Very true. While it is definitely better if, when a rape occurs in fiction, we focus on the victim and not her attacker or an extraneous male character, it’s still a big problem that so many writers seem to go

I think that it’s the serial use of it in a major current media franchise.

Game of Thrones producer said the rape scene gave Sansa an “important turning point.” If it’s just a dramatic device, my question is: Why don’t male characters have this specific kind of “important turning point” as often as female characters?

No, because her rape is still being use to motivate him. That’s still bad.

Thank you very much.

The trope of killing, maiming, or raping a character to motivate another is so common it has a term for it that almost everyone recognizes: fridging. And, for whatever reason, it’s overwhelmingly written as a female character killed or raped in order to provide motivation for a male character. Quite often the victim…

and more concretely, as narratives to stories don’t just magically happen but are the result of the author’s intention, I chose not to make circumstances in my novels where they would be necessary.

This seems to be pretty mandatory in most “edgy” mainstream shows. SOA did it to Gemma, and Sopranos to Dr.Melfi. Those weren’t exactly young pups cranking those yarns out. Agree that the trope needs to be retired.

Also, just because the setting of your story is quasi-medieval or some other type of “gritty” world, this does not mean that making your setting a nonstop rape-a-palooza is a more “realistic” touch.