I am a proponent of education that paints a clear picture of what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like. However, no education in the world can stand in the face of the repetitive and mixed messages American* culture is currently sending through every possible venue.
Thank you for posting these two essays! I definitely agree - there's something very disturbing at work, and it's a tricky situation because I can sympathise and empathise with Shiloh Walker when she talks about unfairness of writers feeling they have to self-censor. On the other hand, there is a degree of responsibility that writers can take to affirm boundaries and healthy relationships.
You've also summed up why I found Dollhouse such a ghastly idea, and one of the many ways it was problematic. I remember in Season 1 a man violently raped an Active, which was presented as Bad; but then at a similar point in the show, a client hired Echo to be a replacement for his dead wife, which would include sex. This was presented as Morally Grey and Kind Of Sweet Actually. I was watching and thinking but these are the same thing.
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Thank you for posting these two essays! I definitely agree - there's something very disturbing at work, and it's a tricky situation because I can sympathise and empathise with Shiloh Walker when she talks about unfairness of writers feeling they have to self-censor. On the other hand, there is a degree of responsibility that writers can take to affirm boundaries and healthy relationships.
You've also summed up why I found Dollhouse such a ghastly idea, and one of the many ways it was problematic. I remember in Season 1 a man violently raped an Active, which was presented as Bad; but then at a similar point in the show, a client hired Echo to be a replacement for his dead wife, which would include sex. This was presented as Morally Grey and Kind Of Sweet Actually. I was watching and thinking but these are the same thing.