// [TW: rape] I’m going to talk a little bit about rape in media.//

popular-slut-club:

As a survivor, rape is a really fucking sensitive subject for me. Especially in media. Especially in media that I personally consume. 

There are a lot of things that are wrong with the portrayal of rape and sexual assault in media, but I’m only going to focus on one, because that’s all I have spoons for right now. Throw away rape plotlines. 

Often, writers and artists will use rape as a pivotal plot point. Unfortunately, more often, authors (especially fanfiction or YA authors) will use sexual assault as a way to portray characters as desirable, or damaged, even though there are many other ways to do this. Often when this happens, it doesn’t continue to effect the character, and often gets thrown away, never to be spoken about again with any seriousness. 

I’d like to stress that having sexual assault in works of fiction must be handled carefully and well. Ask yourself WHY you’re including it, why it’s important to have it happen. Rape is not a game or an accessory to drape over your character, and have them take off at a later date. It’s something that often stays with a person and affects them for the rest of their lives, on many levels.

I know that I’m certainly tired of partaking in media that I’m supposed to be able to enjoy, only to find that sexual abuse is handled poorly, and shrugged off as though it weren’t serious. That also helps normalize rape, which has real world consequences for people. 

Idk. This was really rambly, but I hope you get my point. 

(via rapeculturerealities)