Why is rape or even just sex worse than death?

[ArnRand]

Obviously this is not a new thought. But I'm thinking more from a biology/psychology perspective. If I see a sexual crime I'm like ewww, but if I see someone's head being ripped off I'm like eh.

This applies to games much more than other mediums too. Can you imagine the uproar if you could rape someone in a mainstream game? But killing people, well, I'm sure you can finish this thought off.

Is this a societal thing, caused by the Abrahamic religions?

Is it biological?

What gives?

CAPTCHA: marry me. If only I could, captcha, if only I could...

 

[Jedoro]

Maybe it's because the trauma of forced sexual activity is seen to be worse than just being killed. I mean, which seems worse, dead or scarred for the forseeable future, possibly even life?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Witnessing a rape perhaps causes a similiar reaction to that of watching someone being tortured.

Watching some dude get decapitated, while pretty nasty, isn't nearly as nasty as watching someone have their kneecaps smashed in with a hammer.

 

[Casual Shinji]

My initial argument would be that rape is a form of torture, both physically, mentally, and emotionally, and therefor seen as more sadistic than outright killing, but it's a very difficult subject.

The ideal that rape is sick and murder is simply bad is very much part of society, but how it got there is up for debate. I wouldn't say it's a religious thing, because the taboo of sex (a religious issue) is very different from the taboo of rape. And I'm sure there are plenty of atheists who feel more unnerved by the notion of rape then they do by that of murder.

 

[Soviet Steve]

Most people who get murdered aren't around to complain when it gets used in video games, whereas we have plenty of rape victims around to voice their opinion if ME4 pops in with an option to touch Rex inappropriately.

 

[requisitename]

I'll jump on board with the "rape is torture and torture is harder to watch for most people" bandwagon here. Also, usually when someone's killed in a game or whatever, it's pretty quickly over with and you've moved onto the next person/place/thing.

 

[daveman247]

snip

If only we could ask the dead their take on the matter. Then we would know for sure.

 

[Heaven's Guardian]

I think it's more about the criminal than the victim. Most of us can imagine circumstances in which we could kill another human being and be justified in doing so, but those justifications can never really exist for rape.

 

[jizzytissue]

probably the trauma from rape because death can't cause trauma

 

[renegade7]

Because rape is about dominance. Look at a child abuse or long term school bullying or ostracism victim, someone who has been completely dehumanized, dominated, and subjugated. Now condense those years of abuse into one single episode. That's why.

 

[Vault101]

Most people who get murdered aren't around to complain when it gets used in video games, whereas we have plenty of rape victims around to voice their opinion if ME4 pops in with an option to touch Rex inappropriately.

wrex?

if that was such a feature I doubt certain fans would take that opertunity with wrex *cough*tali*cough*

 

[ph0b0s123]

If murder is less damaging to a victim than rape, because they 'have been put out of their misery' (if I understand the point of this thread properly). Does it not then follow that the punishment for someone who kills their victim after raping them, should be less than raping them and letting them live? Seems to be the logical result of this threads argument.

Myself I am happy with the idea that murder is thought of as a worse crime and punished worse accordingly.

 

[krazykidd]

Maybe it's because the trauma of forced sexual activity is seen to be worse than just being killed. I mean, which seems worse, dead or scarred for the forseeable future, possibly even life?

I see your point , but , scars heal . Death is final . Now i am not belittling rape . Thats a terrible thing . But you can get help afterwards and lead a (reasonably) normal life( well there is a possibility that isn't 0) . When you die , well you are dead . There's no healing death under any circumstances .

But i am of the opinion that , there is no fate worst than death .

 

[wintercoat]

Because when you die, you don't have to spend the rest of your life dealing with the trauma.

 

[Zeckt]

Maybe it's because the trauma of forced sexual activity is seen to be worse than just being killed. I mean, which seems worse, dead or scarred for the forseeable future, possibly even life?

I see your point , but , scars heal . Death is final . Now i am not belittling rape . Thats a terrible thing . But you can get help afterwards and lead a (reasonably) normal life( well there is a possibility that isn't 0) . When you die , well you are dead . There's no healing death under any circumstances .

But i am of the opinion that , there is no fate worst than death .

I don't know, I think I would rather die then face multiple third degree burns. I don't know how a serious burn victim can even remain sane with that kind of pain.

On topic though, time heals all wounds. Even emotionally traumatizing rape wounds. There is no way rape is worse then death. Time cannot heal death.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I agree with the notion that rape is torture, and that's why people are more uncomfortable with it than with murder, but an important part of the OP is being ignored here: why is consensual sex considered more objectionable than violence? For those of you posting from outside of the U.S., this may be a new concept on you, but over here, that's how it works. A good example would be the crappy movies that SyFy plays on the weekends. Every now and then one of them will be an R-rated theatrical movie with tons of sex and buckets of blood. The blood is always left intact, but the sex is cut, blurred, or otherwise censored, and then the movie is given a rating of TV-14 (the equivalent of a PG-13 or, for PEGI, 12+ rating), while the TV equivalent of R is TV-MA. It's cultural, and even within the culture it's really confusing when you think about it.

Edit: and when I say sex, in most of these movies it's little more than a pair of bare breasts, nothing truly pornographic, yet it still gets censored while the graphic violence is left untouched.