I’m going to be real with everyone: I shamelessly love Agents of SHIELD. I do. I love the ships and the character dynamics and the outfits, from Grant Ward’s tight tee shirts to Jemma Simmons’ sweater sets. What I don’t love is the way that this week’s episode, titled “Yes Men,” handled a situation of non consensual sex. Grant Ward, in a tight black turtleneck (a ‘tactical-neck’ for all you Archer fans) is placed under a love spell by Lorelei (younger sister of the Enchantress). Now, for anyone who’s familiar with the love spell trope, it becomes immediately apparent that Grant Ward is going to be Lorelei’s victim. I’m not here to critique Agents of SHIELD, so much as I am to look at the love spell trope as a whole. What Agents of SHIELD has done is given me a chance to discuss coercion, consent, and cliche. (Hey, that’s the description of this article!) Let’s get to it, shall we?
First, let’s explore the example given to us on Agents of SHIELD. Girl ensnares guy. Problematic? Yes. Why? For starters, it reduces the female into the role of the seductress. She’s good at enslaving men, and well, that’s about it. It’s also a very dangerous situation for the male victim to be in. When a man is enslaved by a woman, he loses his agency in a completely different way than a female character would, and it’s equally destructive. The enslaved men become rape victims, but because their captor was a beautiful woman, suddenly their rape is illegitimate. Keep that in mind when we explore the inverse.
Man controls woman. It’s as common a trope as any (Dracula, anyone?) Problematic? Yes. Why? Because in a world where women are already denied their own agency, taking it a step further and erasing it completely turns the woman into little more than an object. If the woman is enslaved to hurt her male counterpart, it’s an added bonus of treating a woman like an item that can be coveted and stolen. When a woman’s sense of mind is returned to her, it’s usually after her male counterpart succeeds in breaking the curse/removing the enchanted necklace/whatever. The woman does not always get the same level of blame a male character would get. It is interesting in a culture of victim blaming that the characters who usually blame themselves in these situations are men; there is a general idea that if one was in possession of a “stronger will” that one would be able to fight off mind control. Women are not usually given this option. They can be and are blamed for putting themselves in harms way, which again brings us back to victim blaming. In both situations, whether it is a man being controlled or a woman, the character ends up feeling guilt for a situation in which they are guiltless. Hold that thought for just a moment, while we tackle one other version of this trope.
So let’s look at the queer version of this. Man controls man, or woman controls woman. Problematic? Still a yes. Why? In this seldom-seen version, we are giving a two for one deal: first, it teaches us that we should vilify queer characters (especially if they go after a straight character), and second, it shows that queer characters are promiscuous. It enforces the idea that queerness is something that one can be converted to, by some evil gay overlord seeking to enslave straight people for their own sexual whims. This is the only time when the victim will be absolved of blame, unless they are taunted for being enslaved by a member of the same sex. Still, it’s not entirely their fault. Those gays are so darn seductive! Bottom line: queer raped is portrayed as a joke, a scandal, as anything besides rape. All three of these things have that in common. If you’re under a love spell, if you’re coerced, it’s not rape, because the music is sexy and everyone is making out. Right?
This whole thing reminds me of Taylor Ferrera’s song, “Legitimate Rape.” The song was written and performed in 2012 to address the comments made by Todd Akin concerning, you guessed it, legitimate rape. In the song, she speaks of situations in which rape occurred, and is then shut down because “[she] was a little drunk” or “[her] skirt was kind of short.” In one especially poignant line, she says “I’m married to the man,” only to be told “[Having sex] is a husbands privilege.” We can apply this same idea to our three scenarios. Being put under a love spell means that one cannot give consent. More than that, one is actually incapable of actually making the decision, as the right to say “yes” or “no” has been taking away. I can actually picture it in the song. “I was under a love spell/illegitimate rape!”
When we categorize sexual assault by gender, by orientation, by tiny factors that pick apart at the accusation of rape, we are insulting anyone who has ever been raped or sexually assaulted. I’m sure I don’t have to remind anyone that not all rape is violent. So why is that all we get on our televisions in the category of rape? Why do we not address that a man who has been coerced into having sex is also a rape victim, and should not blame himself for being sexually assaulted? There is no “grey rape.” There is no “illegitimate rape.”
With queer representation being as sparse as it already is, it is important to recognize how dangerous these tropes are for everyone, not just straight couples. The idea of one person romantically controlling another always relies on a very strict application of gender roles. It enforces the whore and virgin stereotypes for women, as well as placing men in the role of the dominator or the stupid lug. I don’t think I have to tell anyone here why gender stereotypes are the exact opposite of what we need to see on our televisions.
So what are we to do with the love spell trope? I’m thinking that maybe we should put it to rest. It does absolutely nothing positive for anyone involved, plus it creates a bunch of non-consensual sex scenes. No one needs to see that on their television, no matter how it’s played off. In addition, we need to give our villains more dimensions that just "rapist." It's a trope used to express evil, but all it does is show us time and time again that sexuality is dangerous and easily corrupted, no matter the gender of the victim and the attacker. Let's stop using coercion as a way to show how evilly sexual a woman is. All the love spell does, all coercion does, is leave a bad taste in the viewer's mouth.
