 The limitations of the “violence, not sex” approach, however, are fairly glaring. Rape’s sexual nature is central to understanding both its perpetrators’ motivations and its effects on victims, not to mention the crime’s broader social and ideological roots and consequences. While perpetrators differ in their strongest occurrent motivations, it is important to ask why so many men who wish to harm or violate women do so in a sexual manner. Furthermore, some rapes do occur because a man wants to have sex, and perhaps would even prefer it if his partner consented, but is prepared to proceed without her consent. Rape’s sexual character is central from the perspective of both actual and potential victims; as Cahill observes, “few women would agree that being raped is essentially equivalent to being hit in the face” (2001, 3). Furthermore, many rape survivors are damaged specifically in their sexuality, facing difficulties in their sexual relationships in the months and years following the rape. Finally, because many rapes do not involve overt extrinsic violence, the “violence, not sex” slogan may make it more difficult for people to recognize less obviously violent experiences of sexual force as rape. In short, rape is forced, abusive, and/or violent sex; recognizing rape’s sexual nature is crucial to understanding not only its wrongs and harms, but also the cultural and political meaning of sex in patriarchal cultures. As MacKinnon observes, “so long as we say that [rape, sexual harassment, and pornography] are abuses of violence, not sex, we fail to criticize what has been made of sex, what has been done to us through sex” (1987, 86–87).