Representing rape culture on teen television

Bibliographic Data

ID12780205
AuthorsEmily D Ryalls (California Polytechnic State University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume19
Issue1
Pages1-13
Publication date2020-12-28
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopular Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1540-5702 • E-ISSN: 1540-5710
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15405702.2020.1868044
OpenAlexW3117827064
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited11

Increasing cultural attention to sexual assault in the U.S. has raised questions about consent, leading some states to implement “yes means yes” laws. In order to provide insight into how mainstream discourse take into account feminist understandings of sexual violence and affirmative consent, this article considers representations of rape culture and affirmative consent in two recent teen television programs, 13 Reasons Why (2017-2020) and Sweet/Vicious (2016–2017). Both shows reference sexual assault in nearly every episode, constructing a world in which rape culture is rampant. In portraying rape as lack of consent, as opposed to outright refusal or resistance, the shows do the important work of emphasizing why affirmative consent is essential. While progressively suggesting that rape culture necessitates affirmative consent, 13 Reasons Why and Sweet/Vicious simultaneously contribute to rape culture by relying on the long-standing trope that, when it comes to girls and sexual assault, “no” may mean “yes.”

Criminology · Mainstream · Poison control · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Sexual assault · Sexual violence · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Trope (literature · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

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