>
>>
>> >>> FAIR-L
>> >>> Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
>> >>> Media analysis, critiques and news reports
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>ACTION ALERT from FAIR's Women's Desk:
>> >>>In rape debate, NBC prioritizes controversy over scientific credibility
>> >>>
>> >>>February 11, 2000
>> >>>
>> >>>During the last week in January, NBC news viewers had two chances to
learn
>> >>>that rape is not a crime of violence but a "natural, biological and
evolved"
>> >>>male behavior--and that the clothing a woman wears can put her at
risk of
>> >>>being attacked.
>> >>>
>> >>>On the Today show (1/24/00), evolutionary psychologist Randy Thornhill
>> >>>insisted that "rape is a sexual act with a sexual motivation" that
evolved
>> >>>as a reproductive strategy for men to pass their genes on to as many
>> >>>offspring as possible. Thornhill, co-author (with University of Colorado
>> >>>professor Craig Palmer) of the then-unreleased book "A Natural
History of
>> >>>Rape" (MIT Press), warned that to reduce their chances of being
raped, women
>> >>>must understand "that there are costs associated with dressing
provocatively
>> >>>and going out alone at night and so forth."
>> >>>
>> >>>Watching the Today show, viewers would never know that Thornhill and
>> >>>Palmer's theory has been criticized by fellow scientists as an
>> >>>advocacy-motivated product of sloppy research, weak premises and
>> >>>insufficient data. It wouldn't have been difficult for NBC to find
>> >>>scientists who could offer a contradicting voice. Evolutionary
biologist Dr.
>> >>>Jerry Coyne told the New York Times (1/15/00) that their work,
excerpted in
>> >>>The Sciences magazine, was "irresponsible, it's tendentious, it's an
>> >>>advocacy article and the science is sloppy."
>> >>>
>> >>>Or NBC could have interviewed science journalist Natalie Angier,
author of
>> >>>"Woman: An Intimate Geography," who told FAIR she identifies many
problems
>> >>>areas within Thornhill and Palmer's work. "There is so little data
here on
>> >>>which they base so much," Angier said. "Is there any research showing
that
>> >>>women in miniskirts get raped more often than women in long skirts? Of
>> >>>course there isn't. He's saying it, but that data doesn't exist."
>> >>>
>> >>>In The Sciences and in numerous interviews, Thornhill complains that
his and
>> >>>Palmer's writings on rape have been turned down by science journals
because
>> >>>of political correctness censorious feminists within the scientific
>> >>>community. Angier offered a different reason the pair's work might
have been
>> >>>rejected: "Their paper was probably turned down for the same
nonideological
>> >>>reasons why so many other papers are turned down--simply because
their data
>> >>>isn't convincing. The truth is that their book was not peer reviewed.
The
>> >>>beauty of this type of thing is that they can say anything they want
when it
>> >>>doesn't have to hold up to scrutiny... in a serious scientific journal,"
>> >>>Angier said. "They're willing to go way out on a limb on very, very
little
>> >>>data, and then people like me get accused of being ideological when
we call
>> >>>attention to that while they get to fall back on their scientific
>> >>>credentials."
>> >>>
>> >>>Indeed, much of the media coverage surrounding Thornhill and Palmer's
>> >>>"Darwin made me do it!" theory framed the discussion as a battle between
>> >>>angry activists and dispassionate scientists. Thornhill set the terms
of the
>> >>>debate, and news outlets followed his lead, describing his work as
>> >>>controversial, provocative, and most of all disturbing to social
scientists
>> >>>and anti-rape advocates.
>> >>>While a number of outlets did seek comments from other scientists, few
>> >>>offered serious scientific counterpoints illustrating research-based
>> >>>objections.
>> >>>
>> >>>This limited and leading framing was typified on Today, where
Thornhill was
>> >>>never asked to substantiate his theory with data. Instead, the
University of
>> >>>New Mexico professor was allowed to blithely round off his claims
about the
>> >>>biological nature of rape with the assertion, "these are not debatable
>> >>>issues" (a line he favored during most of his print and broadcast
>> >>>interviews).
>> >>>
>> >>>Rather than including any response from biologists who could
challenge the
>> >>>rape theory from a scientific viewpoint, Today pitted Thornhill
against New
>> >>>York City sex crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein, setting up a profoundly
>> >>>unilluminating, science-verses-law debate.
