Jim C. Hines wrote an insightful piece titled "Writing About Rape" for Apex Magazine.
I commend this article to your attention. It's a very interesting read. Here's an excerpt:
So you’ve decided to add a rape scene to your story. After all, you’re writing a horror story, and what’s more horrific than rape? It’s the perfect way to show how evil your villain or monster really is, and everyone always says you have to start a story with action and conflict, right? Best of all, your story will help to educate women about the dangers of walking alone at night! The editor is a chick, so she should appreciate that kind of thing.
Or not.
I admit this is a hot-button issue for me. I’ve worked as a rape counselor and spent several years speaking to various groups at my university about sexual assault issues. I’m also an author. So reading books and stories where the author added a rape to make things “edgier,” or to motivate the heroine, or simply because he or she didn’t know what else to do to that character–it gets old fast.
[...]
Story after story in which rape is a quick, thoughtless way to motivate a woman to set off in search of revenge (“Red Sonja Syndrome”), or else it’s lazy shorthand to show how evil someone is, like having them kick a puppy. Or worse, it’s written in such a way that the writer seems to be reveling in the act him- or herself, glorifying and celebrating every graphic detail.
If you’re going to write, write thoughtfully. Write with knowledge and understanding.
Write well.
You can read Jim C. Hines' article here.
8 commentaires:
Yeah, don't have a villian rape a woman to show how evil a character he is; have him torture and murder her family, that's way less offensive.
Thanks for posting that article.
I reviewed a book a couple of months ago where the antagonist was part of a sex ring. As part of the story, he kidnaps the lead detective's 13 year old daughter and rapes her. While the rape scene wasn't well written, it wasn't overly graphic either. Towards the end of the book when mother and daughter are reunited in the hospital, it fell even more flat. There was no trauma, no emotion on the part of either character. It was as if the rape was just another everyday occurrence.
There is nothing worse than reading a novel with violence where the violence just doesn't make sense. It's there, but serves no purpose.
You might find this interesting - http://youtu.be/Ue0WKm0uJSE - at around 48 or so minutes into this chat between online gamers, they discuss rape, comparing it to a man being beaten.
And another argument, there is absolutely no meaning to make your rape-victim readers re-live what was without doubt the worst experience of their lives if you have no point to make in doing so. It is something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives and there is no excuse for treating it as an "interesting plot twist". It is disrespectful and cruel.
This is a great article. Thanks for posting.
Daniel Abraham has had a couple of blog posts about the subject. His current project "The Dogs Project" is actually his response to it.
http://www.danielabraham.com/2012/02/02/the-dogs-project-where-do-you-get-your-ideas/
Cool thing is, he is letting you come along for the ride (of the writing process).
Doesn't Hines status as a straight white make invalidate his point? :P
i'm hesitant to say one should always avoid rape in writing. a subject that could offend readers should not be avoided. like any rhetorical device, or plot point, one should only use what is most effective. avoid being lazy or cliched, avoid kick-the-puppy shorthand, but one should not simply avoid rape because its RAPE. it's something that happens, all too often, unfortunately, and, if written well, rape in fiction can actually be empowering to victims, because it shows that this one event does not have to define who they are, nor is it something they have to be ashamed of or keep hidden.
this is exactly what hines says in his article as well.
"it's something that happens, all too often, unfortunately, and, if written well, rape in fiction can actually be empowering to victims, because it shows that this one event does not have to define who they are, nor is it something they have to be ashamed of or keep hidden."
I think this speaks to the delicacy of the subject. How does one handle the reconstruction of a traumatic event? Is the key forgiveness, but even if we believe that does that put an onus on the victims? Do war stories need rape to be honest, or does the perhaps minimal attention given to it detract from bringing it up at all?
I don't know if there are easy answers, just thinking out loud here.
I enjoyed this article when it came out, Apex is a great site. Thanks for posting it where more fans of SFF can see it.
-Sciborg aka Saajan Patel
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