Double Standard Rape (Female on Male): Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Double Standard]].

[[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil]], beyond [[Kick the Dog|kicking the dog]] or any of the other [[Moral Event Horizon|acts of villainy]] in media. But there seems to be one exception: when the victim is a man and the attacker is a woman. [[All Men Are Perverts|Men are stereotyped as]] [[A Man Is Always Eager|constantly wanting sex]] and of being stronger in general than women. Therefore, the idea that the man could have either not consented to sex with a woman or been incapable of fighting off a female aggressor if he did refuse sex is simply not taken seriously. Another commonly-held notion that the idea of female-on-male rape challenges is the false idea that [["It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It"|since men have erections, they enjoy the sex, and hence is not rape or not as traumatic as any other kind of rape]].

 

 

For a trope that suffers a similar attitude, see [[Hot for Student]]. Some forms of [[Gender Rarity Value]] could be considered a sub-trope. Often involves the [[Bed Trick]], [[Love Potion]] or other fantastical means of sex.

See also [[All Abusers Are Male]], [[Double Standard Abuse (Female on Male)]] and [[All Women are Doms, All Men are Subs]].

 

 

This trope is ''not'' just females raping males, but females raping males and that being somehow more okay ''in-universe'' than males raping females, males raping males, and so forth.

{{examples}}

== Advertising ==

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgfzdgWgEZ4 This Chocolate flavored Axe (Lynx in the UK) ad] is on the [[Nightmare Fuel]] page for a reason. It's [[Played for Laughs]], sure, and the chocolate guy [[Victim Falls For Rapist|seems to like it]], but can you imagine an ad showing a woman getting literal bites taken out of her, possibly against her will, by strangers on the street ''ever'' being passed for broadcast? [[Double Standard|Thought not]].

* ''Muscle Milk'' is supposed to make one more attractive. Ads show men visibly upset talking about how they are being sexually harassed by women, The announcer then tells them that attractive men ''must'' submit to unwanted sexual advances.

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Lampshaded in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' when [[Older Than They Look|Evangeline]] tells [[Robot Girl|Chachamaru]] "You can just force yourself on him. Don't be so dull. Just jump him" after she finds Chachamaru [[A Date with Rosie Palms|"recharging her mana"]] while saying Negi's name.

* In the first episode of ''[[Maburaho]]'', Kuriko attempts to get into Kazuki's pants for his genes- [[Stalker with a Test Tube|genes that can give birth to a powerful magician]]. Kazuki tries to fight her off and shouts that he would scream for help if she doesn't stop. Kuriko just responds, [[Lampshade Hanging|"Isn't that what girls usually say?"]]

 

== Comic Books ==

* ''[[Catwoman]] #1'' ([[New 52|of the 2011 DC Relaunch]]) featured an example of this, given that during Catwoman and Batman's encounter he seems very reluctant at first. In the words of Linkara, [["It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It"|"Because it's not rape if he consents eventually,]] [[Sarcasm Mode|right?"]]

 

* ''[[You Got Haruhi Rolled]]'' from the ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' universe has a [[Running Gag]] where [[Uncanny Valley Girl|Kuyou]] constantly tries to get in Fujiwara's pants. It's [[Played for Laughs]], but imagine what people's reaction would be were the genders reversed--''especially'' because Kuyou is a [[Starfish Alien]].

* "Conversation Is For Heterosexuals", a [[Kingdom Hearts]] AU fanfic, invokes this and crosses it over with [[Double Standard Rape (Male on Male)]]. In it, a bored Larxene plays matchmaker with Axel, Roxas, Marluxia, Vexen, Demyx, and Zexion. She does this by drugging them, stripping them naked, ''forcing them into penetrative positions'', and locking them in small boxes. When the pairs wake up, she explains that she'll only let them out if they have sex and reach climax, a proposition they all eventually play along with. Not only does she receive no [[Karma Houdini|ramifications]] from this, but the story boasts rave reviews from readers who consider Larxene the hero.

* Invoked in one of [[Cori Falls]]'s Rocketshipping fics. In few words, Cori assumes that men ''always'' want sex and ''never'' are too tired/not in mood for it/able to change their mind/etc., and it's fine for their female partners to believe a lack of male sexual desire is a personal offense to them.

