# Does Castration Deter Sexual Assault?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-castration-deter-sexual-assault/140709>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 5, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-castration-deter-sexual-assault/140709 "2002-12-05T16:14:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-castration-deter-sexual-assault/140709/21 "2002-12-09T20:14:49Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by **bibliophage** \*  
> The rape-as-power vs. rape-as-sex debate would probably be better handled in GD, but I won’t get too worked up about it as long as you bring facts to the table and not unsupported opinions. I seem to recall we have already had the discussion, but I can’t remember whether it was in GQ or GD, and I can’t find it in a search.

It looks like such a conversation took place during the winter of our missed content. [Here](http://www.boardreader.com/scripts/texis.exe/viewthread?query=Straight-Dope-rape-sex-power&ttype=&postid=3dd66e3683) is a fragment cached at [www.boardreader.com](http://www.boardreader.com)

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**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-castration-deter-sexual-assault/140709/22 "2002-12-09T20:37:37Z")

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Izzy said, “Actually, no. I think the notion that the primary motivation for a forced sex act is sex is commonsensical - rather like the notion that the primary motivation for armed robbery is money. Further, the performance of the sex act itself would seem to require a certain level of arousal on the part of the rapist. And again, the  
age distribution of victims is heavily weighted in favor of sexual attractiveness.(Many “rape = violence” assertions make note of the fact that women of all ages can be raped. Which is true - anything can happen, but there is an enormous decrease at older ages).”

How do you account for rapists who have a steady supply of sex at home and still prefer to terrorize their victims with sex? It’s power and humiliation – not sex. Usually. I’ll give you date rape, but that’s about it.

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**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-castration-deter-sexual-assault/140709/23 "2002-12-10T14:28:51Z")

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1. There are people who have “a steady supply of sex at home” and still have affairs.

2. There may be people who are attracted specifically to this type of sex. (I noted this in my first post.) There is a lot of room for variations in taste when it comes to these matters.

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