So is rape reeeally wrong?

[Faith No More]

I've always found this a little hard to believe. If it isn't about sexual desires, why choose that anyway? surely there are more practical means of showing dominance than getting naked.

The sexual gratification is just a side benefit. A rapist chooses rape as a means of dominance because it is extrememely humiliating to the victim, and the ability to humiliate signifies ownership. To put it bluntly, nothing says, "I own you" quite like a penis being forcibly thrust into a vagina.

[Chad32]

I've always found this a little hard to believe. If it isn't about sexual desires, why choose that anyway? surely there are more practical means of showing dominance than getting naked.

Can you think of a more effective one than taking control of your body from you?

Chain them up, or keep them somewhere that they can be useful to you while being isolated. The only advantage I could see in rape is the fact that sex normally feels really good. So doing something that feels pleasurable could convince them to want it. Like getting them addicted to drugs, but less expensive.

[Zidneya]

Can you think of a more effective one than taking control of your body from you?

Yeah torture. Pure physical, non sexual, involvement of both freedom privacy and regular pain induced torture.

The sexual gratification is just a side benefit. A rapist chooses rape as a means of dominance because it is extrememely humiliating to the victim, and the ability to humiliate signifies ownership. To put it bluntly, nothing says, "I own you" quite like a penis being forcibly thrust into a vagina.

There are a lot of slaves that beg to differ.
Guys I already had this discussion before the whole rape ain't about sex ain't a fully mature generalization. It mentions very significant fact in the rapist mind (so I can understand the confusion) however.
Let's not forget that the rapist mind is (not exactly, however metaphorically speaking resumed into a simple words) like this:

• I want sex.
  
• Sex feels good.
  
• Therefore you are gonna enjoy it.
  
• And if you don't who cares.
  
• The only thing that matters is my pleasure(I'm not gonna deny that the victim is seen as an object however in the rapist mind many times it autosuggest themselves thinking that the victim is as promiscuous as he desires to be, turning him/her into a free sex object at the disposal of anyone).
  
• I find you hot.
  
• Therefore you must want sex.
  
• And it's your fault for being hot not mine.
  
• You don't want me?
  
• Then I'm gonna f**k you so hard that you are gonna respect me, love me and fear me.
  

And as you can see sex is very present in that line of thinking.

After all let's not forget that rape divides into:

• Anger rape
  
• Power rape(also known as Frustration rape)
  
• Sadistic rape
  
• Rejection rape
  
• Gang rape
  
• Serial rape
  
• Tension release rape
  
• Love triangle rape
  
• Drudged victim rape(also known as Black out rape)
  
• Fantasy of rape
  
• Sexual gratification rape
  
• An let's not forget the rape incited by the sexual abuse in childhood.
  

However this is the last thing I'm gonna say about it because the last rape thread I was part of it ended wrong…very wrong.

http://atheistforums.org/thread-26253.html

[Tonus]

I've always found this a little hard to believe. If it isn't about sexual desires, why choose that anyway? surely there are more practical means of showing dominance than getting naked.

Most societies see sexuality as a deeply personal and deeply private issue. To invade a person on that level can grant a tremendous feeling of power and control to the rapist. Many instances of rape, such as those by popular athletes on campus, are utterly unnecessary if they simply desired sexual satisfaction; the sexual act is just the way of showing how much control and power the rapist has over his victim.

[GrandizerII]

There is no absolutely objective basis for why rape is wrong (although some atheists may argue there is some form of objective basis), but that doesn't matter either way. Excluding psychopaths, sociopaths, and the like, we are generally conditioned to oppose rape and see it as really wrong. So that's good enough reason to see it as such. Knowing the exact reason(s) only matters for the purpose of knowing why, but it is not a requirement for making such a moral judgement.

You have to really ignore all the data collected by studying and interviewing rape victims to believe that. If information came out tomorrow that suggested rape enhances the well-being of all parties involved, extending the victim's life by five years and making them happier and healthier, the question "Is rape wrong?" would be a topic worthy of discussion.

Rape is seen by many to be wrong (in the modern world) because it generally causes trauma to the victim and diminishes their quality of life, but how is that an objective standard rather than subjective? You are using an arbitrary measure of morality, not a solid mathematical/logical basis. What if you observed an ancient culture that encouraged rape of foreigners and their measure of right or wrong is not based on the well-being of foreigners? Can you give them a solid rational basis, not dependent in any way on subjective feelings, for why what they're doing is wrong?