Not all men are potential rapists.

Or at least some have less potential to rape than the vast majority of women.

Some men are very physically weak and/or small. Some men are totally impotent. Some men are almost completely paralysed. Strength and ability averages don't mean a lot when you're talking about individuals.

I am no more a potential rapists than Andrea Dworkin, anatomically speaking. I am just about average in strength and weight for a guy my age. But I don't have a penis. I could rape someone with an inanimate objects or with my hands (a friend of mine was fist-raped by her girlfriend.) What's nice about the deal, though, is that if I'm sitting in a rally of that sort, (or when I'm walking down the street at night1), people assume I'm a member of the class of men who have the physical ability to rape in the classical sense (whereas people would likely assume my friend's girlfriend not to be.)

These sorts of assumptions about being able to tell who is a rapist and who isn't is what causes such high rates of date rape. Everyone is a potential rapist.. I say it's wisest to assess situations and individuals and the risk involved, not to make blanket decisions about who is and who isn't a potential rapist.


1 Please note that I have *no* problem with women being safe when walking alone (or groups, for that matter) and I'm not offended by people crossing to the other side of the street or speeding up when I'm walking near them if it would be a potentially dangerous situation for them; I want the women (and men, and others) I care about to keep their safety in mind, too.