Rape on TV

Janice Radway analyzed the complexities of concept in romance novels, which blurs the line between rape and romance. I found it specifically provoking that something so unassuming as a romance novel could have the power to alter the rules of everyday erotic encounters as well as what is considered rape under the law. However, upon further investigation, it was revealed to me that the distinction between seduction and aggression is constantly being blurred in popular culture: on TV, in the movies, in comments by the Toronto police. Take for example, the award winning show Mad Men, in which 1960s power dynamic between men and women underlies all sexual encounters. When acts of coercion and sexual assault are portrayed on the show, audiences hotly debate whether or not rape actually occurred. Our culture teaches us to excuse rape, to rationalize it away.

Here are three instances of sexual assault or coercion, all of which have been hotly debated by TV audiences.

1. Season 2 Episode 3: Bobbie uses her sexuality as a bargaining chip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDY9Zs5XWvo

2. Season 3 Episode 8: Pete and the Nanny


3. Season 2 Episode 12: Joan is raped by her fiancé
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6zZYCb-hyQ

Would you consider these events rape?

In an interview, Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan, is quoted saying,

“ The rape was a shocker—but the audience reactions were perhaps more disturbing. “What’s astounding is when people say things like, ‘Well, you know that episode where Joan sort of got raped?’ Or they say rape and use quotation marks with their fingers,” says Hendricks. “I’m like, ‘What is that you are doing? Joan got raped!’ It illustrates how similar people are today, because we’re still questioning whether it’s a rape. It’s almost like, ‘Why didn’t you just say bad date?’ ” “

(The rest of the interview can be found at http://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/58170/ )