I appreciate that evolution is a very complex process
When I wrote the original post, I was thinking along the lines that differing mental states between having consensual sex and being raped might have an effect on hormone production, which could in turn affect the early development of the foetus.

Edit: Also that males perceived as "attractive" are likely to be superior in some way, so there might be an advantage in having children by males that a female finds attractive than those she does not.

I realize that this argument is predicated on the idea that attractive males are less likely to resort to rape, which is a whole other argument in itself.


Further edit: I feel should add (for the benefit of those people who seem to have got the wrong idea) that I'm talking in very general terms in this whole thread and I'm not really referring purely to humans, but to animals in general.
( MatJ LOOK, Mon 10 Sep 2012, 18:41, 2 replies)

There might be a grain of truth in it somewhere, but if you could observe any trend at all, it'd be more likely to be "fewer children brought to term" than "fewer instances of conception". You'd have to look at things like whether rape was more prevalent in less affluent areas, and if it was, factor in variables such as diet, environment, general health, and so forth. Also, you'd have to allow for the fact that rape victims may seek some sort of termination - pennyroyal tea (and other things) have reputedly been used for such purposes since Roman times, or earlier. I would imagine there are a staggering number of variables to consider.

So, at a guess - conception rates roughly the same (presuming roughly equal health in rape victims/willing partners), amount of babies born possibly a little lower. That said, I really have no idea.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Mon 10 Sep 2012, 19:34, closed)

Oh, no, I understand what you're getting at, even if it could have been maybe expressed better
it's obviously a very, very difficult subject. The hormone idea is not potentially without merit - but I think there's been a lot of studies of miscarriage rates in different scenarios and there's no evidence that the rate is particularly higher in rape cases. But that's likely because while the emotions ivolved are staggeringly complex, the hormonal system is pretty simple, and a pathway that triggered loss in the case of rape would likely be triggered by by a million other traumatic scenarios and that wouldn't be a trait that would be evolutionarilly selected for. But it's massively complex and that's just me speculating. Imagine. On the INTERNET, as well.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Tue 11 Sep 2012, 11:03, closed)