Rape Consciousness

The new understanding of the victim’s psyche in rape fiction is derived from the literature of the anti-rape movement and autobiographical accounts of sexual assault. The rhetoric of this 1970s social movement, particularly the persuasive language of polemical nonfiction and the first-person narration in testimonies and autobiographies, inspired rape fiction. The use of sociopolitical theories and newly discovered facts about sexual assault informed the themes and plots of the first rape novels, and autobiographies and testimonies provided a bridge between the galvanizing rhetoric of social activism and subsequent fiction. The diverse texts that contributed to the emergence of the rape novel—from the transcripts of the consciousness-raising sessions of radical feminists to the memoirs of Maya Angelou and Billie Holiday—highlight the primacy of social movements to this new genre.

Breaking Silence, Telling Tales

The first rape novels, written in the 1970s, demand that rape be understood as violation. The traditional readerly reaction of voyeuristic pleasure to depictions of rape is replaced by feelings of shock and horror more appropriate for this subject matter. The 1970s rape novel offers a new script for the rape story that focuses primarily on the experiences of the victim. This recentering is achieved through the unflinchingly realistic portrayal of sexual violence on the page. These novels portray rape as rape, allowing the reader to understand the violence enacted upon the victim’s body, the brutality impressed upon her mind, and the devastating personal and communal repercussions of the act.

Rethinking Rape in the American Cultural and Literary Landscape

The introduction establishes the urgency of the feminist project of the 1970s to challenge the prevalent rape myths of the twentieth century: rape does not exist; women should simply enjoy sex even when they are forced into the act; and violent sex is pornographic and titillating, but not a crime. Earlier representations of rape in American fiction were not told through the perspective of the victim; instead, an unsympathetic bystander or even the perpetrator recounts the events. Women began portraying rape as rape—as a violent, nonconsensual act—once second-wave feminists challenged rape myths through consciousness-raising sessions, publications, and public activism. The resultant new genre of fiction, the rape novel, prioritizes the survivor and her physical and psychological trauma. The rape novel works to change the culture that allows rape and sexual violence to occur, demonstrating the transformative power of literature to educate, inspire activism, and promote healing.

Tracing Trauma in Rape Fiction of the Long 1990s

The 1990s rape novels depict contested stories of sexual assault by employing the rhetorical techniques of postmodernism and writing about trauma to eschew the linear narration of realism that imposes certain textual interpretations. The portrayal of rape and incest in these novels echoes the pattern of trauma experienced by their characters in their complicated narration and, often, lack of tidy resolution. This model of rape fiction offers a compelling explanation to readers for the varying portrayals of rape and sexual violence seen in contemporary society, countering those who dismiss charges of sexual abuse as exaggerated or untrue.

“The Victim Demands Narrative”

The central prerogative of rape fiction of the 1980s is to underscore the legitimacy of the traumatic experience by providing in-depth accounts of the assault and its physical and psychological repercussions. The 1980s rape novels contain harrowing rape scenes that use their detail to emphasize the fact that rape engenders deep psychological consequences. Far from glamorizing sexual violence, these novels present an alternative narrative focus that educates the uninformed reader and provides affirmation to those survivors seeking an empathetic community. That these texts bridge ethnic literary traditions testifies to the vital importance of rape fiction as a genre: to create a literary memorial to all victims of sexual assault.

Writing the Male Rape Survivor

The rise of the rape novel featuring female victims inspired the telling of more stories about male rape victims. Just as the early stories about the sexual assault of women portrayed rape as nonexistent, inconsequential, or the fault of the women and girls themselves, the stories of male rape often have belittled the victims and position the male rape victim as an object of derision, scorn, and even amusement. As the revelations of several high-profile sexual abuse cases early in the twenty-first century brought to light the plight of young boys being assaulted by trusted older men, male victims are now being treated with the concern and sympathy that women experienced in the 1970s. The political activism inherent in the rape novel—educating its readers, offering community to the victims, and encouraging social activism and change to societal attitudes—will continue as the stories of male rape survivors are told in greater numbers.