The representation of sexual violence in ction series: the case of
I
May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020)
La representación de la violencia sexual en las series de cción: el caso de I
May Destroy You (HBO, 2020)
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 125-144
| 125
January-June of 2023
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
González-Fernández, S. (2023). e representation of sexual violence in ction series: the case of
I May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020).
Doxa
Comunicación
, 36, pp. 125-144.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n36a1752
Sara González-Fernández.
She holds a
PhD in Communication from the University of Seville, a Master’s Degree in
Screenwriting, Narrative and Audiovisual Creativity and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. She works as a Professor in
the Department of Marketing and Communication at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at the University
of Cádiz. Previously, she taught at the Department of Journalism at the University of Málaga and at the Department of
Information and Communication at the University of Extremadura. She is a member of the research group COM&SOC
–Communication and Social Sciences– (SEJ-619) at the University of Seville. Her research focuses on violence in the
media, audiovisual narrative and digital journalism.
Universidad de Cádiz, España
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-7773-5318
Abstract:
is paper analyses the acts of sexual violence in the miniseries
I
May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020), with the objective of nding out how
they are treated in ction and identifying the main dening features
of their representation from three main perspectives: the individuals
involved (aggressor and victim), the act of sexual violence committed
and the consequences of said act for the victim. To do this, we will
use a methodology focused on content analysis and, based on an
analysis sheet, the data obtained from the 12 episodes analyzed are
recorded and categorized for subsequent analysis and interpretation.
e results show that the representation of sexual violence is carried
out from a feminist perspective, far from stereotypes that contribute
to perpetuating the male hegemonic perspective, and that said
representation has an informative vision which aims to educate the
viewer’s gaze in terms of consent and sexual freedom.
Keywords:
Aggressor; ction; series; victim; sexual violence.
Resumen:
En este trabajo se analizan los actos de violencia sexual de la miniserie
I May Destroy You (HBO, 2020) para conocer qué tratamiento se hace
en la cción de ellos e identicar los principales rasgos denitorios de
su representación desde tres grandes perspectivas: los personajes impli
-
cados (agresor y víctima), el acto de violencia sexual acometido y las
consecuencias de dicho acto para la víctima. Para ello, se recurre a una
metodología centrada en el análisis de contenido y, a partir de una
-
cha de análisis, se registran y se categorizan los datos obtenidos de los
12 episodios analizados para su posterior análisis e interpretación. Los
resultados ponen de maniesto que la representación de la violencia
sexual se hace desde una perspectiva feminista, alejada de estereotipos
que contribuyan a perpetuar la perspectiva hegemónica masculina y
que cuenta con una visión divulgativa que pretende educar la mirada
del espectador en materia de consentimiento y libertad sexual.
Palabras clave:
Agresor; cción; series; víctima; violencia sexual.
Received: 07/08/2022 - Accepted: 02/12/2022 - Early access: 07/12/2022 - Published: 01/01/2023
Recibido: 07/08/2022 - Aceptado: 02/12/2022 - En edición: 07/12/2022 - Publicado: 01/01/2023
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
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The representation of sexual violence in ction series: the case of
I May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020)
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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1. Introduction
Sexual violence has become one of the most pressing problems in our society but it is still “one of the most silenced crimes and
with the highest rate of impunity worldwide” (UN Women, 2021, p. 11). It is a complex reality that aects people of any gender,
age, race, economic and sociocultural level, although women and girls are the most vulnerable groups to become victims of
any act of sexual violence. us, this type of violence is framed within gender violence, since what its intention is to harm a
person for reasons of gender, making use of social inequality and abuse of power. us, its consequences go further from the
individual sphere. at is why victims of sexual violence are prone to developing a high degree of secondary victimization; this
implies an increase in their suering as a result of the damage caused by the institutions involved in the case, which have a
distorted image both of this type of crime and of the victims themselves. is leads the victims to fear, for example, not being
believed, being blamed or having to confront their aggressor, among other aspects (Córdoba, 2022).
e sexual violence suered by women is understood as a global problem and as “a powerful mechanism of social control that
prevents them from both appropriating the public space and making use of their autonomy and freedom” (Cobo, 2019, p. 138).
Understanding sexual violence in a broad sense and not only as rape has allowed an evolution both from the educational,
cultural and penal point of view in order to contribute to making the ght against this social scourge more and more eective.
Despite this, it is still dicult to nd a unitary denition of sexual violence, since it is a phenomenon with multiple edges
which holds a very important cultural component that conditions its interpretation. Sexual violence refers to any instance in
which an unwanted sexual act is consummated or attempted through threats, force, intimidation or coercion and which can
cause serious damage to the physical and mental health of the victim. e World Health Organization denes sexual violence
as:
Any sexual act, attempt to perform a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or actions to market or otherwise use a
person’s sexuality under duress by another person, regardless of the person’s relationship to the victim, in any setting, including
the home and the workplace (WHO, 2013).
