Why Keep Repeating the Obvious?
Every time I read a BL on this site that includes SA or rape, everyone in the discussion always has to denounce the offending character as a bad person or “wasted potential.” I’m not saying that these statements are wrong, because they’re right. However, isn’t it just pointless?
Everyone already knows that rape and SA is bad. This isn’t really an issue whose legitimacy is being questioned 24/7, and the prevalence of the trope in—what is essentially—fictional porn isn’t going to change that. Rather than going through the effort of typing out something that goes along the lines of “rape/SA is so disgusting. I’m dropping this!”, why don’t you just drop it without announcing to everyone? If you find it distasteful, then you are free to stop reading it whenever you want. Additionally, why repeat that rape and/or SA is disgusting when that is already a given? That’s like commenting “murdering an entire group for the acts of one person is bad” on a martial arts manhwa/manga/manhua. Everyone knows it’s bad in real life, but since it occurs in fiction, people are fine with it.
Of course, when it comes to these acts occurring in a fictional setting between two fictional characters, people’s opinions on them can vary, but in that instance, those who are uncomfortable with seeing them can simply do what I said earlier and just stop reading. There’s no shame in not liking something.
Another trend I see is that people often demean the author(s). Anytime there’s rape/SA in a story, the comments are usually like “Ugh, dropped, I can’t believe the author has to rely on the rape trope,” “Why do so many Korean authors have to write rape? It’s so disgusting,” “Can’t believe the author ruined this entire story for some rape content,” or something similar.
I’m not saying that people can’t be put off by the content. People’s feelings towards what they’re reading are valid, and that is not what I’m confused by; it’s people’s behavior that confuses me.
As stated repeatedly, if you don’t like a story, you can simply drop it without saying a word about it. (This is the last time I’m going to say this for the sake of not sounding like a broken record.) Furthermore, this behavior is just illogical. 99.99% of the time the author doesn’t even know these comments exist since we’re on an illegal website that is independent from official sources, so it’s not like what you’re saying is going to reach the author. Even if, hypothetically, they DO reach the author, it’s not like they’re going to change an entire plot line because “Oh, these people are uncomfortable with it.” All you’re doing is clogging up the discussion with the same message over and over.
Finally, these sentiments tend to end up with people accusing others of supporting rape/SA. Fortunately, only a small amount of people do this, based on what I’ve seen, but this behavior is still alarming. Comments like “if you continue reading this, you support SA/rape” or “just say you are a rape/SA apologist” are simply immature and useless. All that is achieved is making someone look bad for a belief they most likely don’t believe in. If these people are truly this incensed by rape/SA to the extent that they’re willing to accuse others of crimes over fictional content, why don’t they channel this energy into something more productive, like supporting women’s shelters or continuing to stand up against the sexual abuse that occurs in the workplace? Otherwise, all these people are doing is engaging in performative activism.
Just in case it needs to be said, please don’t accuse others of rape/SA and/or supporting these criminal acts without undeniable proof that is grounded in reality (i.e., not accusing someone of liking rape in real life because they like a fictional story that has it in it). We are all here to just have fun and read manga/manhwa/manhua.
(Pardon me if I sound rude and/or insensitive)
