Despite its prevalence, the term ‘extreme’ has received little critical attention. ‘Extremity’ is routinely employed in ways that imply its meanings are self-evident. However, the adjective itself offers no such clarity. This article focuses on one particular use of the term – ‘extreme porn’ – in order to illustrate a broader set of concerns about the pitfalls of labelling. The label ‘extreme’ is typically employed as a substitute for engaging with the term’s supposed referents (here, pornographic content). In its contemporary (...) usage, ‘extreme’ primarily refers to a set of context-dependent judgements rather than absolute standards or any specific properties the ‘extreme’ item is alleged to have. Concurrently then, the label ‘extreme’ carries a host of implicit values, and the presumption that the term’s meanings are ‘obvious’ obfuscates those values. In the case of ‘extreme porn’, this obfuscation is significant because it has facilitated the cultural and legal suppression of pornography. (shrink)

This dissertation develops and defends a conception of sexualized violence that is rooted in philosophical theories of violence, and at the same time helps us understand the way that violence is connected to various kinds of oppression, namely, the oppression of women. It argues that sexualized violence, which is typically theorized through related notions of physical violation and psychological trauma, is best understood in terms of its moral quality. Sexualized violence against women is fundamentally a moral problem insofar as it (...) disrupts victims' ability to grow and develop in relationships with others, to conceive and meet responsibilities to and emerging from those relationships, and well as the ability to challenge unjust social norms, practices and institutions that in part constitute who we are. This moral quality of violence is investigated through an engagement with the concept of moral integrity, arguing that integrity is grounded in authenticity, understood through the existential-phenomenological tradition. Integrity-as-authenticity paves the way for understanding sexualized violence as a form of moral disintegration, where the dynamism and flexibility required of authentic selfhood is frustrated. Understanding violence and victimization in this way, I argue for a robust notion of advocacy as part of our response to victims. Advocacy--giving voice--will require the development of new concepts and language adequate to the experiences of victims, it will also require the cultivation of spaces and relationships where victims can speak, and it may require that we lend our voices to and for victims. (shrink)

This thesis assessed whether rape is an adaptive mating strategy. which was naturally selected for in our ancestral past. It investigated a number of constructs. namely: fertility value; victim-offender relationship; socio-economic status; rape proclivity; actual sexual aggression; and sociosexual orientation. There were two types of studies: studies 1-3 involved archival data, e.g. the use of criminal statistics. and studies 4-7 assessed participant data, e.g. rape attitudes. Study 1 found that fertility value was related to rape prevalence, as was reproductive value. (...) In addition, offenders with a nonreproductive sexual preference tended to rape a victim with a low FV. and offenders who committed a secondary offence tended to rape a victim with high FV. Study 2 found that there was a smaller number of offences committed against strangers and partners, and a larger number committed against step-relatives and acquaintances. More rapes were committed by low status than high status men. even when the base rate was accounted for. Study 3, showed that there was a relationship between the population gender ratio and rape prevalence. However. the covariable population density was positively related to rape prevalence. Study 4- found that there was more disapproval of a depicted rape committed by a low status offender. A low status offender who raped a victim with low RV attracted more disapproval. Study 5 showed that marital rape was disapproved of more than both stranger and acquaintance rape. Individuals with a short-term mating strategy disapproved of rape more than those with a long-term strategy, and a long-term strategist disapproved of a marital rape less than a short-term strategist. Study 6 found that those who possessed a promiscuous ideology perceived their future life to be limited, in particular the likelihood of being happily married. There was no relationship found between perceived future life and sexual aggression. In study 7. it was found that those who had a more unrestricted sociosexual orientation were more likely to have asymmetrical bodily traits. and that the right hand 20:40 digit ratio was significantly related to actual sexual aggression. Overall. there was partial support for rape as an adaptive mechanism. but the studics wcre also consistent with a by-product explanation of rape. (shrink)