On Rape and Sexual Assault in Comics:

Ragnell posts very eloquently about sexual assault here. Definitely worth a read. I wrote a long thing myself in the replies. You probably don't have to read that, but it's got most of my opinions about the subject.

But I thought of a few more things to add here.

I have never been sexual assaulted/raped/molested. But like every other woman in this country and probably around the world, I've had to deal with the possibility of it happening all of my life. I know women who've been raped. Women very close to me. Women who've never done anything to deserve it (not that anyone could ever deserve rape). Women who've done far less risky, stupid shit than I have. The only reason I've avoided it thus far is that I've been lucky. And I know, everytime I'm walking to work at eleven 0'clock at night, after the buses stop being regular but before the Night Owl starts running...it only takes once for my luck to run out.

I don't dress provocatively. (I'm lazy and want to be comfortable). My hair is perpetually bedraggled, I don't wear makeup (too time consuming and my skin will itch). But the girls I know...they weren't dressed any different than I am. None of us are incredibly beautiful or alluring or any such nonsense...but people are idiots if they think lust is all that motivates sickos like that.

And you know what, maybe I'm being selfish, maybe rape survivors do like seeing so many characters recover from being raped to become strong happy women, but I'd like to see it a little less. Comics are escapism for me, and while I like lots of drama and angst...I could do with a bit less hitting close to home thanks. I don't mean cut it out entirely. But save it for something like Identity Crisis, where you need something that monstrous to motivate the heroes into crossing a line.

And as I said in my reply there: subtlety is better than overt. I don't need to see all the details. I usually don't even need to see it said. I mean, personally, it's pretty obvious that Starfire's backstory contains some of that. Then there's JSA 18, as I mentioned. And the thing is, I think it's largely well done in these situations, and I'm perfectly okay with them, and I'll explain why in a second.

But first, let's look at JSA 18. Third issue in the Injustice Society plotline, majority consists of the answer to "who the hell is Johnny Sorrow?"

Now it might just be me, but I personally thought that the whole Johnny Sorrow segment where he kidnapped little Sandy the Golden Boy from his room at night...well, it was creepy. More than creepy. I seriously read it and thought, holy hell, they actually went there. (Which is the reaction a rape plotline is *supposed* to have, damnit!)

I mean, maybe it wasn't meant to have read like that. Maybe I'm just sick-minded. But damn if I don't see some very specific hints in the art:

One hell of a creepy opening.

Look at that for example. Specifically the detail of the kid's clothes. Do you notice what I notice? They're coming the fuck *off*. And that's a very deliberate, very subtle detail I think. I didn't catch it the first time through, but then I did and I was creeped out. Christ.

"I took the liberty of dressing you."

Next page. Okay, with or without any other implications on the previous page. That's fucking creepy. That's fucking traumatizing thank you. Imagine going to bed in your nice, warm, safe bedroom. A place that by all standards of decency and ethics should be inviolate. And then you're nabbed by a villain and you wake up in a different set of clothes. And your captor tells you he *changed your clothes* while you were unconscious. This guy has now seen you at the most defenseless and vulnerable you have ever been. That's horrific. (And part of why I like Sorrow as a villain so much. Shut the fuck up, Doctor Light, let Johnny Sorrow show you how horror's done *right*.)

And as Ragnell pointed out to me...notice the word choice. He doesn't say "I've changed your clothes." He says he *dressed* him. *shudders* Completely different vibe there.

Okay, fast forward through a bunch of backstory and some hitting of the poor tied-up kid and otherwise physically domineering positions (you can see for yourself). Yay for rescue:

Rescue!

Notice the stammer. It's a very small point, but significant. Go earlier in the issue, see how Sandy talks and acts during the robbery before it goes wrong. Go to JSA Returns and read "A Terrifying Hour" and see how he acts there (for more specific Geoff Johns characterization), go to the JSA issue of Sins of Youth (he's a little quieter there, but he's also the adult reduced physically to a kid, which isn't the same), and if you must, go read Creature in the Velvet Cage. Though it's bad and off-kilter in terms of Post-Crisis character development. Sandy the fucking Golden Boy doesn't stutter. He's brash, confident and smart alecky. He's fast-talking and quipping. He's always smiling. And always saying/thinking about how invulnerable he feels as the Golden Boy.

That stammer, to someone like me who reads way the hell too far into things sometimes, turns into something heartbreaking. That stammer doesn't belong on the Golden Boy. That stammer doesn't even belong on the much quieter and mature adult. (I think little Sandy would totally not have let Hawkman get away with being an ass; he'd say something like "Wow, you're a tough guy, picking on a kid!"). It's a nice subtle touch as to the trauma of the experience I think. (It might be worth noting that we never see grown-up Sand show as much of the smart-ass as he does in the next issue when chained to a giant stalagmite. Still waters run deep and the smart aleck always stays with the man.)