* The ''[[Vorkosigan Saga]]'' fanfic ''[http://bracketyjack.livejournal.com/9482.html Forward Momentum]'' runs headlong into this in "The Two Ivans", though without actual rape. Ivan explicitly does not want to marry two woman who he has been seeing and sleeping with who have both proposed to him and are perfectly okay with polygamy. He does, however, want to secretly marry another woman and run away before the first two find out. {{spoiler|He is forced to marry ''all three''. And not in the [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]] hilarious misunderstanding fashion either; the first two find out, show up, and negotiate their positions in the marriage with the third, without any input from Ivan, ''right in front of him''. He is literally given no choice in the matter, nor is the possibility of any refusal even mentioned. This is because they are backed by Imperial pressure. From ''both'' Barryar's and Cetaganda's Emperors. The two most powerful men in the known universe effectively ''force'' him to get married.}}

 

== Film ==

* In ''[[Reefer Madness]]'', either on stage or the Showtime adaptation, a male character tries to use marijuana to seduce an ingenue. Things go drastically, [[Black Comedy Rape|hilariously]], [[Funny Moments (Sugar Wiki)|sadomasochistically wrong for him]]. The audience doesn't really have much sympathy for him, even as he cries out, "Help, this crazy tomato is raping me!" Definitely a case of [[Laser-Guided Karma]], but, presumably, would have been less acceptable had the genders been reversed.

* In the [[Jim Carrey]] film ''[[Yes Man (Film)|Yes Man]]'', the protagonist promises to say yes to everything. He is propositioned by an old woman who lives in his building, and when he tries to say no, he is karmically punished. Think for a second about how this would be treated if the protagonist was a woman.

* ''Disclosure'' with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore is a detailed examination of this trope. It's a film based on a Michael Crichton book about a man sexually harassed by his female boss, and the MAJOR uphill battle he has to perform to convince everyone that he wasn't the aggressor.

* Played for laughs in ''Dr. Alien''. A teenage boy is implanted (without his knowledge, initially) with an alien organ meant to stimulate females with sonics, resulting in him getting assaulted by a girl he was taking to a movie, the girlfriend of a bully, and a locker room full of women (and their coach).

* ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'' has a Decepticon disguised as a human female track down Sam in college, force him to the bed, and into a very compromising position. When Sam's girlfriend finds them, she is furious at him, and the situation is played for laughs.

* ''[[Almost Famous]]'' has a scene where a flock of 18-to-20-year-old girls have sex with a 15-year-old boy, shouting "deflower the kid!" Consider how that would be treated if the genders were reversed.

* A lesser sexual offense than rape, but same [[Double Standard]]: In ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'', another nurse remarks to the [[Love Interest]] that she'd "had a look" at the unconscious David's genitals. If a male nurse had admitted to peeking under female patients' gowns, he'd get canned on the spot, but in this case the voyeur is merely chided that it's improper behavior.

* ''[[Horrible Bosses]]'' doesn't so much play this straight as avert it while [[Crosses the Line Twice|playing it for laughs anyways]]. Dentist Julia ([[Jennifer Aniston]]) drugs Dale her assistant and molests him while he's unconscious. She later shows him photos she took of this that look like them having sex and threatens to show them to his fiance if he does not have sex with her. Dale is very upset and angry by this and calls it rape and Julia is portrayed as a horrible person though it is still played for comedy more than rape usually is when the victims female.

* An aversion: The 1998 film ''Thursday'' has a scene in which Thomas Jane is held at gunpoint, tied to a chair, and raped by a female drug dealer. The scene treats the act as wrong, mostly due to the main character having a wife. Thomas Jane's character even call it rape. Despite this, it is still filmed in an erotic fashion.

* Crazily [[Zig Zagged Trope|zigzagged]] with Adam Sandler's upcoming film ''That's My Boy''; the film itself plays this trope straight as an arrow, but the critical backlash thus far has averted it ''hard''.

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' books, Mat encounters the widowed Queen of Ebou Dar, a nation in which men are second-class citizens. Mat is repeatedly raped by the Queen, frequently tied down at knife-point and forced to be her sexual servant against his will. This is all treated as [[Black Comedy Rape|comedy]] because Mat is normally a consumate flirt. The fact that he is sexually victimized is treated as [[Disproportionate Retribution|his come-uppance]] for his previous behavior. When finally freed of the Queen's subjugation, he reflects that he will miss her. If the sexes were reversed, this would be seen as a creepy example of [[Stockholm Syndrome]], but due to the prevailing theme of [[Hot Amazon|dominant, aggressive women]] in the series, it's more likely a case of [[Author Appeal]].

