Convict the Deviant: Masculinity and Rape in Early America

Abstract

In the late eighteenth century, the proper expression of masculinity was essential
for citizenship and acceptance into the patriarchal community. Rapists were considered
to be prime examples of unmanly deviants expressing their sexuality outside of
culturally acceptable norms. Despite this, rapes often went unpunished or ignored,
as respectable and oftentimes wealthy men serving as judges and in juries strove to
protect their access to women. The few men they chose to prosecute and execute for
rape were overwhelmingly marginalized people who refused to conform to acceptable
standards of male behavior. Through criminal narratives, accused rapists—often
with the input of a minister —explained their crimes in the context of their past
actions and circumstances, and warned others to conform to acceptable standards.
The use of criminal narratives to emphasize the gender and socially deviant behaviors
of convicted rapists popularized the belief that it was primarily unmanly outsiders,
rather than respectable patriarchs, who committed such crimes.