Last one fast forward a bit more, the fight is over, which maybe negates my whole point, or does it:

Aftermath

Yep, he's okay now that he's safe. It's not like he's ever going to *lie* to *Wesley* about his state, right? (JSA 70: "I told him I didn't remember being locked in this cage. That I wasn't aware of anything all those years. I lied."/"And to make Sandman follow me-- --I'll have to lie again." "You have nothing to blame yourself for, Wesley. I didn't feel a thing.") It doesn't read like textbook repression/denial at all right? And denial's not remotely a common reaction to that sort of trauma, especially among male victims...

Riiiight.

And hell, it would explain a lot. His skittishness with Kendra, for example. He hasn't said one word to her about it (except when out of his head, which doesn't count), he hasn't pursued her at all, and even the dream/fantasy in the hospital room in 64 is very, surprisingly chaste for a young man. Could be that he's just a nice young man and very old-fashioned. But it might not.

Anyway, I bring this up for a reason. I very much...well, enjoyed isn't the right word...but I reread this storyline a lot. And each time I reread, I become more...certain that there are indeed subtextual implications of sexual assault.

So why am I okay with it?

Well, there's the deniability factor. It's not stated, it's implied at best, and possibly not even intentionally so, though I think the clothing in particular seems like too subtle and deliberate a touch to be unintentional. But if you don't want to read it that way, you don't have to. There's enough overtly traumatizing factors to suit the story that the subtext only adds an additional gloss of horror. Also because if it's never brought up, then it can't bog down the storyline in depressing angst (c.f. Outsiders) (Though damn if it wouldn't be satisfying seeing the old school JSAers: Alan, Jay, Ted...hell even Carter tear Sorrow apart for it. Hell, I bet Pat Dugan would get in on the act...probably worse than the others, he's *got* kids that age). But regardless...

There's the shock factor. Rape is supposed to be shocking after all, that's why they started using it and why so many people ran with the idea. It's supposed to be viscerally horrific. But we see it so damn often now that it's lost that. When I see that sort of plotline, I only ever see exasperation. But as I said, reading JSA...I sincerely reacted with: "I can't believe they actually went there." I was disgusted and horrified. But in the right way. In the, "I'm so into this storyline that I actually want to eviscerate this badguy" sort of way.

There's the characterization factor. Now I'm not trying to say rape victims can't move beyond it to be strong and forceful, that's a ridiculous thing to say. But there are particular characters that the past-rape storyline works best in the past of than others. Wonder Woman and Power Girl should not be. Not because of their personalities so much, but their symbolic attributes. Yes a woman who is raped can be as strong as either of these women, but these women are supposed to represent the idealized notion of womanhood. As such, I have to say, they should be inviolate. Now, Grace Choi, for all my problems with that storyline, makes sense. She's strong and wonderful, and she's clearly had experience with the darker aspects of the world and moved beyond them.

Sand works as a victim for me, though one that's not moved quite as far beyond as Grace has, of course. His overt quiet, compared to the much more expressive caption introspection and compared to the Golden Boy's cheerful chirping, works with it. He's been touched by his experience as a monster already, so that adds that touch of "survivor" that accomodates my reading of this event as well. (A character with a "survivor" thread due to one event can more easily accomodate an added thread, when it seems much less likely that another character could...it's why Jade's molestation story never worked for me. She doesn't read like someone who's had to experience the darker side at all...nor is she repressed enough to hide it.)...Sand's also a "still waters run deep" sort of character. There's a lot of room to explore the character beneath the surface, which allows for multiple readings.

It also suits Johnny Sorrow's particular obsession. (Emphasized by how he started to react when Sand began to mouth off to him in the next issue.) He serves the Elder Gods, probably has tea with freakin' Cthulu, if the copyright's run out. Guy like that is bound to be all about power and domination.

It's also got a little bit of variety now that it involves the less obvious character of the younger set. Kendra would be the obvious choice, as she's female and aggressive, and a little jaded. Courtney would be a horrid choice, but that wouldn't stop a weaker writer. (Though I hope no one is tasteless enough to bring that idea up to Mr. Johns. Egads.) In short, it makes me happier because it's a boy. Not because I hate men. Just because it's something a little different.

Mostly though, it's the horror aspects. The flashback is supposed to be horrific. It's supposed to be terrible and traumatizing and terrifying. And honestly, I thought it was. Reading that scene, I started remembering the way my heart races when I walk to work late at night. It was subtle but visceral.

So yeah, if you're going to be lazy enough to do a rape/sexual assault plot, do it the fuck *right*.

That is all. :-)