>> >>>
>> >>>As the only scientist in the conversation, Thornhill appeared by
default to
>> >>>represent objective science and natural reality. When Fairstein
criticized
>> >>>Thornhill for never studying rape victims or rapists, and instead basing
>> >>>much of his work on the apparently coercive sexual practices of scorpion
>> >>>flies ("This is not, professor, 'A Bug's Life," Fairstein said),
Thornhill's
>> >>>response was to say that Fairstein "mischaracterized science." Thornhill
>> >>>dismissed anyone who disagrees as anti-intellectual and manipulative:
"It's
>> >>>very, very tragic for critics of our approach to try to mislead the
public
>> >>>about the nature of science."
>> >>>
>> >>>The Today segment closed with news anchor Ann Curry's promise that
"this is
>> >>>not the last we're going to be hearing about [Thornhill's theory]. In
fact,
>> >>>it's just the beginning."
>> >>>
>> >>>As it turned out, viewers didn't have to wait very long to hear more
of the
>> >>>same from Thornhill--or from NBC. The next day's Dateline (1/25/00)
featured
>> >>>a segment, again pitting Thornhill against Fairstein, that opened
with this
>> >>>voice-over from reporter Lisa Rudolph: "For years the conventional
wisdom
>> >>>was that rape is a crime of violence, not sex. Now a shocking new theory
>> >>>suggests the opposite, that it is about sex and a biological impulse
that
>> >>>all men have."
>> >>>
>> >>>In another voice-over, Rudolph repeated Thornhill's assertion that he
isn't
>> >>>blaming the victim when he tells women their clothing can trigger men's
>> >>>biological tendencies to demand sex by force, he's merely "suggesting
the
>> >>>only way to prevent rape is to understand it scientifically." Rudolph's
>> >>>comments were bolstered by visual images capitalizing on the
sensationalism
>> >>>of the story: close-up shots of women in tight shorts, and a clip
from "The
>> >>>Accused," a movie centered on a graphic, brutal gang rape of a woman
in a
>> >>>bar.
>> >>>
>> >>>NBC seemed more interested in stoking the controversy surrounding
their book
>> >>>than examining its scientific validity. Dateline's segment was
prefaced by
>> >>>the teaser, "And the big story that everyone is talking about: a
shocking
>> >>>theory about rape... Is this a new field of conflict in the battle of
the
>> >>>sexes?... Are all men born rapists?"
>> >>>
>> >>>Though this segment did include a brief quote from evolutionary
biologist
>> >>>Jerry Coyne denouncing Thornhill and Palmer's theory as "bunk," Dateline
>> >>>never posed any questions that could illuminate whether or not their
work
>> >>>has scientific merit. Instead, Rudolph ends her report by telling
viewers
>> >>>that their book, when it is released, "will likely fuel the debate over
>> >>>whether it's irresponsible runaway science or a frightening insight into
>> >>>human behavior."
>> >>>
>> >>>Irresponsible science or frightening insight into behavior? That's an
>> >>>interesting question. Too bad there was so little actual scientific
debate
>> >>>in the two NBC shows supposedly devoted to answering it. In the typical
>> >>>"science in one corner, feminism in the other" paradigm so often
favored by
>> >>>the media, Today viewers received a whole lot of hype and very little
>> >>>information on which to judge this contested theory.
>> >>>
>> >>>What Thornhill and Palmer received as a result of this type of
coverage (by
>> >>>NBC as well as in the national and international press) was much more
>> >>>tangible: MIT Press capitalized on the book's PR hype by moving its
>> >>>publication date from April 1 to February 1. An MIT Press representative
>> >>>told FAIR that as of the first week in February, the initial print
run of
>> >>>10,000 copies has already sold out, and at least another 10,000
copies have
>> >>>been ordered.
>> >>>
>> >>>ACTION: Want to know why NBC devoted so much air time--and so little
>> >>>scientific scrutiny--to a dubious theory that women can reduce their
risk of
>> >>>rape by dressing conservatively? Ask them. Express your concerns to:
>> >>>
>> >>>Dateline NBC
>> >>>corespondent Lisa Rudolph: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >>>Fax: 212-644-7073
>> >>>30 Rockefeller Plaza
>> >>>NYC, NY 10112.
>> >>>
>> >>>Today Show
>> >>>news anchor Ann Curry
>> >>>mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >>>30 Rockefeller Plaza
>> >>>NYC, NY 10112
>> >>>
>> >>>Please "cc" your letters to Jennifer Pozner, Women's Desk Director,
FAIR,
>> >>>at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >>>Fax: 212-727-7668
>> >>>
>> >>> ----------
>> >>>
>> >>>
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>
Dr. Joyce Johnson
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Developmental/ Experimental
Centenary College of Louisiana
PO Box 41188
2911 Centenary Blvd.
Shreveport, LA 71134-1188
<http://www.centenary.edu/~jjohnson>
office 318 869 5253
FAX 318 869 5004 Attn: Dr Johnson, Psychology
