Control

 

 

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Sociological Context

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  Desiring Control

  • A natural progression from our discussion of how participants associated control with masculinity is to concentrate on the human attribute of control itself.

Interviewee 12 expressed his opinion regarding the importance of controlling a woman:

Basically...it’s all based on control. Once you--most men, once they know they can’t control their woman no more, they don’t want it [sex]. They want it, but they don’t want to face reality that they have no more control over this woman....It’s all a part of wanting what you want. When you want it....My point of control, the control I want, is to be able to call you when I wanna call you, you know what I’m saying, and have sex.
 

An informant discussed how he “manipulated” the female victim into “submission” prior to the sexual offense; thus, he had control at that instance.  Interviewee 10 recollected:

You get in their head and whether they want to or not, you can manipulate them, convert them into doing something for you....I was continually messing with her mind....This was part of the whole process of me manipulating her. You know, getting to see if she would follow me....It was just a game to get a piece of ass. And to see if I could break her down, to see if I could get her to say 'fuck you' or if she would actually come follow me. And she did. She came followin' me. So, I think it was more of a mental submission than anything.
 

I wish to provide a final statement by a participant related to control. It dovetails nicely with the previous remark. Interviewee 16 expressed:

If she gives the indication to the male that she’s very impressionable by this man, that she can easily change the mind and the clothes can be compromised, then she relinquishes …control--especially to an aggressive, someone who wants to have only sexual contact with that person.
 

  Conclusions

  • These transcript excerpts from my doctoral dissertation emphasize  how the date rapists wanted to control the event and took every opportunity to do that.
  • Control (a sociological contextual quality) ultimately allowed them to obtain their desired sexual outcomes.
     

 

 

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