Sexual Agency in Urban Fantasy

I totally agree with you on this one. Reading your post immediately brought a particular series to mind, where exactly that happens. It's one of those things where it always bugged me, but I couldn't exactly express why. It wasn't the rape, the way the character handled it, or the after math.

You nailed it right on the head. The rape was used as a gate for the hard-ass woman to open up and start depending on the man more.

Would that book and its following books have been more compelling if the author had had the MC and her LI bend for each other in a different way? Possibly. It's certainly something to think about and keep in mind while writing my own UF books.

amrose said:

What does this say? That a woman can't be tough and love? That we have to be broken down physically and emotionally before we can admit our want?

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I agree. Plus, I'm not comfortable with the 'corrective rape' feel to it. As an androgynous woman, there's a personal level of ick to a female character being raped because she's deemed too masculine, in order to bring her around to being feminine. It's taken for granted that raping a woman makes her less masculine, as though that's really how it works.

It's rare to see a male hero raped because he's deemed too masculine to have a relationship.

It's at the point where I'm unlikely to read a series with a female lead, unless I can find spoilers that make it clear she isn't raped. This limits my urban fantasy reading somewhat, but I do read for fun. It isn't fun to have those rather ugly messages thrown at me.

This in an interesting point, and one that I don't think is exclusive to UF. Sexual assaults or attempted assaults seem to be a regular way of throwing the female into the "right" male's arms in romance. Sometimes it's even the male lead perpetrating the assault, and the female finally wanders away from her objections and "comes to love" him. Never understood that.

Polenth said:

It's at the point where I'm unlikely to read a series with a female lead, unless I can find spoilers that make it clear she isn't raped. This limits my urban fantasy reading somewhat, but I do read for fun. It isn't fun to have those rather ugly messages thrown at me.

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THIS! I've stopped reading books that I consider very good because I would rather not go through the distress of connecting with characters only to witness atrocities committed against them. And this is not to say that I haven't read some tough stories. A story should touch you, but it should not leave you with permanent hurt, in my opinion.

Try reading BDSM erotica. I'm sick to the back teeth of men forcing themselves on women just because they're dominant, and the female sub just accepts it beacuse submissive = doormat, right?

Falling in love with a rapist isn't love. It's Stockholm Syndrome.

Agree on all points. I think both rape and molestation are used as easy shorthand character development. It's annoying and often gross. AND poorly done.

Unrapey BDSM is so, so rare. I could list books that offend me on so many levels. It's fucking scary how much out there is misogynistic at worst, misleading-about-BDSM at best.

I totally agree about those stories where the woman is raped by the hero and ultimately falls in love with her. That is beyond sick.

But I see nothing wrong with having a rape in a novel, if handled well.

The only UF series I have read where the FMC is raped (and not by the hero) is Mercy Thompson. Not sure if that is what you were talking about, or another series. I have read many UF series, and haven't seen it anywhere else. I thought it was done very well. Nothing about it made her less masculine. In fact, I find issue with a tough woman being called masculine.

The fMC of my fourth book is assaulted, but she's already with her LI when this happened, and the initial hurdles of their relationship (other than them both getting kidnapped) involve him having to open himself up, to let himself rely on her, etc, etc.

Her feelings and hardassness don't get compromised to make the relationship easier...mostly because there is no real link between a person being tough and able to rip the heads off their enemies and a person being able to open up with someone they love.

I don't see it so much in the active storylines, but I find quite a few heroines (and some heroes) with rape/sexual abuse in their backstory. There are plenty of horrible things that can happen to a person to mess with their heads. I'd like to see something other than abuse as an obstacle to why a character can't accept love.

I'm completely with you on this. It's an especially interesting issue to me, as my ms is about characters who remember their past lives, and this does mean that some characters have lived as different genders and even sexual orientations before. As I write more, how characters learn to balance the different sides to their past lives will become more and more important to their development, especially with regard to romantic relationships.

I love seeing themes of sexuality and how masculine and feminine traits can be used in different ways to explore relationships and the hero's journey. I'd much rather see such themes dealt with as any other aspect of a character, gradually changing by the choice of the character themselves, than taken, broken and undone by rape.

amrose said:

I've read it in at least two series (both are series I still like and read) and a few standalones. I didn't single any one series or book out because I don't want to rant against or dissect any one author or plotline. I'd rather discuss the trope itself.

It's not rape being used in the book or series I take issue with. Rape should be used in fiction when appropriate. I'm not disputing that. I take issue when rape is used, IMO, to nudge the FMC into admitting her desires for another character or putting her in a position where she has no choice but be completely dependent on the hero (who is not the rapist).

Also, was your comment about a woman being masculine directed at me? I never mentioned anything like that in my posts.

