Do you think soaps have used rape as a story too often?

[ReddFoxx]

It's really uncomfortable how soaps use that as a plot device. I remember being unnerved even as a child by Marty Saybrooke being raped on OLTL and how Todd eventually became a normal character. Marty had been somewhat of a villain before then when she lied on Andrew and I felt like that her being toned down after the rape story line was not a good look. Having a character raped to make them sympathetic doesn't seem right at all.

 

Another time it really bothered me was with Brooke on B&B. It really damaged the character of Stephanie when she sent Andy after Brooke and it seemed like the rape was an implied punishment for Brooke being with so many men. That one still bothers me.

 

And the absolute worst was on Passions when Theresa was raped by Alistair and Gwen turned the music up really loud to so Ethan couldn't hear it and help Theresa. Even for fiction that was just too evil to portray a woman allowing another woman to be assaulted and not help her because of romantic rivalry.

[SoapDope]

I remember reading an interview with Leigh J. McCloskey and him saying how he hated how the rape storyline on SB was played out.

[titan1978]

The initial OLTL Marty story was one of the better rape storylines on daytime.  It had nuance, and characters made choices based on their morals all the way through.

 

At first it wasnt about making Marty sympathetic, it was about this is still a horrible, awful crime no matter who it happens too.  It was also about class- Todd and Powell and the rest had money and Marty did not.  It was about legal ethics, and how Nora couldn’t just ignore the truth even if it was her job as a lawyer to defend her clients. Peer pressure with Powell.  The community reaction due to it being Marty, and Andrew’s support even after what she did to him.

 

It didn’t pivot for me until Todd became just any old villain after the trial- stalking Marty, attacking Luna and Nora.  Making him a Lord and then his romance with Blair were where it cemented we wanted this talented actor more than we wanted to honor the story they told.  And I also thought he was talented and did a fantastic job acting Todd back then.  Didn’t want him to be the main character in town and never be punished though.

 

The thing I will always give Tony Geary credit for is that he believed Luke raped Laura and that she forgave him and they fell in love.  He didn’t believe it was a seduction, even if the show wanted it to go away.  Even in things like the 35th anniversary special, he said the audience wanted Luke more after the rape, and that was something nobody has ever come to terms with.  He didn’t care to try to make Luke anything other than what he was.

 

Truthfully, Roger Howarth used to fight against Todd as a romantic character back then too.  It kind of stopped after he left and came back.  He just went with the flow more.

 

[DeeeDee]

Three generations of Black women were raped on Y&R.

 

That's gotta be some kind of record.

[kalbir]

 

Two of them became pregnant and one contracted an STD as a result of their rapes.

[j swift]

While it is true that it would be rare for three generations of women to be assaulted by strangers, black women are actually more likely to be victims of sexual assault and black women who have been raped are more likely to have a parent or grandparent who has also been raped. 

 

According to End Rape on Campus: The prevalence rate of rape of black women is 1 out of every 6 women and 49% of multiracial women will be assaulted in their lifetime.  Of the black women who have been raped or sexually assaulted,  60% have a first-degree relative who has also been raped. 

 

However, the assaults were much more likely to happen within the family, or an intimate relationship, than by a stranger.  As a result, 1 in 5 women of color are still in relationships with the men that abused them, and while I agree this should not be romanticized, it is also not as rare as we would think on soaps.  It could also be argued that having the representation of black women reporting these crimes is a responsible form of storytelling.

 

So, again, the prevalence of rape on soaps seems proportionate with the actual culture, (especially in comparison to the incidents of spinal cord and head injuries in soap towns).  However, given that 80% of female assault victims knew their attackers, it is the false threat that women are more likely to be attacked by a stranger that seems disproportionate.

 

https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics   

[DeeeDee]

 

Except it's not.

 

Y&R has constantly tried to ignore one, furiously retcon the second and extremely soft pedal the third.

 

One guess as to why.

[Wendy]

 

I found Julia's rape repulsive on so many levels. First, it was "he said/she said", when Julia was always one of the most above-board characters, all in the name of trying to make Dash Nichols a sympathetic romantic hero, IMO. Made me extra glad when Mason was firmly in Julia's corner as was CC, etc., and made Nichols' life difficult.

 

Secondly, Julia's own damned sister hesitated in believing Julia's account, pointing out how she had difficulties with men in the past. WTF?! And then Augusta was DAYDREAMING about Dash. It was appalling. I firmly applaud Louise Sorel's disgust at the show trying to have Augusta have a romance with her sister's attacker and ultimately exiting the show because of it.

 

And even when it was shown Julia was indeed raped, her rapist gets a happy ending with Capwell house guest Katrina. Like...what?!

 

Oh, and I thought of another on the show that was raped: Cassie Benedict (Lockridge) when she somehow ended up in Singapore and was sold to a whorehouse and drugged. Charming. I hated her character, but that flashback was gross.

[j swift]

Both Cassie on SB and Anna on DAYS were introduced with a past in "white slavery", can you imagine using that anachronistic and incendiary languge today?

 

Also, let's look at what the "romantic/rapists" all have in common?  Luke (GH), EJ (DAYS), Todd (OLTL) and Paul (Y&R) all benefit from white privilege.  When Margo was raped by a minority actor on ATWT she immediately got an AIDS test (I don't recall Sami ever getting tested after EJ), and I bet nobody ever pitched a romantic pairing for that guy.

[DeeeDee]

Paul technically isn't a rapist.

[victoria foxton]

The guy that raped Margo was white. 

Marty came from a wealthy family just like Todd and Powell.

[j swift]

Thanks, his name was Elroy Nevins (played by Cliff Weissman) but I stand by the theory 

 

Come on now DeeeDee, I think in the Time's Up Era there is little room for technicalities.  I understand your point in the context of the story at the time, but in hindsight, there was no consent.   

[titan1978]

I forgot Marty was rich!

[DeeeDee]

 

The only person who referred to their encounter as rape was Paul.

 

Therefore your statement is invalid.

[amybrickwallace]

 

You could also add DAYS' Lawrence Alamain to that list. I guess he was sort of the EJ of his time, though nowhere near as popular with fans.