety-evoking stimulus "provides a jump start or preparedness for sexual arousal. When sexual cues are provided, this enhanced sympathetic responsivity may activate specific genital responses" (Palace & Gorzalka, 1990, p. 410).
In a related line of research, a meta-analysis (Foster, Witcher, Campbell, & Green, 1998) concluded that sympathetic physiological activation, whether the source is aversive, such as fear or anger, or nonaversive, such as physical exercise, increases attraction to an attractive individual in the situation and decreases attraction to an unattractive person.
As previously discussed (Kanin, 1982), during erotic rape fantasies women typically envision an attractive male overcome with passion who uses mild to moderate force to overcome her nonconsent. The level of violence used is typically minimal, resulting in little pain. During the fantasy, the woman may experience some anticipational anxiety, fear, tension, and anger, along with images of struggling against the assailant. In addition, this fantasy is often experienced as part of consensual sex with a chosen, attractive partner. According to research on sympathetic activation, such a fantasy would be expected to increase sexual arousal and to increase sexual attraction to an actual partner. In other words, this theory provides a physiological basis for understanding how rape fantasies can enhance sexual experience.
In the case of aversive rape fantasies, the presence of an unattractive fantasy rapist and the level of violence employed may produce reactions of disgust rather than erotic arousal. Considerable research indicates that, whereas moderate levels of stimulus intensity may facilitate a response, high levels are often disruptive (Anderson, 1990; Yerkes & Dodson, 1908).
No research has tested the sympathetic activation theory with reference to rape fantasies, but its empirical support in related areas is promising. As a start, researchers could determine whether rape fantasies are effective in producing sympathetic activation. Research also should determine whether erotic rape fantasies during intercourse result in enhanced attraction to an actual partner.
Adversary Transformation
Romance novels, which account for 40% of mass paperback sales in the United States (Salmon & Symons, 2003), are erotic love stories written almost exclusively by women for a female audience, and it is not uncommon for these novels to include themes of rape. One review of historical romance novels found that 54% included the rape of the lead female character (Thurston, 1987). In particular, Hazen's (1983) analysis of rape in romance novels also functions as a theory of women's erotic rape fantasies.
In essence, both romance novels and rape fantasies are created works of fiction. Sexual fantasies are self-generated erotic stories often intentionally initiated to provide enjoyment and sexual arousal. Romance novels are structured erotic fantasies that individuals intentionally expose themselves to, typically for emotional satisfaction and sexual arousal. In a rape fantasy women create an imaginary scenario and they participate in the fantasy through the rape experience of their self character. In a romance novel that includes rape, women identify with the lead female character and vicariously experience her rape.
Hazen (1983) notes that, although the hero in romance novels must be handsome, he may also be cruel. Gorry (1999), in a content analysis of male romance heroes, found that these men are strong, masculine, muscular, sexually bold, and dangerous. According to Salmon and Symons (2003), romance heroes are not gentle and sensitive; they are men with the physical and temperamental qualities of warriors.
There are systematic differences in the ways that men and women view sexual interactions. In sexual fantasies, both consensual and forced, men typically see themselves as doers and women see themselves as the ones to whom sexual acts are done (Ellis & Symons, 1990; Leitenberg & Henning, 1995). When men view explicit sexual activity, the woman in the scene often functions as a sexual object and he imagines taking her out of the scene and having sex with her. Viewing the same scene, women typically imagine themselves as the object of male passion rather than focusing on the male and expressing her passion for him (Money & Ehrhardt, 1972). This carries over to romance fiction, where the focus is on the heroine's subjective experience of the male's passion for her and sometimes of her pain from male abuse, which heightens the emotional intensity of the story (Hazen, 1983).
Hazen argues that the romance novel presents the heroine with an exciting challenge. In male fiction, the challenge takes the form of a violent confrontation with an evil adversary. In romance novels, there is often a violent confrontation with a dominant, sexually aggressive adversary who appears to be evil. The challenge for the heroine is to conquer his heart, seduce him into falling in love with her, have him voluntarily make a lifetime commitment to her, and transform his apparent evil and cruelty into something more socially acceptable without diminishing his masculinity. In romance novels, rape is used as an effective means of creating excitement and dramatic tension. Hazen argues that, in the female imagination, shattered purity through violent sex is a primordial danger whose tension creates a powerful story.
In romance novels the narrative structure allows the fantasy to continue to completion in marriage. In erotic rape fantasies, the notion of conquering the heart of the rapist may be implicit. Researchers could investigate the attitude of the rapist toward the self character at the end of the fantasy. Has he been won over and transformed? For rape fantasies that occur during intercourse, research could determine whether there is any linkage between the partner and the fantasy rapist.
