Vinculi said:
thaluikhain said:
Mind you, child abuse is treated as being very serious by popular culture.
Yeah, that's true, gotta wonder what happens between then and adulthood that somehow makes sexual victimisation seem less of a problem or taken less seriously.
And even though male-child abuse is taken just as seriously as female child abuse in society, male characters in fiction never seem to have a background of abuse, but it seems fine to write a female character with "rape-victim" as a significant portion of her backstory.
And what if as an example, D.C released a Joker retcon that made the Joker a victim of childhood abuse, who as a result becomes detached and self-hating, his damaged emotional state leading to crime, which builds on itself as his escapism from the reality of his childhood. Its a bit overdone, sure, but that suits comics. Would a character like that actually work? (aside from the fact that no-one likes a retcon) Or are we not supposed to have any kind of depth to a villain that might make us feel bad?
Eh, you should probably ignore that crap I just wrote...
The problem that Men (and women actually) don't report rape stems from a generation of wanton ignorance to such things.
People just closed their eyes to things that upset them... when a child grows up in a world that essentially tells them "keep it to yourself" and "don't rock the boat", you better believe they will bottle that shit up and try to live with it. Its only been in the last 2-3 decades that these ugly truths have been dragged out into the light for scrutiny and condemnation (consolation? I confused myself in my phrasing, pick the one that means to you Rape victims are encouraged to speak out).
As an example thats close to home for me, in Ireland there has been major scandal in regards to the Catholic Church. For decades there was abuse (both sexual and mental) towards kids, boys and girls, within Catholic institutions (schools, churches etc.) by men of the cloth. Only in the last 2 decades has ANY of this knowledge reached the public and it has been an avalanche of sick and vile stories ever since. Whats worse is that the Church attempted to cover up these horror stories and the level of complacency towards it went right up to the freaking pope.
So, as a result we had a fairly large generation of abused kids growing up into traumatically repressed adults (you didn't challenge the church 30-40 years ago), creating a horrendous era of dark pasts and skeletons in closets. During this time the monsters that violated a generation walked among us, taught us and lead us through religious fervor and dogma.
Of course things are changing, slowly but surely. We are living in a generation where ignorance is no longer excusable, where people are encouraged, with support, to confront and deal with their problems... no matter how severe. A generation of stiff-upper-lip attitudes that crippled many lives and enabled innumerable amounts of abuse is being replaced by an aware, compassionate and empathetic generation that wants this shit to stop.
I can guarantee you media will broaden in its depictions of the dark and dank underbelly of life, but will be tempered by a better understanding of the consequences, when folk from my generation begin to enter the spotlight with their fantasies and fictions.
(Just as an another example of changing times, its only been in the last 2 decades that spouse rape has become an legally reprehensible form of rape).
Also, Joker should never have a defined backstory... there have been people who tried, but it fails always. Joker only works as an enigma, as an unquantifiable force or indefinable entity. By giving him history that explains who he is breaks the illusion of the character and just makes him another wacko.
As my own contribution towards depictions of male rape I give you "Deliverance" (film). Its man on man rape. Whats interesting is that the main character actively tries to keep word of his rape from spreading.