Regardless of the denition, sexual violence is synonymous with an attack on the sexual freedom of another individual, a
violation of a right that, through imposition, can be exercised through bodily contact or without it, with physical violence
or intimidation or without it. erefore, consent is congured as the essential key which will determine whether an act is
considered sexual violence or not; so much so that there are many aggressors who base their defense on the diuse limits
that exist on sexual consent (Cense, Bay-Cheng and Van Dijk, 2018). However, “consent cannot be inferred when there is
force, threat, coercion or use. No action of the victim can be considered consent when she is unable to give it or when there
is a relationship of power or inuence (Vázquez and Vázquez, 2021, p. 9). e International Criminal Court and the Rules of
Procedure and Evidence of the Rome Statute share this concept. e principles of proof regarding sexual consent in Rule 70
state that:
a) Consent may not be inferred from any word or conduct of the victim when force, threat of force, coercion or taking advantage
of a coercive environment have diminished her ability to give free and voluntary consent.
b) Consent may not be inferred from any word or conduct of the victim when the latter is capable of giving free consent.
c) Consent cannot be inferred from the victim’s silence or lack of resistance to the alleged sexual violence.
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d) e credibility, honor or sexual availability of the victim or a witness cannot be inferred from the sexual nature of the prior or
subsequent behavior of the victim or a witness (UN Women, 2021, p. 43).
e verbal or non-verbal acceptance that an individual gives freely and with which they indicate their willingness to participate
in a sexual act is what dierentiates an imposition from a choice. And that means the absence of violence and of non-
consensual sexual activity (Humphreys & Herold, 2007; Jozkowski & Peterson, 2013). Eective communication so that there
are no misunderstandings or misinterpretations is what guarantees the free choice of an individual to have sexual relations,
despite the fact that the word “yes” is not the only way to show that acceptance. As Hickman and Muelhlenhard (1999) point
out, there are multiple behaviors with which consent is suggested: from direct to indirect verbal language and from direct
and indirect non-verbal language to non-response. Be that as it may, the truth is that sexual consent has a strong cultural
component in which gender inequality plays a very relevant role. us, consent is inserted in the sex/gender system and is
sustained on unequal positions: “men play the active role of asking, insisting and convincing: harassing; women, the passive
role, to be requested, to be the object of insistence and to consent: to resist” (Pérez, 2016, p. 758).
e invisibility of sexual violence, the reduction of this crime to isolated incidents carried out by men who have been tempted
by women who are in public spaces to which they do not belong (Bernárdez-Rodal, López-Priego and Padilla-Castillo, 2021)
or the conceptualization that it is something natural for the aggressors, usually men, to attack and something natural to accept
by the victims, usually women, makes it impossible today to know the true magnitude of sexual violence in society. A diculty
to which we must add the current crisis occurring in modern patriarchies, which, instead of facilitating the disappearance of
this type of crime, has led to “the development of more subtle and imperceptible discrimination strategies” (Baquerín, 2021, p.
9). Along these lines, we must also not forget the lack of complaints on the victims’ side. e omission of the crime, ignorance,
insecurity, the feeling of guilt or the lack of protection for the victims contribute to making it very complex to prevent, act and
prosecute acts of these characteristics, even more so in cultures where patriarchy is strongly established.
is work is framed in this context of sexual violence, consent, aggressors and victims, which analyzes the ctional miniseries
I May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020) in order to answer the following research questions: How is sexual violence represented in this
miniseries? From what perspective is it staged? Does it show a stereotyped vision of sexual violence or is it trying to break with
it?
Based on these questions, the main objective of this work is the following: to analyze the representation of sexual violence
suered by the characters of
I May Destroy You
in its twelve episodes, an objective that is complemented by two secondary
objectives (SO):
–
SO1: To know the dierent manifestations and types of sexual violence.
–
OS2: To identify its main dening features, emphasizing the gure of the victim.
To achieve these objectives, a methodology focused on the analysis of mixed content is used, in which, based on an ad hoc
analysis le, the data is categorized into three large blocks: Characters, Acts of sexual violence and Consequences of sexual
violence. is is a useful and innovative methodology, not only for this work but also for the entire scientic community, since
it contributes to understanding the treatment and the perspective from which the acts of sexual violence that take place in this
ctional miniseries are represented.
