InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Don't tell me."

cyberghostface (cyberghostface) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-20 13:35:00

Entry tags:

char: chameleon/dmitri smerdyakov, char: flash thompson, char: j. jonah jameson jr., char: mary jane watson, char: spider-man/peter parker, creator: fred van lente, title: amazing spider-man

Amazing Spider-Man #603

After last issue, Chameleon is impersonating Peter. He doesn't know who Peter really is. He attempts to get a grasp of Peter's life by looking through his old yearbook and photos. Among them is a photo of Gwen, and a message from Flash in his yearbook where he tells him to "stay puny".

As posted before, Chameleon!Peter has sex with Michelle. I have to ask--is this rape? Personally, I think it is as Michelle probably wouldn't have given consent to Chameleon otherwise. But some fans of the issue on Spider-Man Crawl Space are arguing that it isn't because she gave consent. Is there a legal definition on this?

Anyway, Chameleon!Peter has his meeting with MJ.

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lencannon
2009-08-20 08:14 pm UTC (link)

First, the legal definition of rape is much more complicated. Second, I think you would be hard pressed to find any police officer willing to arrest someone for "mutual date rape" when they get blackout drunk or an attorney who would prosecute. Third, your apparent belief that Marvel has done something wrong by "playing it for laughs" ignores the reality of what it is like to actually be in that situation versus the reality of what it is like to live in the aftermath of a sexual encounter where you have been taken advantage of or worse, forcibly coerced via any number of methods to do something against your will.

Essentially it is taking an overly literal view and forming some type of argument about the immorality of the situation. What do you think the consequences of this "mutual rape" should be? Should they be arrested? Does Peter need rape counseling now? If your answer to either of these questions is "yes" I think you should take ten minutes and reevaluate your understanding of the situation.

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box_in_the_box
2009-08-20 08:26 pm UTC (link)

Third, your apparent belief that Marvel has done something wrong by "playing it for laughs" ignores the reality of what it is like to actually be in that situation versus the reality of what it is like to live in the aftermath of a sexual encounter where you have been taken advantage of or worse, forcibly coerced via any number of methods to do something against your will.

Considering that I was an on-campus rape counselor for a few years in college, whose own "first time" was less than consensual, I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself, about what my direct, personal experiences with this subject are.

What do you think the consequences of this "mutual rape" should be?

I've addressed this several times on this comm now, most recently in my reply to colonel_green, just above. Bottom line, if the writers don't want us bringing up the unfortunate implications of such a scene, then they simply shouldn't write such a scene in the first place. If you're not going to acknowledge the reality that the Chameleon raped Michelle, then don't have the Chameleon raping Michelle. If you're not going to show Peter and/or Michelle reacting as they should to such a situation - which, at the very least, should involve worries about STDs or pregnancy, regardless of how consensual you think the sex was - then that scene should have never happened to begin with.

The problem with this scene is the same as the problem with every single storyline currently being produced by Marvel - it wants to "shock" people by including "real life" problems, but then, it doesn't want ADDRESS the INEVITABLE CONSEQUENCES of those problems. What do you want to bet that none of this gets played for anything more than laughs, or to show how sitcom-unlucky Peter Parker is?

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lencannon
2009-08-20 08:33 pm UTC (link)

Considering that your bizarre accusation is calling every couple who has ever gotten drunk past the point of memory and had a sexual encounter both a rapist and a rape victim, I think I have every right to point out that is completely different in every aspect than every other of the crime. You are making monsters and victims out of people who are neither. I do not know what your experiences with rape are but I do know think that you have an inaccurate view of the situation you are describing.

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