[donaldscrankshaw] Donald: Why the double standard?

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by Donald:
Why the double standard?
http://www.donaldscrankshaw.com/posts/1157687846.shtml


   Dave at [1]Faith*in*Fiction is worried over the double standard
   between sex and violence in fiction, and particularly when it comes to
   Christian fiction. As I am not at all shy about violence in my fiction
   (see, especially, [2]Fire, but [3]Eyes isn't exactly pacifistic
   either), this is something I've thought about. I have a theory about
   the reason for this double-standard, and it's probably not what you
   think.
   As a society, we have a much greater consensus on what constitutes
   acceptable violence than acceptable sexuality. Americans are as
   divided as ever on extramarital sex, homosexuality, and a host of
   other sexual practices. Sex in fiction is almost bound to offend
   someone, and whether the writer makes it clear the act is right or
   wrong, or just presents it without judgement, someone's going to
   protest. Violence is another matter. We have clear ideas on when
   violence is just and when it is not. It is, in general, not right to
   harm people, except in self-defense or to stop those who use unjust
   violence. Thus, when we read about a violent act in fiction, we
   immediately categorize it as right or wrong, and rarely worry that it
   will send the wrong message to impressionable young people, as that
   categorization is clear in the fiction as well. Of course, good
   fiction can blur the lines, and edgy movies do it as a matter of
   course, but none of them really attempt to shift the general
   consensus. Thus the violence is "safe," even when it is very ugly.

References

   1. http://faithinfiction.blogspot.com/2006/09/violence-in-christian-fiction.html
   2. http://www.donaldscrankshaw.com/files/Writings.html#WotE
   3. http://www.donaldscrankshaw.com/posts/chain_1098375635.shtml