InsaneJournal

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Doop (xdoop) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-07-24 11:31:00

Entry tags:

char: crossbones/brock rumlow, char: iron man/tony stark, char: maria hill, char: professor x/charles xavier, char: spider-man/peter parker, char: vision/jonas, creator: brian michael bendis, creator: ed brubaker, creator: mike deodato, creator: steve epting, publisher: marvel comics, title: captain america, title: new avengers

Mind rape?

While they didn't create the term, TV Tropes defines "Mind Rape" as when "a character is attacked by a villain in the most painful non-physical way possible. Their mind and soul are assaulted with painful, horrifying visions and memories, and broken until they're powerless and numb, but not dead, although afterwards they may wish they were. Nothing sexual occurs, but everything else is there to resemble a rape - violation, helplessness, and the poisoning of what could otherwise be a source of joy."

However I've seen a lot of people throw the term around whenever a character gets their mind read without their permission, as if it's just as bad (or almost as bad) as the act of sexual assault itself.

One such example occurred in New Avengers #19, by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato.

SHIELD has asked the New Avengers for help dealing with the Collective, which is later revealed to be the unified energy signatures of all the mutants depowered after "M-Day." Spider-Man and the Young Avengers' Vision are on the Helicarrier when SHIELD discovers that the energy readings match those of a large number of the depowered mutants. When Spider-Man discovers the connection to the House of M, Iron Man tells him to take the Vision and get off the ship.

Later...

Another example of when the term "mind rape" was used was in reference to this scene from Captain America #28, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.

So, do you think any of these examples are comparable to actually raping someone?

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ashtoreth
2009-07-26 05:04 am UTC (link)

As some have said, telepathy has never been proven to exist, therefore nothing can be said definitively about it. I have met someone who claimed to have such power in RL, and although I didn't believe him, his presence made me feel self-conscious and icky and I wanted to hit him and never be around him in person again. Please note I considered this man my best friend. I'd liken uncontrolled mind-reading to molesting.

Because the power is not well-defined, its been described in many conflicting ways. Both as ambient noise (shallow, surface thoughts that are often meant to punctuate conversation and thoughts deliberately projected) and internal thoughts that are less articulated because they're not meant to be internal monologues but bursts of images/leaps of intuition and logic. In addition there are supposedly deeper levels of thought and memory. Some telepaths claim to hear all surface thoughts around them, like the extra sense that Bluefall describes. Some claim that they need to project, "probe", a part of their astral self into the target mind in order to read it.

Telepathy has been described both as so beyond the target's senses that he cannot feel it, and as a physical feeling, not always pleasant, of someone inside your body/mind.

The actual technique is also variously described. Xavier has been depicted as an astral form flying inside a worldscape. Looking at a person and seeing images and information flying by, not always well understood. A library with files, some of which can be locked. In Moon Knight, the Profiler has visual telepathy--he sees graffiti around a person that details everything about them.

There are also various forms of rape. Usually, the word is meant to mean when someone brutally forces another person to have sex. In general, it means whenever sex occurs when the other person doesn't want to, date rape, coercion, etc. There is also the additional versions, like when you "rape the countryside" by ruining and taking what you like without asking.

Many people also liken home invasions to a feeling of deep violation. Just knowing someone has been inside your home without permission makes many people angry.

It is possible to touch someone against their will, and if it is not intended, there is no harm, no foul, though it is certainly uncomfortable. We can liken this to telepaths who can't control themselves. They are basically children running around taking shits everywhere. You don't blame them, but you don't want them around either. And it is certainly possible to punish them if you think they've done business deliberately, ie. revealing information from someone's mind you couldn't help reading. I've read a number of rapefics which depict rape exams being enacted afterward as being nearly as traumatic and shameful as the initial crime. I know for a fact that gynecological exams can be horrible, shameful and painful experiences. Sex itself can be as neutral as a biological function, or it can be a wonderful, sharing experience.

The only person who can tell you how it was is the target.

Please note, there is no excuse for any of these things. There's a reason protections against violations are part of the law. Both civilian law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice provide limits and punishments. Discipline is not optional and the military, at least, does not appreciate people assuming that because some criminals think they could do as they please, that these are heroic soldiers whose actions should be excused and glorified. Only politicians and those who directly do their will are, at present, too difficult to prosecute. However, someone's refusal to take responsibility for their actions is usually a good measure of whether they knew it was wrong or not.

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