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![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lady_nara | |
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And here's another comment that grew into a post. This time I was thinking about Naoe and rape. Sure, he raped Minako, and he was terribly sorry for it. But I would argue that not only did he mount serious sexual assaults on Takaya (six, to be exact), he actually raped him on three of those occasions. Love Naoe as I do, I'm not going to excuse his actions. The fact that most people, and Naoe himself, do not consider these three rapes to have been rapes and thus deserving at least some regret or apology concerns me. So here's my "comment":
First, since there is no national U.S. law on rape, I will put forward the definition used by my own state, which is similar to that used in most states, I'm pretty sure. Here it is: "rape is defined as: sexual intercourse between persons without consent. The penetration can be in any form: penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth by an object or a sex organ. Either sex can be the victim or perpetrator of penetration. In other words, the following are considered rape, when:
-Someone mentally coerces or physically forces you to have sex.
-There is penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth made by anything including a penis, finger(s), a bottle, or other object."
Since "either sex can be the victim or perpertrator of penetration," that means that a woman who forces a man to penetrate her either vaginally, anally, or orally, is considered a rapist. I am quite sure that this would apply to a man who forces another man to penetrate him in some way, as well. Example: a man who performs a nonconsensual act of oral sex on another man = a rapist.
I have three instances in mind in which, under this definition, Naoe raped Takaya:
1. When Takaya is assaulted by Kaizaki in the hotel.
2. When Takaya is assaulted by Naoe just before he snaps out of his daze in vol. 20.
3. When Naoe does not stop upon Takaya's request to do so in vol. 20. 1. When Kaizaki takes advantage of Takaya in the hotel room, Takaya is a prisoner who has been handcuffed to the bed up until that point, though he wasn't when the assault began. This was to make it seem less rape-y, I guess, and also presumably because, drugged as he was, and unable to use his powers due to Naoe's acupuncture-chakra-disruption thingy, he posed no threat. Takaya was drugged up, mentally unstable, emotionally vulnerable, and had been stripped stark naked. Takaya was in no state to be offering consent, nor did he, unless you want to buy into Naoe's notion that the fact that Takaya didn't fight him automatically equalled consent.
Takaya to Kaizaki later on: Those are rapists' excuses!
Me: Damn straight.
This instance would fall under second degree rape, according to state law:
"when the victim is incapable of consent by reasons of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated. Felony." 2. When Naoe assaults Takaya when he's mentally absent in vol. 20. Takaya's mind is not even working there. There could be no consent whatsoever- Takaya isn't aware of what is happening, and doesn't seem to remember it later. Naoe's assault at that point is tantamount to a caregiver raping a person in a vegetative state. This would also fall under second degree rape. 3. Naoe not stopping when Takaya tells him to stop in vol. 20. Aside from even that, consider: Naoe was rough with Takaya to the point of causing him to bleed copiously and scream in pain. Now, Takaya is not a weakling. He was beaten regularly as a young child, got into gang fights and burned himself with cigarettes (without making a sound or even changing expression) to show his courage as a pre-teen, and he has been fighting in a war for quite a while now. Whatever makes him scream must REALLY. EFFING. HURT. Even if he hadn't told Naoe to stop, that kind of sexual violence would probably constitute some kind of abuse, at the very least.
But Takaya did tell Naoe to stop, and Naoe refused to stop. Not stopping a sex act when requested to do so, even when in the middle of one, is considered rape in most (possibly all?) states in the U.S. It falls under the definition of First Degree rape, "Forcible compulsion." So, there you go. Naoe is a rapist, and not only of Minako. This list does not even include his other sexual molestations of Takaya in which no penetration took place, which would most likely count as "sexual assault" or "sexual battery." Hm. Perhaps I will add to this later after checking up on Japanese rape laws. In any case, this will suffice for now. In the United States, Naoe would be considered a rapist, and a repeated offender, for what he did to Takaya. I will probably go into mitigating factors, relationship quirks, etc., on another post. But I think it is important, before all of that, to acknowledge that what Naoe did was wrong, that it was very wrong, and that there is nothing that can excuse rape. Period. Tags: commentary, mirage
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I think it would be interesting to get an idea of what rape "meant" in the 1600s in feudal Japan.
Yes, that would be interesting to find out- not to mention, the more modern attitudes of the Japanese towards rape. After all, I was approaching this entirely from an american mindset, and even from amercan law. Naoe, though he may have initially been formed morally in feudal Japan, has been around for several centuries of changing attitudes. Nor does he (or the other Yashashuu) seem to feel particularly "out of step" with things, as, for instance, Anne Rice's vampires do.
I attribute this to his being reborn many times and growing up within the shifting Japanese culture (including what were probably fairly normal childhoods before the memory influx). In this way he would be able to experience these changes from within the culture rather than as a static observer from without. In the main series he does seem, in most respects, to be a thoroughly modern man with an ancient past and connections.
How messed up would that be, waking up to a new world and culture and society every 60 years?
