system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
The idea that rape is only about power is ludicrous. CMV

We often hear that "rape isn't about sex, it's about power."

Read any popular article on rape it will tell you that is all about power or control (the terms are used as synonyms). 

Really? That's it? 

Are you seriously trying to tell me that the phenomenon of rape can be explained by a single cause in all instances? That for every rape committed by every person ever is always about power or control? 

Can you name any behavioral phenomenon that can be explained by a single psychological factor for all people - a diverse set of people? 

I can't. Because there isn't one. People are different. People are complicated. People are complex. Similarly, so are there reasons for doing things.
gpt
There are a variety of rape types. Nearly all stranger rapes are about power in some form. Sex is used as a weapon because it is singular in its ability to humiliate and degrade and utterly destroy someone's spirit. That being said, what motivates a violent rapist is not going to be identical to a date rapist. The element of power play is always there in some form, whether it be rage, jealousy, needing to put someone "in their place", sadism, etc. That is all less about sex and more about demoralizing. 

There've been studies done in which known rapists were interviewed about many things, including their motivation. Across the board, power was listed first and foremost. Now, mind you, these were not get-her-drunk-and-screw-her date rapes. These were stranger and violent rapes (some of the most violent rapes are committed by someone who knows the victim, including their own spouse). Power and control were the main factors, along with establishing dominance, demoralizing, breaking the spirit. 

All the nonsense that gets brought up in court...what was the victim wearing, what is the victim's sexual history, etc...none of that played a part in their selection. What they look for is accessibility, the ability to overpower their victim (be it by threat, force, physical size), and privacy. 

Date rape, frat rape, roofie rape... these are similarly about taking what they want. Its victims are often treated as subhuman, their desire and will disregarded. That *is* about power in its essence. Power is not just physical. It's social power, mental and emotional domination, intimidation. 

Rape is about a sense of entitlement, and taking what they consider theirs to take. That is power play at its core.