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Conducted within a feminist framework and guided by the principles of grounded theory methodology, this dissertation reports on the findings of a study of women's rape perceptions, undertaken in Beirut, Lebanon. The study relied on 38 interviews, participant observation, and a review of newspaper articles (1996--1999) and organizational documents. / In this dissertation, I argue that perceptions of rape reflect, reinforce, and are supported by dominant social relations based on elements of social location such as gender, religion, socioeconomic status, disability, ethnicity and race. More specifically, I maintain that the relationship between perceptions of rape on one hand, and social relations on the other, is mediated by the centrality of marriage. This mediation is reflected in two processes. First, social relations lead to differential constructions of womanhood and perceived marriageability, which in turn play a large role in shaping perceptions of what counts as rape. Concretely, this impacts on which women are perceived to be consenting to sex and those perceived to be rape victims. / Second, social relations construct a marriage that adheres to specific conditions as the only acceptable union between a man and a woman in Beiruti society. In consequence, these constructions of acceptability shape what counts as "real" rape versus consensual sex. Concretely, this means that relationships that fall outside this construction of acceptability are more readily labeled as rape. / In the first four chapters of the dissertation, I provide background information about the study's theoretical framework, location within the broader empirical scholarship on rape perceptions, and methodology. I also provide detailed information about the Beiruti/Lebanese context. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 are empirical chapters relating some of the findings of the study as they relate to the centrality of marriage and perceptions of rape and consent. Chapter 8 concludes the dissertation with a discussion of the themes of women's agency, the line between sex and rape, and the impact of social relations. Through this discussion, I offer concrete insights for the further development of theory, research and practice with the issue of rape.