Adversary transformation provides a fresh view of what may transpire in rape fantasies, but it is yet to be empirically tested. It is generally compatible with each of the other theories except for masochism and male rape culture, and it shows a close fit to sympathetic activation theory.
Conclusion
The Context for Understanding Rape Fantasies
Current research indicates that from 31% to 57% of women have had rape fantasies, with from 9% to 17% reporting that rape fantasies are either a frequent occurrence or a favorite fantasy. Because rape fantasies are perceived as socially unacceptable or potentially embarrassing, these are most likely underestimates. Although rape fantasies are not the most prevalent or most frequent sexual fantasies, they are among the most popular, and they play a major role in the fantasy lives of one or two women in 10.
The content of rape fantasies appears to vary along a continuum, possibly with the majority of women who have experienced rape fantasies having primarily one type or the other. The more erotic fantasies typically involve an attractive, dominant male who is overcome by passion and uses mild to moderate force to overpower and penetrate a woman despite her nonconsent. More aversive fantasies typically involve a threatening, often unattractive, male who uses more violent levels of force to rape or attempt to rape a female who shows strong nonconsent and active resistance. Erotic rape fantasies are not realistic depictions of actual rape. Most research has involved erotic rape fantasies, and there is currently no good basis for estimating proportions of rape fantasies that are more erotic or more aversive.
Erotic Rape Fantasies and Wish Fulfillment
The erotic rape fantasy exists as a psychological enigma: many females actively engage in an erotic and pleasurable fantasy of an encounter that satisfies the technical definition of rape, that is, nonconsensual forced sex, when the actual experience of such an encounter would be traumatic and repugnant.
Because fantasies often involve a wish fulfillment, does this mean that many women want to be raped in real life? Some early theories conjoined the notions of fantasy wish fulfillment and female masochism to answer this question in the affirmative. Nearly all current researchers disagree with this position, and the evidence does not support masochism theory for the vast majority of women. At the same time, explanations given for why so many women would have erotic fantasies about rape often have been conceptually deficient. Some have mentioned that rape fantasies are not all that popular, that the fantasies are not very realistic, and that women can control their fantasies but they cannot control actual rape. These points are well taken, but they do not answer the question of why women would want to have fantasies that depict their own rape.
Viewing rape fantasies with a simplistic model of wish fulfillment assumes that what is important is what the fantasy reveals about real-life desires. It also assumes that rape, as a fantasy event, corresponds in toto to actual rape. These assumptions may lead to a misinterpretation of rape fantasies. Fantasies are powerful emotional experiences in their own right, and the aspects of rape fantasy that do apply to wish fulfillment may involve an aspect or component of fantasized rape rather than a desire for actual rape. For example, biological predisposition and sympathetic activation theories suggest that what is "wished for" in real life is surrender to a powerful and attractive selected male and a sense of danger, excitement, and passion in real-life relationships. In addition, simplistic wish fulfillment is not supported empirically, as women who have erotic rape fantasies are not more likely than other women to be rape victims (Gold et al., 1991; Gold & Clegg, 1990; Kanin, 1982). If having rape fantasies revealed a motive for actual rape, one would expect at least a moderately strong relationship between fantasy rape and actual rape, as each woman makes numerous decisions on a daily basis that easily could increase the likelihood of actual rape, if that were desired.
Theories of Erotic Rape Fantasy
Current theories of rape fantasy represent researchers' best attempts at answering the question of why many women would want to engage in erotic rape fantasies. Eight major theories have been identified. How do these theories relate to one another? Six of the theories are psychosocial in nature, and biological predisposition could be classified with these six, as its main implications are behavioral. Sympathetic activation operates at a different, physiological level of analysis. In this sense, sympathetic activation does not compete with the other seven theories, and it could potentially complement one or more of the psychosocial theories by providing the physiological grounding for its psychosocial effect. The remaining seven theories potentially compete with one another, but some theories overlap or show compatibilities such that they could be combined into a broader, internally consistent explanation, as will be illustrated in this section.
Other theories appear to be logically inconsistent with each other, such that support for one would tend to disconfirm the other. Combinations that show incompatibilities include masochism and openness, blame avoidance and openness, and male rape culture and biological predisposition. At the same time, incompatible theories may identify separate components of a broader model of rape fantasies. For example, blame avoidance and openness each may apply to different types of women, and cultural and biological factors each could operate as separate, valid, but competing influences on rape fantasies. To the extent that one of these components makes a greater contribution to rape fantasies, the other components would have less of the phenomenon left to explain, but both components may be needed for a comprehensive understanding.