Yeah, I'm not sure. I'd have to go through and read the novels again, keeping that in mind. It appears to me, without the benefit of such a reread, that the Yashashuu are able to grow and adapt in a way which most of the other Yami Sengoku players simply aren't. I would wager that this is so for many reasons, among them the fact that few others have been able to hang around for as long in non-onryou state (which appears to freeze people in the state they were in when they died), long enough for old pains and furies to fade in the light of new ones, and not only that, but they also take up the practice of possessing infants and going through a period of forgetfulness during the formatory years.
Actually, I wonder how different the resumption of memories in childhood which the Yashashuu were accustomed to undergo was from Takaya's awakening? Very different, I suspect- because Takaya had more time to develop his personality and perceptions of reality apart from Yami Sengoku, because of the trauma of the previous possession, and because of the memory block which he had placed within himself.
I think the circumstances were probably very different, but I wonder if perhaps part of the reason for the frustration and (IMO) marked lack of sympathy from the other Yashashuu stemmed at least in part from their perception of Takaya's awakening as being not much different from business as usual. In which case their impatience and complaints that Takaya is just being "immature," selfish," and "cowardly," make a lot more sense.
I'm wondering what effect 400 years would have on one's moral code? Long-restrained desire would probably break a few chains of accepted morality
This is certainly true and deserves a great deal of thought.
I really look forward to your next few posts!
Oh, really? Well, I'm glad you weren't too bored or infuriated by this, then. Eventually I'll get around to exploring this some more. ^^;
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Yes, I hear you! I hadn't actually heard anyone make that argument before, but it had occured to me and I had tried to think of the answer. You are right- there are mentions of "sparks," usually described as occuring when Takaya "can't take it any more" or "panics." We also see Takaya's reluctance to fight people he doesn't intend to seriously harm after Chiaki warns him that he could kill someone with the lack of control he has over his powers.
MoB is sort of interesting in that it has an aggressive seme coupled with (sheer power-wise) a far stronger uke. Could Takaya have blown Naoe away if he had "really wanted to"? Well, there are some serious doubts about that, given his lack of control over his powers for a good portion of the series, not to mention the points you bring up of the calm and finger positions that would require.
Even if he could have, a second question might be whether he could have done so without seriously harming or killing Naoe. Personally, I kind of doubt it. In which case, since Takaya does not want to actually kill Naoe, he would restrain himself for as long as possible.
Also, addressing your other very good point, in both the 2nd hotel scene and the Wadatsumi cave assault, he goes through stages that could be labeled "fight" and "freeze." He fights hard and is physically overwhelmed at different times in both, and he is also described as going limp like a doll in Wadatsumi at one point, as well as finding himself unable to move and just staring as Naoe undresses and prepares to rape him in the 2nd hotel scene.
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Oh, really? Haha...well, I do have relatives who are lawyers.
Poor Naoe...Don't get me wrong, I don't think he should be entirely condemned. Naoe is a tremendously sympathetic character. But I do think that, in order to properly appreciate his character, it is important to fully acknowledge the seriousness of his actions. To do otherwise is to mute the horror in which he finds himself, and the gargantuan struggle he undergoes between his desire for goodness and nobility and the darkness of his passions and egocentricity.
Naoe is not a sweet and fluffy character. I know from your, may I say, awesome lj image of a scary-looking Naoe with the words "I will make you mine. Forever." that you know he has a dark side. It bothers me a lot when people who claim to be fans of his ignore this essential part of him.
It also has devastating effects on one's understanding of Kagetora's character and actions (and their entire relationship) to ignore the evil Naoe does and the true danger he presents to his lord.
Last but not least, it bothers me on a personal level when people look at something which is very wrong and proclaim it not wrong, or just a little wrong. As a woman, I am particularly sensitive to the attitude which makes light of sexual assault and blames it on the victim rather than the perpetrator.
So, there is my apologia for my treatment of Naoe! I hope it is satisfactory to you. ;)
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"Naoe is not a sweet and fluffy character. I know from your, may I say, awesome lj image of a scary-looking Naoe with the words `I will make you mine. Forever.` that you know he has a dark side."
(LOL) sorry, i just can't help but laugh that you remember that blazing-glaring-calculating-naoe picture from my Lj. i don't know why i post that picture at the top of my Lj, i just can't help but feels its so perfect, i mean that picture really shows the insane dark side of naoe. i don't remeber where i got that image....
i have a thing for slightly crazy semes (stare at Muraki from Yami no matsuie) and seriously, i think i might feel slightly uncomfortable being around them. naoe, despite how sorry he was, he still 'hurt' a woman. poor minako. if i were kagetora, i wouldn't even have the voice to speak. so shock and stunned at that betrayal. and kagetora and naoe had been together for 400 years! that can slightly surpass even the bonds between family!
kuwabara-sensei, you're such an awesome writer. (bows to her in respect)
i guess, "the person you hate the most is also the person you love the most" is one of the recurring themes in the novels.
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