Yahoo! News Story - Scientists Assail Book on Rape

Scientists Assail Book on Rape

By JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA AP Science Writer

Two scientists have launched a new attack on the year's mostprovocative book, ``A Natural History of Rape,'' which portraysrape as a natural product of evolution and suggests all men couldbe rapists.

In Thursday's issue of the scientific journal Nature, the twoscientists describe the book as scientifically flawed. Thejournal's editors took the unusual step of releasing the bookreview in advance.

``The authors' evidence either fails to support their case, ispresented in a misleading or biased way, or equally supportsalternative explanations,'' said the reviewers, Jerry Coyne of theUniversity of Chicago and Andrew Berry of Harvard's Museum ofComparative Zoology.

The review angered the book's authors, Randy Thornhill of theUniversity of New Mexico and Craig T. Palmer of the University ofColorado-Colorado Springs. They questioned the credibility andobjectivity of both the reviewers and the influential journal.

``These anti-evolution critics don't like evolution applied toany feature of life, but especially not to human traits,'' saidThornhill, a biologist.

For 25 years, the prevailing view is that rape is a crime ofviolence and power. But in their book, published by MIT Press,Thornhill and Palmer suggest that sexual coercion has evolved as ameans to increase the reproductive success of those men who wouldotherwise be rejected as mates. They also recommend that womendress conservatively and young men be taught to control theirimpulses.

In the Nature review, Coyne and Berry criticize the book'sunderlying science on several fronts.

For example, Thornhill and Palmer report that rape victims tendto be in their prime reproductive years; the reviewers counter with1992 study showing that 29 percent of rape victims were under age11.

The book's authors say women of childbearing age suffer moreviolence during rape because they fight harder to prevent anunwanted conception. The reviewers suggest that children and olderwomen who are raped often are physically unable to fight back.

Other rape experts have said the book is rich in problems.

``I've read a five-page summary of the book, and I came up with52 points of disagreement,'' said University of Arizona publichealth professor Mary P. Koss. She co-chaired a task force onviolence against women for the American Psychological Association.

``The authors claim their book is being rejected on politicalgrounds,'' Koss said. ``But these are criticisms of content andquality.''

Thornhill and Palmer previously disagreed over the book withCoyne and other scientific critics, as well as the NationalOrganization for Women and rape counselors.

Thornhill said the book does not condone rape; it merelyexplores its biological roots. Forced procreation is documented inspecies ranging from insects to apes, and humans are no different,the authors contend.

-

On the Net: New York Academy of Sciences, which publishedexcerpts of book: www.nyas.org.

MIT Press site: http://mitpress.mit.edu.