* In the book ''Conrad's Time Machine'', the main character is raped by three women; he says he doesn't think they should be prosecuted like male rapists should, and in fact we later discover this was part of his bachelor party that his best friend set up for him.

* In an episode of ''[[You Rang, M'Lord?|You Rang M Lord]]'' Teddy hits on a plan to get out of marrying a woman he doesn't love: when she's spending the night at his house he'll creep into her bedroom and then do nothing. She'll assume he's impotent and call the wedding off. He doesn't count on how enthusiastically she'll react to finding him getting into bed with her, and although the character is quite unhappy about what's happened, it's played for laughs.

* In the ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' novel ''Last Human'', Lister is forced to marry a hideously ugly Gelf (Genetically Engineered Life Form). The situation is played mostly for laughs, but his emotions during the sex are touched on in a curiously realistic way:

* A similar scenario occurs in the TV series Episode "Polymorph II", though in this case Lister manages to escape before his "wife" can get his clothes off.

* In the ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' books there are several mentions of love potions. All of them have a girl slipping a boy the potion, and in most cases it's played for laughs. Note that love potions make the drinker temporarily obsessed with whoever gave them the potion, so they can be compared to date rape drugs. Fred and George's shop have an entire display of them with a special owl order service that disguises them as cough potions to get them past the Aurors screening all the mail coming into Hogwarts.

** And then deconstructed when Dumbledore says {{spoiler|Merope Gaunt's use of love potions to elope with Tom Riddle was no different than using the Imperius Curse (an illegal mind-control spell) since Merope kept Tom Riddle drugged for ''months'', forcing him to leave his family and live with her against his will, which is a bit worse than snogging someone who wouldn't have snogged you under normal circumstances}}. It's possible the [[Double Standard]] is supposed to be in-universe, and the Merope thing is to highlight what the reader thought was harmless. And {{spoiler|Voldemort}} actually ''admires'' his mother for {{spoiler|drugging and raping his father and detesting him for naturally getting the fuck out when the potion she used wore off}}. This is mentioned by Dumbledore as another sign of his utter insanity.

* Played straight in Ken Follett's "World Without End". Merthin is raped by Griselda, the daughter of the man of whom he is an apprentice. It turns out {{spoiler|it was all a plot by Elfric so he would not have to give Merthin a free set of tools and a full guild membership, however.}}

* In ''A Working of Stars'' by Debra Doyle and D. James Macdonald, a {{spoiler|spy, Iulan Vai}} takes advantage of a convalescing Arekhon's semi-consciousness to have sex with him even though his semi-conscious state means he cannot truly consent. Arekhon believes she is his lover, Elaeli. Even more creepy—this act becomes the start of a relationship.

* In the [[Riftwar]] series, while on the Dasati homeworld, {{spoiler|rebel leader Naureen, who's sheltering hero Pug and co, conscripts Pug's son Magnus as her boy toy. Magnus clearly isn't okay with this, but neither Pug nor Magnus really objects, and the whole thing is treated as not a big deal.}} The incident isn't mentioned again.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* In an early episode of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', Odo comes to Sisko, openly distraught, and asks him to stop Lwaxana Troi from sexually harrassing him—her status as an ambassador means he feels he can't say anything himself for fear of insulting her. Sisko finds the whole thing hilarious and suggests that it would do Odo good to take her up on the offer. ''In the same episode'' Sisko tells Dr Bashir about an incident a few years before when he punched a male ambassador in the face for making advances to a female member of his crew.

* In an episode of ''[[Harry's Law]]'' one of Tommy's clients claimed he was raped by a woman. One of the other lawyers believed since he organized it wasn't rape, and Tommy even suggested to drop the case. The man keeps Tommy going by asking if he would be saying the same thing if he was a woman rapped by a man.

* An episode of ''[[Flight of the Conchords]]'' has Bret dating a woman who becomes increasingy pushy and aggressive in demanding sex from him, finally outright lying to and manipulating him to get him to capitulate. It's a little shaky on how it's portrayed; Bret is clearly traumaised afterwards and the woman is shown to be deeply unpleasant, but some of Bret's comments about the experience (such as how it only lasted a few minutes and she fell asleep right after) and Jermaine pretending to be him to another woman hoping for the same appear to be playing it partially for laughs.

