WOMEN IN REVOLT

What about the ever-controversial rape fantasy?

Meston: Usually when the research is done on the rape fantasy, it doesn't involve a lot of violence. There is force involved, the man is taking the woman, and there is arousal in that -- but there isn't a real threat for their life. It's similar to these romance novels where the guy is so overtaken by the woman and wants her so much that he just takes her. There is some amount of abandonment and letting go on the woman's part. There is something arousing about the submission and being so desired that the guy can't help himself.Now, a true rape fantasy -- where a woman is taken in a dark alley, beaten and raped -- is much more rare. Some women do have those, but they are not sexually arousing. They are terrorizing. Often it is women who have actually been sexually assaulted who experience these fantasies. Some people believe those types of true rape fantasies serve the purpose of making women more vigilant and more cautious

-Salon
Oct 5 2009