Page 25 - The Staunch Test
P. 25
THE STAUNCH TEST
Internalised misogyny is often cited as an explanation as to why women degrade
or put down women in other spheres, and why some women choose to write or
consume stories where women are beaten, raped, tortured and killed. Others
claim it’s cathartic, because it has happened to them, or because it enables them
to confront the fear of things that might happen in the safe knowledge that what
they’re watching or reading isn’t real. It allows them to experience the thrill of
being terrified without the consequences.
There’s certainly a market for this kind of material. In the highly competitive
crime-writing world, with so many novels published each year, (and many more
rejected) some writers go to extremes to be considered ‘edgy’ or ‘dark’. But
why does that so often mean turning on women? As someone who reads a huge
number of thrillers for the Staunch Book Prize, I can say with confidence that it
doesn’t result in better writing or storytelling.
Why doesn’t violence towards women in popular culture receive more
criticism?
Internalised misogyny may be the reason some women write, read and view
such material. But could it also be that most people are simply inured to it
because scenes of women in fear and suffering violence are literally sent into
our homes via multiple channels daily or can be seen at our local cinema?
Thousands of shows of this kind are made and broadcast or streamed every year.
Yet surprisingly, there’s very little discussion about violence towards women in
screen reviews and online comments — it barely gets a mention beyond the
weary ‘not again’ when yet another crime series features murdered women. But
why is it considered ‘normal’, popular and generally to be revered, and referred
to as compelling and ‘addictive’?
When TV shows with rape storylines do draw comment and get discussed, it’s
not when they follow the usual trope of showing off a detective’s skills as they
track down a rapist. It’s when they try to address the subject differently — or
‘better’.
