I am writing in response to the letter written by John Paul Rigliano on the reason men rape women ("Men rape to get sex, not to overpower victim," Dec. 4). Amazingly, Rigliano managed to condense a large majority of the "wealth of misinformation on the subject of rape" into his short letter.

As I read the letter, I couldn't understand how one person could be so misinformed about a topic that is so prevalent in our community. Rigliano blamed the confusion surrounding rape on "unfounded 1970s feminism." It seems to me that the only perspectives stemming from the 70s are Rigliano's. I agree that "society needs to be educated to clearly distinguish between what rape is and what it is not." So, Rigliano, let me help you out. The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape states: "Rape is a crime. It is motivated by the need to control, humiliate and harm. Rapists use sex as a weapon to dominate others."

Many of the opinions expressed throughout the letter were ignorant, rude and distasteful. How kind that "in 12 percent of rape cases does the man use excessive force." The point is, 100 percent of rapes physically, mentally and psychologically destroy the women involved, no matter how much force is used. The mere fact that Rigiliano suggested rape was, in any way, acceptable only illustrates the dominance and control men feel they have over women.

If Rigliano would have taken the time to simply research the meaning of rape, he could have prevented appearing incredibly ignorant and, even more importantly, could have avoided severely offending every female who read his letter.