I'm curious about something that anon mentioned regarding the catalog of rape in Alan Moore works. They mentioned that rape is often used in an unthoughtful and demeaning way. Is there any way that rape can be used in a thoughtful and non-demeaning way?

Okay. I know the answer people are looking for here is no, there’s no way.

But I disagree. There is ABSOLUTELY a way to tell a story with rape in it that is meaningful and thoughtful.

I worked at a crisis center as a volunteer for a long time. A lot of those women had been serially abused, often from childhood on.

I believe that stories of survival are extremely helpful to women in that position. Not all women, but definitely many.

If there are no stories where women survive being raped, no stories where children survive horrible things, even incest, I worry that that sends a message, too. That there ARE no survivors.

There has to be room for thoughtful, sensitive portrayals of even very ugly topics. Stories specifically where people try to cope, try to survive, try to have lives beyond what they experienced. Stories where they are able to regain their lives. What we don’t need is more voyeuristic bullshit.

The sad thing is, there AREN’T that many such stories that have achieved significant exposure without being exploitative.

I hope that makes sense.

EDITED because I made this question completely about women. Damn. Obviously, people all over the gender spectrum are abused and raped. Making the entire post about women is just completely wrong. My apologies, I posted in haste, dammit.