Who do you think of when you think of rape survivors? What does that person look like in your mind's eye? Most people think of a young woman, someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We see her as frail and scared, small and doe-like.
When we think of rape, we often see women as the victims and men as the perpetrators. Unfortunately, this is an over-simplistic view. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, approximately 10 percent of rape survivors are men. And with current cultural trends in place in our society, it's not only difficult to acknowledge what happened to them, but also for them to seek help.
This must change. Survivors of rape need support and assistance, regardless of gender.
The mainstream critical response to the third episode of "True Blood" illustrates this phenomenon with brutal clarity. For those of you who missed the episode, here's what happened: Jason Stackhouse, a young man with a fairly promiscuous reputation, has been tied to a bed against his will in a town called Hotshot. This town is a huge drug capital. Those in the town are inbred were-panthers. (Yes, you read that right.)
They believe Jason to be some sort of messiah-like figure, one that can revive their dying numbers. So, naturally the first step is to strap him to a bed and attempt to turn him into a were-panther, without his knowledge or consent. Then former love-interest Crystal drugs Jason with Mexican Viagra and rapes him. When he regains consciousness, she tells him they can be together forever and she'll bear his "cubs." Off screen, we hear Jason screaming. On screen, we see all the women of Hotshot, young and old alike, lined up and awaiting their turn.
It's a horrifying scene, and it took me two viewings to really grasp the gravity of the situation. What I find twice as scary, however, is the response to this scene. Many critics didn't get that this was a rape scene and that gang-rape was heavily implied, quite a few were in the mainstream media.
"Crystal and Jason have a sex scene so awful and uncomfortable it makes ‘Two Girls and Cup' look erotic," said Paul Williams of the Washington Post.
"Midway through his migration from human to werepanther, Sookie's brother is called on to begin his child-fathering duties by a desperate Crystal, who's excited to replenish the ranks of her pack with some outsider blood. But really, did the young ‘uns have to stand in the background and watch the procreatin' take place? That's just not anything you want to see," said Gina McIntyre of the LA Times.
"Crystal is getting busy on top of Jason but he's not enjoying it like he used to," said Amy Chozick of the Wall Street Journal.
Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone called it a consummation scene. Futterman goes on to say, "The irony in this scenario, of course, is that, at one point in time, Jason Stackhouse would have been all about being chained to a bed with multiple lovers."
Has your jaw hit the floor yet? The scene wasn't awkward. It wasn't a joke. It wasn't ironic. It was rape.
It's frightening that so many critics in the mainstream media aren't only clueless but cruel, to boot. And as we can see, much like the awful problem of rape, such ignorance isn't limited to gender.
And even the outlets that did get it right gave us some cringe-inducing problems. Science fiction and fantasy blog Io9.com gave us this title for their post on the episode, "How many sex panthers does it take to screw a Jason Stackhouse?"
My favorite blog, Jezebel.com did label the scene as rape. It also called out the critics who completely missed it. However, the post's author Dodai Stewart said this, "It's clearly rape. But on a series based on absurd and fantasical concepts — where witches and shape-shifters have powers and vampires are (politicians) — does failing to call a werepanther rape scene for what it is mean you don't take rape seriously? I don't think so. This show is not about the real world."
I disagree. We must be able to recognize rape in fictional and nonfictional settings. If so many of us missed this scene for what it truly is, it speaks volumes about our culture and how we value male sexuality. Rape is an evil we must face as a society, and the first step to driving it out is recognizing it, wherever it is.
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