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Well then I guess I don't have much to add to this thread. I read a LOT of UF, but have only read a rape happening on the page to the FMC in one book, one series. Like any other trope, which honestly, you can't get away from them in stories, it has to be done well. I have read it once, and it worked. It was handled well. It changed the romantic relationship, but there is no way it can't. It certainly didn't make her weaker, or depend on her man more, IMO. But I do feel it helped her to open up, trust him more. And that is a natural response to me. Not fake character development.

That is all you can ask for in any subject matter. To be realistic. And in all honestly, I love that it it was brought up in a great series, with a great, tough, intelligent character. Since 1 in 4 women experience a sexual assault in their lifetime, many by people they know, the more light shed on it, the better. As long as it isn't used to titilate, the MC does not fall in love with her attacker, and she isn't blamed for it, I have no problem with it used in novels.

As for the masculine comment, I was responding to this:

Polenth said:

I agree. Plus, I'm not comfortable with the 'corrective rape' feel to it. As an androgynous woman, there's a personal level of ick to a female character being raped because she's deemed too masculine, in order to bring her around to being feminine. It's taken for granted that raping a woman makes her less masculine, as though that's really how it works.

It's rare to see a male hero raped because he's deemed too masculine to have a relationship.

It's at the point where I'm unlikely to read a series with a female lead, unless I can find spoilers that make it clear she isn't raped. This limits my urban fantasy reading somewhat, but I do read for fun. It isn't fun to have those rather ugly messages thrown at me.

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And no Polenth, not attacking your views. I just don't equate tough woman to masculine, and weak woman to feminine. Not sure if those are your thoughts (doesn't sound like they are) or if you think the author is saying this? If it is a stereotype perpetrated by society? Just not understanding I guess. It just really bothers me. If a man stands up for herself, he is assertive. A woman is a bitch.

Either way, the one time I read about rape in UF, I don't think this was the authors intent. I believe she had the best intentions. Maybe other authors don't. But without any examples, I really can't comment.

Satori1977 said:

And no Polenth, not attacking your views. I just don't equate tough woman to masculine, and weak woman to feminine. Not sure if those are your thoughts (doesn't sound like they are) or if you think the author is saying this? If it is a stereotype perpetrated by society? Just not understanding I guess. It just really bothers me. If a man stands up for herself, he is assertive. A woman is a bitch.

Either way, the one time I read about rape in UF, I don't think this was the authors intent. I believe she had the best intentions. Maybe other authors don't. But without any examples, I really can't comment.

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I'm talking about masculine and feminine roles as defined by Western society. In Western society, physical combat, independence and toughness are marked as masculine roles. Urban fantasy has elements of trying to go against this in that women often take those roles...

...but at the same time, authors will punish a female character for doing so. She's unable to have a relationship because she's 'too independent' (yet the equally independent male character doesn't have this issue). If she takes risks, especially if she goes against the advice of a man to do so, she gets raped or faces an attempted rape (as well as looking like a punishment, this implies her judgement is less sound than a man in this role - he doesn't misjudge the situation and get raped).

I don't think authors do this intentionally. On the intentional side, they're trying to go against earlier fiction where women couldn't choose their own role. But I also think that unintentionally, they've been influenced by society's prejudices, and haven't stopped to challenge their own prejudices. This is calling an assertive woman a bitch... it's just done in a subtle way, by saying she'd find things easier if she tried to be a little less assertive.

I'm not saying books using that trope are terrible in every way. They may handle other aspects of the rape well. They might have strong writing and interesting characters. But for me, it's a dealbreaker. The subtle stuff is the same sort of subtle stuff I have to put up with. I don't really want it coming from my fiction too. Other people having different life experiences and different reactions won't change my reaction based on my life experiences. The author's best intentions won't stop something from hurting me.

Polenth, I see where you are coming from. But I don't completely agree. I think we are (slowly) getting away from male and female sterotypes. We have a long way to go, but there are tons of great examples of strong women characters in books, tv and film.

I can also think of one very popular book where the male lead was raped. It does happen.

But I just don't see anything wrong with using rape in a story. Now, if it happened in everything I read, yes, it would bother me. But since it is so common in real life, I am betting that many of these (female) authors that use it, have experienced some type of sexual assault themselves. They write about it to help heal. To show that it doesn't have to end your life. That you can still live a happy, healthy life. And that includes being in a happy, healthy sexual relationship. Usually one of the hardest things to do after a sexual assault.

All I know is that when I did read it in an UF, it didn't change the FMC much. She had issues for awhile, PTSD if you will. But she healed, and became stronger. She is still written as an assertive, strong, intelligent , stubborn, take-charge person.

I think I would have issue if she became a meak little girl who relied on her man to save her and make every decision. If it truly changed the type of person she is in a negative way. That is the only time I would not be ok with rape being used for character development.

