Anyone else go wtf when the main guy says his hot girlfriend is passed out drunk upstairs and he could violate her 100 different ways, but his heart wasn't in it this time? And then later he gives the nerdy kid permission to do it? Pretty messed up that this was supposed to be the hero of the movie, but also that back then if a woman was unconscious it was considered consent.
Salon.com was critical of the sexual politics of the films of John Hughes in an article they wrote shortly after his death in 2009. In Sixteen Candles, the male lead casually jokes about raping the Alpha Bitch while she's drunk; he doesn't do this, but the Alpha Bitch and the local nerd have a sexual encounter of Questionable Consent later on which is treated as okay because she liked it. Both the male characters here are supposed to be sympathetic. As well, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the character Cameron pretends to be unconscious at one point so he can watch his best friend's girlfriend naked.
Date rape wasn't taken seriously back then at all. There is an episode of Facts Of Life I think the first season where Blair is almost raped by a guy in his van. She comes home and tells Mrs. Garrett what happened and that's it. No report made or anything. It's almost like since Blair is a pretty girl it's accepted.
I'm a survivor of rape and in rape support groups up until about 10yrs ago many women who were date raped didn't believe it counted as rape. They felt since they agreed to go out with the guy it was their fault and it wasn't reported. This is very common and I still meet women who say "but it was date rape." It's not the same.
Rape is rape. Even if you are drunk or say no or don't just once. It's rape and the emotional pain of it can follow you for life.
If I have sex with a woman who is drunk and consents, or who says no at first but consents if I cajole her, it's not the same as if I hide in the bushes, grab some woman, beat her, tie her, threaten her with a knife or gun, and fuck her while she cries hysterically and pleads with me.
If you can't distinguish between these vastly different acts, you are a very dim bulb. You probably think "Baby It's Cold Outside" is a rape song.
He wasn't giving the nerdy kid permission to do it he was giving him permission to take her home. He wasn't expecting anything to happen between them. He said he "could" violate her 100 different ways not that he has in the past or will, he was making the point he could because she's always passed out from partying. You guys are funny. I like your level of understanding. Lol
He "could" also kill her. But no one's saying it'd be alright for him to SAY that even if he's never DONE it
In other words, it doesn't matter that he's never violated her unconscious form before. The mere fact that he even considered it an option says a lot about the attitude of the time and how different (thankfully) things are now
Back then, Jake would actually have been seen as a "good guy" for acknowledging that he COULD rape her, but gallantly chose not to
> main guy says his hot girlfriend is passed out drunk upstairs and he could violate her 100 different ways, but his heart wasn't in it this time?
First off, he doesn't say, "this time." The scene doesn't at all imply that he has violated her like that in the past or that he is even interested in it. Okay, perhaps he has, but this scene does not indicate that; it indicates that he's actually a respectable guy.
But, let's say -- for the sake of argument -- that he has raped her like this in the past. Okay, that's bad. But, we have to think that Caroline realized what had happened when she woke up the next morning and she didn't press charges.
And now, she's putting herself in exactly the same situation by getting drunk and passing out in his bed. That's gotta count as consent on some level. Caroline's a smart cookie and she wouldn't be taking such a risk unless she was okay with it.
> also that back then if a woman was unconscious it was considered consent.
No. Unconsciousness has never implied consent -- by itself. It's making the same mistake twice that implies consent.
-- What Would Jesus Do For A Klondike Bar (WWJDFAKB)?
Yeah, but Caroline was no saint either. She ends up raping Farmer Ted and taking his virginity while he was incapacitated in the back of the Rolls and everyone gives her a pass.