Sexual Subjectivity in Rape Narratives: Consent, Credibility, and Coercion in Rural Haryana

Signs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-125
Author(s):  
Rupal Oza
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Subjectivity ◽  
Rape Narratives

‘Good enough for a spot of lippy anyway’: Rape and the Body Politic in My Brother Tom

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-373
Author(s):  
Louise Wilks
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sexual Violation ◽  
Female Protagonist ◽  
British Cinema ◽  
Hollywood Movies ◽  
Contemporary Cinema ◽  
Rape Narratives

The representation of rape continues to be one of the most highly charged issues in contemporary cinema, and whilst many discussions of this topic focus on Hollywood movies, sexual violation is also a pervasive topic in British cinema. This article examines the portrayal of a female's rape in the British feature My Brother Tom (2001), a powerful and often troubling text in which the sexual violation of the teenage female protagonist functions as a catalyst for the events that comprise the plot, as is often the case in rape narratives. The article provides an overview of some of the key feminist academic discussions and debates that cinematic depictions of rape have prompted, before closely analysing My Brother Tom's rape scene in relation to such discourses. The article argues that the rape scene is neither explicit nor sensationalised, and that by having the camera focus on Jessica's bewildered reactions, it positions the audience with her, and powerfully but discreetly portrays the grave nature of sexual abuse. The article then moves on to examine the portrayal of sexual violation in My Brother Tom as a whole, considering the cultural inscriptions etched on the female body within its account of rape, before concluding with a discussion of the film's depiction of Jessica's ensuing methods of bodily self-inscription as she attempts to disassociate her body from its sexual violation.

Luther and Calvin on Rape: Is the Crime Lost in the Agenda?

2002 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-142
Author(s):  
Michael Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Recent Criticism ◽  
Rape Narratives ◽  
The Church

The purpose of this essay is to examine comments by Luther and Calvin on the rape narratives of the Old Testament against recent criticism that the Church has never really taken the crimes of abuse and rape seriously enough. Marie Fortune, whose criticism it is, questions the reason for the church’s apparent reticence in being clearly and unreservedly against these crimes. It is hoped that even limited reflection may suggest at least some understanding. It is found that for various reasons the logic of the reformers’ exposition actually directs them away from the crucial event of abuse. That logic, itself, is examined and questioned, suggesting its weakness – both exegetically and socially. It portrays a marred paradigm that the church today needs to reject.

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