Convicted Rapists Vocabulary of Motives

When committing an act that society deems as deviant, criminal actors will create different motives and excuses to justify their behavior. Even when justifying crimes deemed heinous such as rape, those who commit these acts tend to come up with their own reasons why their actions are not as deviant as the rest of society views them. Per the book Constructions of Deviance, rapists develop their own vocabulary of motives to credit their behavor as acceptable. Moreover, these deviants were likely to justify their behavior by using one of five excuses for their actions.

The first excuse given is that women are seductresses. This implies that women present themselves in a manner that is essentially enticing the deviant actor to pursue ger for a sexual encounter. Secondly, these deviant actors may claim that women mean "yes" when they say "no". This justification attempts to discredit a woman's ability to make independent decisions and almost implies that her saying "no" is a means of trying to further seduce the rapist.

A third justification is that most women eventualy relax and enjoy it. This idea of being persistent attempts to say that most women are uncomfortable at the beginning of a sexual encounter; however, as time and effort persists, she will eventually calm down and allow herself to enjoy the experience. Moreover, another justiftication is that "nice girls don't get raped". This justification does not necessarily discredit the rapist's actions, but mostly discredit's the victims character. It implies that the victim deserved to be raped. Lastly, a rapist wil say that the act is only a minor wrongdoing. In this case, the rapist does not deny accountability, but instead downplays the gravity of their actions as only being something minor.

However, their are also rapists who acknowledge their wrongdoing and fully blame themselves for the rape occurring and not the victim. They view their actions as being morally unjustifiable and, in turn view themselves as repulsive and vile beings. For individuals who justify their actions, their excuses for their actions are designed for outsiders. However, for the case of those who internalize their criminal behavior, their excuses are designed for themselves to encourage them to have piece within themselves.