It is important for researchers to be aware of each theory's strengths and limitations. In our judgment, current evidence does not support masochism theory as a general explanation of rape fantasies. Similarly, sexual blame avoidance is not supported as a general explanation, but it may apply to women who have rape fantasies with high frequency. Openness appears to describe women who report having occasional rape fantasies, but, by itself, it is deficient in explaining why they have these fantasies. Desirability theory does appear to explain one of the contributing factors in rape fantasies, with the importance of this factor as yet undetermined.
Although male rape culture generally is not supported by current evidence, pervasive media depictions of males as conquering heroes and women as vulnerable sex objects may influence the prevalence of women's rape fantasies. Biological predisposition theory seems promising, but the details of this position have not yet been elaborated, and this theory has not been tested in the domain of rape fantasy.
Sympathetic physiological activation provides an explanation for the biological basis on which a fantasy about an aversive event, such as rape, can lead to heightened sexual arousal and possible increased attraction to an actual partner. This theory has strong support with regard to fear and anxiety manipulations, but it has not yet been tested' on rape fantasies. Laying the physiological groundwork for explaining how the experience of a negative event can enhance a positive emotional experience is a pivotal step forward in making sense of rape fantasies. Adversary transformation provides a perspective for understanding how, in a fantasy, the idea of rape could operate as a means to an end rather than as an end in itself. In this sense, rape in a female fantasy would be similar to a male fantasy of physical conflict with an evil foe. Adversary transformation, however, has not been tested empirically.
An integration of biological predisposition, sympathetic activation, and adversary transformation should be explored. These theories are not only mutually compatible, but they also seem to fit together and complement one another, despite being developed in widely different contexts. Biological theory sets the stage by identifying ritualistic displays of male dominance and female surrender as important parts of the courtship ritual in many species. The display of male dominance may function as a way for females to assess genetic quality and the ability to protect. Sympathetic activation provides the physiological basis for understanding how fantasies that generate feelings of fear and anger may enhance sexual arousal. Adversary transformation suggests that in rape fantasies, the idea of rape, because of women's inherent fear of actual rape, functions as a powerful means for producing the danger and excitement that gives the fantasy sexual and emotional impact.
Rape fantasies, however, are certainly not the only mechanisms for generating a sense of sexual excitement. Consensual fantasies of sex with a special partner or sex in a romantic setting also are effective for many women. Which women show a particular attraction to rape fantasies may be determined by some combination of the blame avoidance, openness, and desirability theories. In this way, theories that provide a general explanation for why a rape fantasy could be erotically effective may be complemented by theories that explain why some women may respond more strongly than others to erotic rape fantasies.
Methodology and Future Research
Future research should explore the generalizability of prevalence estimates across demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. In particular, research should be expanded to include rape fantasies of lesbian and bisexual women to determine differences in context, content, or other variables, such as gender of assailant. Future research also should focus on samples from cultures that are both more androcentric and more egalitarian than that of the United States, as these will provide valuable evidence as to the relative biological and cultural contributions to rape fantasies.
Research employing daily diaries of sexual fantasies, later rated for force and nonconsent, should be compared with retrospective checklists as a way of determining the accuracy of the retrospective measures. Rather than measuring frequency of rape fantasies with scales that use vague descriptive markers such as "often" or "occasionally," scales of absolute frequency should be employed. These would reduce error variance attributable to individual differences in the interpretation of nonspecific descriptive labels. Work is needed on the content validity of sexual fantasy measures so that some level of standardization can be achieved. This would allow researchers to make more effective comparisons across studies. Most measures include only one item for measuring rape fantasies, and this is clearly inadequate. Items are needed to discriminate among types of force, between rape and rough sex, physical force and incapacitation, sincere and token nonconsent, and erotic and aversive rape fantasies.
It may be useful when testing theories of rape fantasy to consider both the comparison between women who have rape fantasies and those who do not and the comparison between those who have them with high or low frequency, as Hariton's (1976) analysis suggests that this distinction may be important. Researchers should replicate the Hariton (1976) study and determine whether women who have rape fantasies with high frequency follow blame avoidance, whereas those who have them with lower frequency follow the openness theory. If supported, this would bring considerable order to the rape fantasy literature.
A number of theories have been created over the past 50 years for making sense out of the phenomenon of rape fantasies, and suggestions were offered for testing each of these theories. Although it is no surprise that none of these theories provides a complete answer in itself, several show promise in contributing to a comprehensive understanding. Theory-driven research focuses investigative efforts on the major questions that require resolution. We encourage those with an interest in rape fantasies and in their implications for understanding female sexuality to go forward in testing these theories.