* In the 2nd episode of ''Shameless'', Sheila handcuffs a naked Frank to the bed without even asking if he's comfortable with it. Frank is shown as being extremely uncomfortable throughout the whole scene and asks that "stop" be their safeword. When he sees her pull out a GIANT dildo, he sees "stop" immediately but it's implied that she anally penetrates him with the dildo anyways as he screams out "stop" again. This is played for laughs and Frank gets over it pretty quickly. Imagine if the genders were reversed

* In the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode mocking the the [[Ed Wood (creator)|Ed Wood]] written film ''[[The Violent Years]]'' the rape scene is treated as being okay by Crow, while the original film does not.

** Given that the episode in question was rated TV-PG, whereas other episodes have been rated TV-14 simply for having a bit of action violence, it seems the network falls prey to the trope.

** And [[Fan Dumb|fandom]] ''definitely'' does. And how—questioning whether ''torturing and threatening to kill someone if they don't consent to sex and later brainwashing them into thinking the relationship is consensual'' is "really rape" or even flat out calling the victim "lucky" because the rapist is an attractive woman popular in fandom.

 

== Music ==

* INXS' video for "Taste It." It's either this or some particularly bizarre BDSM. It does not help when Hutchance is screaming "Never! Never! Never!" as his clothes are being cut off.

* In [[Britney Spears]]'s "Womanizer", the singer seduces her husband using several disguises, possibly to test his fidelity. Nothing too bad at first. But her advances gain force as the video progresses, till she's violently taking him against his will. At the end of the video, she beats him into submission, and all three of her personas rape him.

* Somewhat common in [[Greek Mythology]] where the prevailing feeling seemed to be "rape is ok when it is the strong on the weak." Perhaps the best know example of this was The Amazons which as a [[Gender Flip]]ped version of a typical warrior race would regularly [[Depraved Bisexual|rape prisoners of both genders]] just like their male counterparts. This was a major part of Greco-Roman culture. Any kind of sex was fine, including rape, as long as it involved domination of a social subordinate (usually a slave or wife; or in some cases, such as Spartan society, a younger male protege). To submit, sexually, to someone weaker or socially inferior was considered highly shameful, and grounds for anything from exploitative humour to outright ostracism.

* In the legend of [[King Arthur]], Sir Galahad was conceived when his father, Sir Lancelot, was drugged and raped twice. While the person who drugged him ([[The Vamp|Morgan Le Fay]]) is typically seen as a villain, both the rapes' mastermind (the [[Fisher King]] who wanted the perfect grandson) and the rapist herself (Princess Elaine) were not shown to be bad people.

 

== Theater ==

* In ''[[Moulin Rouge]]'', scenes where women push sex on men who are not interested are seen as awkward at worst, but scenes where men attempt to push sex on women are seen as violent and horrifying.

* In an example blending slightly with [[Double Standard Rape (Divine on Mortal)]], Prior of ''[[Angels in America]]'' seems strangely blasé, especially given he's in love with someone and gay, about how an angel fucked him with her [[Our Angels Are Different|eight vaginas]] when recounting the tale to his friend Belize. But, after the hell of a time he had in the entire first act leading up to the angel's arrival, maybe he was just too jaded to care by then.

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Bully (video game)|Bully]]'': The protagonist helps the cafeteria lady slip sedatives to a male teacher; it is strongly implied that she aims to take him home and rape him. Imagine the [[Moral Guardians]] reaction if the sexes were reversed.

* In ''[[Super Robot Wars Z]]''; one of the [[Original Generation]], Xine Espio, hints at wanting to commit night rape, if her battle quotes are to be trusted.

* In ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'' C.J. is tied up and raped by Cesar’s [[Ax Crazy]] cousin Catalina during a [[Cutscene]]. She thinks C.J is her boyfriend but he is only working with her because she helps him get money by robbing place. C.J. begs her to stop and Catalina is depicted as being crazier than a shithouse rat, and it plays [[Black Comedy Rape]] as much as anything. Afterwards C.J. is visibly disturbed but keeps working with her, and she ends up being a [[Karma Houdini]] and runs away in the end with some poor mute named Claude (the guy from GTA 3). Of course, considering she is the [[Big Bad]] in another game, this was a [[Foregone Conclusion]].