Polenth said:

...but at the same time, authors will punish a female character for doing so. She's unable to have a relationship because she's 'too independent' (yet the equally independent male character doesn't have this issue). If she takes risks, especially if she goes against the advice of a man to do so, she gets raped or faces an attempted rape (as well as looking like a punishment, this implies her judgement is less sound than a man in this role - he doesn't misjudge the situation and get raped).

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I've seen this in a suspense novel. The character was a very competent bodyguard. Knew how to use a gun, karate, etc. She ends up getting captured by the bad guy -- does absolutely nothing at all to help herself, and pretty much lets the male lead come rescue her. Used none of her skills when she needed to use them. It was like she was being punished for being skilled. A book I wanted to throw across the room. It was written by a woman author.

Linda Adams said:

I've seen this in a suspense novel. The character was a very competent bodyguard. Knew how to use a gun, karate, etc. She ends up getting captured by the bad guy -- does absolutely nothing at all to help herself, and pretty much lets the male lead come rescue her. Used none of her skills when she needed to use them. It was like she was being punished for being skilled. A book I wanted to throw across the room. It was written by a woman author.

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That would indeed piss me off as well. That makes no sense to the story, and doesn't stay true to the character. Not that a (physically) strong woman can't be raped, but a woman trained to fight, I would expect her to fight back. If not, the author better give me a damn good reason.

Now in the story I was referring to above where the FMC was raped, she was passive to an extent (she was drugged), but she fought back afterwards. She viciously killed her attacker. That was one of the things I liked about it. She didn't need saving. Didn't need the men in her life to get the rapist. She handled him all by herself.

Instead of a hard ass woman and a hard ass man being drawn together and maybe softening a little for each other, one (typically the woman) goes through sexual assault and all her barriers are gone. Conveniently, this allows her to admit/show/depend on her less than hard ass feelings for the man/men in her life and for these men to act on whatever feelings they've been harboring for her throughout the book(s).

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What I find especially weird about that is the idea that being raped would somehow result in the woman becoming more dependent on or more vulnerable with her LI. While everyone reacts differently to trauma, that's not really in keeping with basic human psychology.

AlwaysJuly said:

What I find especially weird about that is the idea that being raped would somehow result in the woman becoming more dependent on or more vulnerable with her LI. While everyone reacts differently to trauma, that's not really in keeping with basic human psychology.

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That was my thought. It seems more common for a traumatic assault to result in more walls being thrown up. Not taking them down.

I'm just getting into the UF genre so I haven't come across the rape issue (at least in UF). One thing that bugs me a bit is that I'm noticing that while the FMC is tough and independent, she must also have a LI, usually a (quasi-)bad-boy hero. I have no problems with FMC's having relationships but more often than not, she seems to pick a relationship that seems to yo-yo. She draws him in then pushes him away...wash, rinse, repeat. He's someone she doesn't trust, yet she does, yet she doesn't. They're 'soul mates'.

That being said, I'd like to see a relationship build up like a normal relationship. Cops, military folks, and firemen/women all have relationships that have their fair share of difficulties but the people involved work at making them work. Or them not being lovers at all, just partners and friends.

This is of course, just my limited opinion of what I've read so far. Not that it's going to stop me from reading UF, just that it's the one thing that I tend to notice.

I can't say I've ever seen this in a book, but maybe we read different things. I write what I call UF for want of a better term but I must admit I don't read a huge amount of it.

For what it's worth, never going to happen in one of my books, but then my FMC is a demon and her LI is a normal bloke (to start with anyway) so it's her doing the rescuing, not him!

The one plot line I can't stand (aside from the obvious creepy rape-victim-falls-in-love-with-her-rapist-one...ew) is the inclusion of rape as a traumatic past for the female MC. It's not a problem if it's handled well, but too often the plot ends up going like this:

Female MC is traumatized because of past assault, doesn't trust men/intimate relationships
Female MC meets male MC
They fall in love
All trauma from the rape is immediately 100% cured! Because she's found the right man! And she's safe now!

*facepalm* Doesn't work like that.

I wonder if rape is mentioned often because it's such a common crime? According to RAINN, 1 out of 6 women has been a victim of sexual assault in her lifetime, and 1 out of 33 men.

That means most people know someone who has been raped or were raped themselves. Maybe it's a way for the author to deal with it--trying to explain why it happens, using their story as a way to write a better ending, dealing with a crime that scares them.

And even tho this is fiction we're talking about, in real life many women who've been raped don't fight back. That's one reason why a lot of women feel guilty about what happened--they are often too scared to do anything, are afraid for their lives and freeze.

I don't think I've read any UF with rape except for Mercy Thompson.

I agree that there would be many more problems after a rape, especially within a relationship. It would take an awfully patient, caring partner to stand by a victim through all she or he would be dealing with.