Rape in Literature: Thoughts?

[sweetmamajama]

Many good reply's here, so i don't wanna repeat the same thing as the other ppl but i guess i can just add a few of my thoughts

Saying that writing about rape is lazy writing is dumb and hypocritical. It’s only lazy if ur being lazy about it, just like with any fucking topic

Now I do encounter a lot of stories that have very disgusting implications about rape. They excuse the act, blame the victim, pretend like some of the most brutal, disgusting torture could be forgiven, glorify it etc. I think this is bad writing and immoral. I do make make distinctions tho between the narrative saying awful things about rape and characters doing it. It depends on the context. And I’m also more lenient on purely pornographic works since they usually tend to be someone’s fantasy. But when u put ur fantasy in a more serious work with plot and characters ur fantasy can’t remain unchanged. I think that then you have to make sure that the narration isn’t excusing the rape or blaming the victim.

[Desiderius Price]

1 hour ago, sweetmamajama said:

Many good reply's here, so i don't wanna repeat the same thing as the other ppl but i guess i can just add a few of my thoughts

Saying that writing about rape is lazy writing is dumb and hypocritical. It’s only lazy if ur being lazy about it, just like with any fucking topic

Now I do encounter a lot of stories that have very disgusting implications about rape. They excuse the act, blame the victim, pretend like some of the most brutal, disgusting torture could be forgiven, glorify it etc. I think this is bad writing and immoral. I do make make distinctions tho between the narrative saying awful things about rape and characters doing it. It depends on the context. And I’m also more lenient on purely pornographic works since they usually tend to be someone’s fantasy. But when u put ur fantasy in a more serious work with plot and characters ur fantasy can’t remain unchanged. I think that then you have to make sure that the narration isn’t excusing the rape or blaming the victim.

Humans are complicated.  Others, especially the perp, may try to defend it, saying the victim did something to warrant it (ie wear provocative clothing).  The victim, depending on their personality, might accept those rationales at the time, not report it, etc, only to change their tune later.  And depending on the society and the perp, the rape might indeed be justified according to their customs and beliefs.  It's a web that can make for rich storytelling (or cheap porn).  We do need to be careful, because today we're judging yesterdays actions with todays morals, retroactively changing the rules of behavior, and that should scare us all as nobody's really perfect (and those we think are, we canonify into saints).

[Wilde_Guess]

On 6/29/2017 at 1:46 AM, Tcr said:

So, a few months ago, while I was looking to write a realistic, yet also respectful, rape scene for one of the stories I’m working on, I did research (...as any normal person would have ‘rape’ in their search files...  I swear, Officer, I’m not trying to find ways to not get caught...  Okay, you don’t have to taze me-)...

 

Anyway, while doing so, I came across a number (a fairly large portion of the search results, actually) on how rape in literature was merely a lazy man’s tool.  Most of them stated that, using rape in literature was a sure sign that the writer in question was lazy and relying on the ‘shock’ value of the rape to keep people interested in the novel.  (As a disclaimer, many of them seemed to use Game of Thrones as their example of why and how this is,,,  I understand the reasoning behind this, but, seriously, if you’re just using GoT, I’m not sure how valid the argument can be made...) 

 

Obviously, rape is not something to condone or glorify, but that hardly disqualifies it as a ‘lazy writer’s tool’, in my opinion.  There are many ways that rape can be used (excuse how this will come out) to great extent in advancing a character, characterization, or even the scenario without the gratuitous amounts of consistent and, my opinion, eventually boring scenes... 

 

Thus, my question is, what are your thoughts on rape in stories and, indeed, in what you read?

 

 

In my opinion, “classic rape” is a uniquely odious assault that one person may inflict upon another.  Like anything else, it can be used by “lazy” writers as well as “hard-working” ones, as you’ve written.  The same holds true for dealing with the aftermath of the assault.

I tend to try reading stories that are well-written.  Rape, like any other form of violence may have its place in the narrative of a story.  Like any other form of violence one may inflict on another, I believe that it shouldn’t be portrayed in a light where the perpetrator is “glorified” for committing it.  I also find the act “anti-erotic,” and I will usually avoid stories where the author seriously attempts to portray it otherwise.

Stories that portray “Forced consent” favorably also tend to be a turn-off, as do stories where one of the participants in the act is genuinely unable to provide any form of consent.

 

[InvidiaRed]

On 2/13/2018 at 1:39 PM, Wilde_Guess said:

In my opinion, “classic rape” is a uniquely odious assault that one person may inflict upon another.  Like anything else, it can be used by “lazy” writers as well as “hard-working” ones, as you’ve written.  The same holds true for dealing with the aftermath of the assault.

I tend to try reading stories that are well-written.  Rape, like any other form of violence may have its place in the narrative of a story.  Like any other form of violence one may inflict on another, I believe that it shouldn’t be portrayed in a light where the perpetrator is “glorified” for committing it.  I also find the act “anti-erotic,” and I will usually avoid stories where the author seriously attempts to portray it otherwise.

Stories that portray “Forced consent” favorably also tend to be a turn-off, as do stories where one of the participants in the act is genuinely unable to provide any form of consent.

 

I fully agree. Rape is a distinct turn off.

At the basest level Rape is about forcing another’s flesh to sate an appetite that went off the rails wrong. That sense of power over another. To take what should be only given willingly.

reading the accounts of rapists is rather disturbing to read as they try to justify it. The victim was simply asking for it . Was too beautiful/sexy they couldn’t help themselves.

I think the most chilling one I’ve read was a female rapist who had the urge and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. And she didn’t understand why the man called 911 after she released him.

[Desiderius Price]

3 hours ago, InvidiaRed said:

I fully agree. Rape is a distinct turn off.

At the basest level Rape is about forcing another’s flesh to sate an appetite that went off the rails wrong. That sense of power over another. To take what should be only given willingly.

reading the accounts of rapists is rather disturbing to read as they try to justify it. The victim was simply asking for it . Was too beautiful/sexy they couldn’t help themselves.

I think the most chilling one I’ve read was a female rapist who had the urge and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. And she didn’t understand why the man called 911 after she released him.

For ages, rape was only defined as male on female vaginal intercourse, and treated more as “theft” from the husband/boyfriend/family.  There’s still places today that treat it as a shame on the woman’s family’s honor, and the woman’s killed for it, like they’re a piece of bubble gum only meant to be used once.  Societies can change, which is why if it’s being historically accurate, a story can portray it as a positive, if it’s in line with the history.  I mean, an old-fashioned pirate novel?  Rape could be part of that.

How the society responds to a rape, whether it’s condemned or praised, says a lot about that society.

That said, I do tend to have a special streak of meanness I’ll apply to the rapist, even if the society upholds the act.