Thanks for linking me to that post! Rape in shoujo is actually something I've been thinking about just today, as I managed to get a hold of the first four volumes of Hana Yori Dango. Your link couldn't be better-timed.
This poster asks if she is a terrible feminist for considering that rape in which the rapist is not held accountable for his actions can ever be considered a sensitive treatment of the topic. To my mind, rape is a massive feminist issue, not to mention extremely complex and personal, and I think it naive to twitch at its merest mention in the media. On the contrary, I think it's an issue that should be publicised and explored in media aimed at girls, rather than used as titillation for guys, and in principle I don't object in the slightest to a trend of portraying rape for an audience who stand a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing this someday. Handled correctly, it could be a valuable resource to show girls a) that rape of all shades is neither uncommon nor shameful, and b) a variety of ways in which to deal with the event and its aftermath.
Unfortunately, rape storylines in manga are often not approached in this way. The rape is frequently forgotten within a few chapters, its severity downplayed, glossed over, or, worst of all, romanticised. I have no objection to the frequency of rape in manga, but I do wish mangaka would call a spade a spade and stop pretending it's a spoon.
For me, the way to do this is in the reactions of the characters. I'm totally open to the concept that a girl might forgive her rapist and decide to be with him consensually, but I want to see some conflict, internal AND external, surrounding that decision (and I do mean decision, not just 'helpless response to destined love'). I'm prepared to sympathise with a character who has raped, as long as it is clear that he had a skewed awareness of boundaries at the time which, on correction, he now thoroughly regrets and is appalled to remember. If a girl is able to forgive a guy who has raped her, I want to see that he is as shaken by this as she is.
Alternatively, I want some signs that rape can be serious even (surely especially?) when committed by somebody the heroine knows and cares for, as it so often is. I want to see girls who break up with their boyfriends or fiances because one stupid, drunken night has wrecked her confidence and trust in him. I want friendships to end because a Nice Guy feels entitled to the body of a female character who is theoretically his friend. I want girls to outwardly be outraged that guys could even consider this forgivable, even though the readers know that they are conflicted by the love they once held for the person who raped them.
I also want to see women who do take back the men who rape them, and suffer the anguish that comes with this. Learning to trust somebody who has hurt you so deeply is something I can only imagine, and that it would be good for girls to read about in painful detail. One of manga's key features is comfortable and capable emotional expresssion; it was practically designed for situations such as this, and doesn't seem to be utilised as such when it comes to rape.
no subject
This poster asks if she is a terrible feminist for considering that rape in which the rapist is not held accountable for his actions can ever be considered a sensitive treatment of the topic. To my mind, rape is a massive feminist issue, not to mention extremely complex and personal, and I think it naive to twitch at its merest mention in the media. On the contrary, I think it's an issue that should be publicised and explored in media aimed at girls, rather than used as titillation for guys, and in principle I don't object in the slightest to a trend of portraying rape for an audience who stand a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing this someday. Handled correctly, it could be a valuable resource to show girls a) that rape of all shades is neither uncommon nor shameful, and b) a variety of ways in which to deal with the event and its aftermath.
Unfortunately, rape storylines in manga are often not approached in this way. The rape is frequently forgotten within a few chapters, its severity downplayed, glossed over, or, worst of all, romanticised. I have no objection to the frequency of rape in manga, but I do wish mangaka would call a spade a spade and stop pretending it's a spoon.
For me, the way to do this is in the reactions of the characters. I'm totally open to the concept that a girl might forgive her rapist and decide to be with him consensually, but I want to see some conflict, internal AND external, surrounding that decision (and I do mean decision, not just 'helpless response to destined love'). I'm prepared to sympathise with a character who has raped, as long as it is clear that he had a skewed awareness of boundaries at the time which, on correction, he now thoroughly regrets and is appalled to remember. If a girl is able to forgive a guy who has raped her, I want to see that he is as shaken by this as she is.
Alternatively, I want some signs that rape can be serious even (surely especially?) when committed by somebody the heroine knows and cares for, as it so often is. I want to see girls who break up with their boyfriends or fiances because one stupid, drunken night has wrecked her confidence and trust in him. I want friendships to end because a Nice Guy feels entitled to the body of a female character who is theoretically his friend. I want girls to outwardly be outraged that guys could even consider this forgivable, even though the readers know that they are conflicted by the love they once held for the person who raped them.
I also want to see women who do take back the men who rape them, and suffer the anguish that comes with this. Learning to trust somebody who has hurt you so deeply is something I can only imagine, and that it would be good for girls to read about in painful detail. One of manga's key features is comfortable and capable emotional expresssion; it was practically designed for situations such as this, and doesn't seem to be utilised as such when it comes to rape.