* In the [[Capcom vs. Whatever]] series of games, Morrigan has a new super move named [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS03a3p4Ej8 Eternal Slumber]. Succubus nature aside, she's the protagonist of ''[[Darkstalkers]]'' and frequently portrayed as a hero.

* Played straight by [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]] and its fans: Otacon is screwed up and self-loathing enough to view being sexually assaulted as a minor by his step-mother (a woman in a position of authority over him) as 'being seduced' or 'a relationship', the fans have no such excuse.

* Horribly, '''horribly''' [[Averted]] in the ending of [[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin]].

 

== Visual Novels ==

* ''Otome Rensa: Heart of the Distortion.'' While the game has no English translation, it's clear by the CG that this is what's going on.

 

* ''[[Sexy Losers]]'' plays it straight with the "Kenta's Horny Mom" strips, where the mother lusts after her son... but is then [[Lampshaded]] with a [[Gender Swap]], to point out just how wrong it really is... and appropriately titled "Gender Incrimination".

{{quote|'''Touro Maebshi:''' ''(post-beating)'' I don't understand... it was funny when it was a ''mom'' and her ''son''. It's the same fucking joke.}}

{{quote|'''Gary''': ''I am totally OK with this situation!''}}

** Earlier, we see Gary nervously unable to say no to having sex with two women. Despite being very, ''very'' clearly [http://www.menagea3.net/strips-ma3/hugging_techniques uncomfortable with the whole situation], the two women essentially force him into a threesome without ever asking for his consent. Moments later, he's [http://www.menagea3.net/strips-ma3/while_i_watch nearly catatonic and despairing at the very notion], [http://www.menagea3.net/strips-ma3/thatis_what_i_said and says he didn't have a choice in the matter]. He seems to accept it eventually, and is later seen "preparing" for it (with all the enthusiasm of a man on death row), but little, if any, time is spent on considering his consent—it's just assumed, despite his attempted protests, that he'll be into it.

 

== Web Original ==

* In ''[[Tales of MU]]'' when it's revealed that Steff (a pre-op male-to-female transgender) was raped by Leda the standard response is "Is that even possible?" Though after much debate they come to recognize how traumatic it was.

* Game mod reviewer ''[[Al Chest Breach]]'' plays a consensual sex scene with a custom NPC follower as though she forced herself on him. As with the tone of all his reviews, [[Black Comedy Rape|the scene is clearly intended to be comedic]].

 

== Western Animation ==

** Then used in a later episode, where Lois more explicitly rapes Peter after he takes up abstinence, and is portrayed as being completely right in doing so. Earlier in the episode, [[Writer on Board|they made fun of Christian groups who advocate abstinence]], and Lois even goes "Abstinence is ''wrong''! Just...wrong!" <ref>Meg had gotten around the abstinence rule by having ear sex, in a parody of how some Christian youths consider anal and oral sex still "technically" maintaining their virginity.</ref> Part of the satirization was the fallacious reasoning the group gave, including the one that convinced Peter, but it still uses this trope in a way that's rather tasteless

{{quote|'''Peter''': I'm abstinent, Lois. It's all in these pamphlets Meg brought home from school. [[You Fail Biology Forever|Sex turns straight people gay and turns gays into Mexicans]]. Everyone goes down a notch.}}

* In ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' episode, "The Strong Arms of the Ma". After bulking up, Marge rapes Homer (who is clearly scared and doesn't want to) violently enough that it hurts to walk the next morning. It's played for laughs, with Marge never apologizing or repenting, and getting away with it.

* Parodied in ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' when a group of female villains want to harvest lead-singer Nathan Explosion's "seed" in order to father a race of super-babies and kill him afterword. He is saved by Toki, but later laments in a way that invokes this trope

{{quote|'''Nathan:''' Such a shame, she was so hot. But so f[[Sound Effect Bleep|*RIFF*]]kin' crazy.

* On ''[[Men in Black (animation)|Men in Black]]'' the series's 5th episode a [[Big Beautiful Woman|heavyset]] [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|green female alien]] falls for Agent J and pins him to the ground to mate with him against his protests. K just chuckles and walks off, saying "Have a good time, kid."

** Possibly Averted as K normally leaves J in potentially dangerous situations, if he knows he can handle it.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Rape Tropes]]