Yeah, I don't think so either...I was just guessing. I didn't understand what she meant by that line either.
“One last point: In the age of sexual liberation, every woman not protected by poverty and extreme old age needs the courage to defend her virtue.”
That line was part of Harvey Mansfield’s essay. I think it’s ridiculous. “Virtue” in this context is a terrible, old-fashioned term that implies that a rape victim has been morally compromised. It’s distant cousin, but related, to the extremist Islamic practice of letting the rape victim die to wipe out the family’s “dishonor.” A woman trying to avoid rape isn’t protecting her “virtue.” She’s trying to avoid having her autonomy violated, being injured, traumatized, exploited, exposed to STDs and possibly to an unwanted pregnancy. If a rapist succeeds a woman is no less virtuous.
In the second place, it’s not uncommon to read of extremely elderly women being raped because rape isn’t usually just a case of libido gone out of control. It’s more about anger and a taste for violence. I have no idea what he meant by implying that poverty is a protection against rape. Maybe he thinks rapists will only attack women who are able to afford attractive clothes, hair-styling, make-up and good dental care?