this is the problem i have with a lot of contemporary āfeministā or āfemale rageā literature. a lot of the time the male characters in these works will all be rapists or openly sexually exploitative in some way. this is not a negative thing to represent, but it becomes problematic when sexual exploitation and rape are the ONLY ways men are ever depicted as misogynistic (more below the cut).
misogyny is not exclusively about sexual exploitation. there are plenty of men who do not sexually exploit women who are still misogynistic, or who still practice misogynistic behavior. examples include, but are in no way limited to:
- men who believe that women are inherently physically and/or mentally weaker than men
- men who believe that the primary goal of a woman always is or always should be to bear children
- men who believe that all women are innate caregivers or are more empathetic, kinder, more maternal, etc. than men
- men who constantly interrupt or talk over women even if they do not realize they are doing it, and do not do the same to other men
- men who will not do housework or childcare because it is a womanās job
furthermore, rape culture and misogyny as a whole are systemic issues. beyond rape culture, systemic misogyny extends to the things op listed, among other things such as wedding culture, wage gaps, sex segregation in sports, poor health care, etc.
the problem with only representing misogyny through rape is not the representation of rape. it is, like op said, reductive; it erases the other, very real ways in which women have been and continue to be oppressed. it insinuates that rape is the only way that misogyny takes form, which in turn suggests that any man who is not a rapist or sexual abuser, such the token āgood manā referenced by op, is automatically not misogynistic at all and a perfect love interest. always making this singular non-rapist man the love interest begins to allude to the idea that āgoodā men, men who do not take advantage of women, are owed romance and sex.
even if this is not the original intent of the author, and it often isnāt, it is both a noticeable pattern in contemporary lit and a sign of not being a very good writer. the overuse of rape as a way to show that women were oppressed in ancient greece is, quite frankly, lazy as hell.
i could also point out how these so-called āfeministā and āwoman-centeredā tellings and retellings tend to neglect to include healthy relationships between women or women other than the protagonist who have more than one personality trait, but thatās a gripe for another time.
gracieabrams
2087
romaincrisis
turnnoffyourmind
dailybridgerton
theartofmadeline
amandla
stormborns
