Adult-on-adult rape fantasies (both as women fantasizing being raped and men fantasizing doing the raping) were recognized as common, normal, and harmless long ago, at least in a society that demonizes sex to begin with..


Interesting point here, Minstrel. Somewhere in my memory the study conducted which stands out for me (I don't remember the name) found that 70% of men experienced arousal when they were shown a rape scene. I was shocked at the time.

Of course it doesn't mean I therefore think rape or seeking out depictions of it is ok. I don't. I don't believe it is ok to stroke one's penchant for causing true misery to another. However, there is probably quite a bit of truth to what you say about sexual repression. From what I can tell, the stronger the sexual repression is in a given society, the more violent are the secret fantasies that result. In the USA, my personal opinion is that more sexually violent stories radiate from bible belt areas exactly because these states tend to be the most sexually repressive. It would also explain why so many sordid political sex scandals arise from the conservative religious right. Where sex is freely discussed on a mature level and tolerated, the extremes of sexual taboos are also lessened.