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I May Destroy You
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ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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1.1. Sexual violence in ction
Fiction series are congured as cultural products in which, through their discourses, they are capable of creating awareness and
generating knowledge that is inserted and interacts in society. Audiovisual language contributes to the constitution of viewers
as people (Fernández-Castrillo and Lara, 2022), so much so that, from it, social imaginaries are formed and disseminated
and, in them, violence is congured as one of the narrative elements that have the most presence. at is so because violence
in ction has the ability to arouse multiple emotions in the viewer, from fear, anguish, surprise or fascination. Its intrinsic
characteristics make it easy to resort to it as part of audiovisual entertainment, since it is a phenomenon that, despite not being
natural, has a universal scope and is rooted in all those communities in which there are social interactions between two or
more individuals (Saavedra, 2022).
e representation of violence in ctional content has been characterized by the stereotyping with which it is staged on the
screen. So much so that when women transgress their gender role, they usually appear distorted in order to damage their
feminine identity:
Incapable of subverting the relationship of domination, they have the eect, at least, of conrming the dominant image of women
as evil beings, whose completely negative identity is essentially made up of prohibitions [...], from magic, cunning, lies or passivity
(in the sexual act above all), even the possessive love of the possessed, that of the Mediterranean mother or the maternal wife, who
victimizes and blames herself by victimizing herself and oering her unlimited surrender and suering in silence as a gift with no
possible return or as an unpayable debt (Bourdieu, 2000, pp. 26-27).
However, despite the fact that the studies carried out to date on gender stereotypes in ctional content indicate their evolution
(Tous-Rovirosa, Meso and Simelio, 2013), they continue to be perpetuated; on the one hand, in those that show a biased vision of
a woman who has great obstacles to “appropriate the construction of her identity” (Díaz, 2022, p. 3) and, on the other, in those in
which the use of violence is associated with masculinity. e social superiority of man is revealed by making use of violence and
aggressiveness as an exercise of power, strength and virility and, therefore, within the framework of a patriarchal culture “violent
men are easily excused because they present their violence as something normal and natural” (Fisas, 1998, p. 15).
If this violence associated with masculinity gains strength in any area, it is in that of sexual violence. Rape or any other form of
sexual violence has a clear instrumental purpose, something that is manifested through control not only of the woman’s body,
but also of her freedom and sexual autonomy (Tardón, 2022). us, there are many plots in which sexual assault or abuse is
used to develop the most dramatic aspect of the characters: generally, the heroic, vengeful and powerful from the male point
of view (aggressor) and the compassionate, traumatic and fragile from the feminine point of view (victim). Regardless of this,
the common element that prevails in the victim’s prole is that they are sexually objectied to “legitimize the violence against
her by stripping her of her individuality and turning her into a product” (Criado, 2022, p. 62).
e exploitation of sexual violence as a narrative resource has not received adequate treatment on many occasions, because
consent is presented as an ambiguous concept, sexual violence is justied and thus creates problematic symbologies and
imaginaries (Byrne and Taddeo, 2019). e media’s (and, more specically, television’s) ability to shape and inuence the
perception schemes of viewers means that the approach on how to treat or address sexual violence in ctional content is
always the focus of attention, precisely because of the fear that they contribute to the normalization of this type of act or to the
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dissemination of an idealized or stereotyped image of both the aggressors and the victims; this favors sexual assaults against
women being seen as normal and acceptable (Aghtaie et al. 2018) and, therefore, society can internalize this ideology and this
can have an impact on their way of dealing with these situations, on their expectations and on their level of acceptance of said
sexual violence (Lundgren et al. 2001; Pornari, Dixon & Humphreys, 2013).
e stereotyping of the protagonists of sexual violence leads to the formation of myths around them and, therefore, women
(victims) are represented as people who want and deserve to be raped because of their attitude and provocative behavior;
they are shown as women who lie about their rape and who victimize themselves, while men (aggressors) are portrayed as not
being responsible for the rape and their sexual violence not being actually harmful (Peterson & Muehlenhard, 2011). All this
contributes to a staging of sexuality from a masculine prism, focused on “the interest and satisfaction of the desire of men”
(Herce, 2015, p. 136) and where the perspective of the woman either remains in the background, or appears hypersexualized
by representing a passive and submissive role that is combined with the need to “show oneself desirable, but at the same time
cautious when participating in a sexual relationship” (Herce, 2015, p. 138).
With all this, and despite the fact that, hegemonically, sexual violence has had men as aggressors and, as such, it has been
represented in ction this way, it does not mean that violence is an exclusive phenomenon of the male gender. Its staging in
the media corresponds to the mirror function that they develop by transferring what happens in society or, failing that, by
reducing reality in reductionist constructs to simplify it. us, being violent is a quality that is associated with men as proof of
a masculinity in which strength, aggressiveness and superiority take on special prominence, since from childhood they have
been raised under certain patterns and ideas that they must follow in order not to deviate from what is socially stipulated
(González y Fernández, 2009).
In this line, although the series represents, mainly, the man as a sexual aggressor, in some exceptional cases it can also represent
man as a victim. A man who suers an act of sexual violence moves away from what is stipulated in the masculine stereotype,
since it means accepting that he is vulnerable, fragile and lacks the strength and virility to defend himself against such an
oense. us, the scant representation in ction of men as victims of sexual assault or abuse, as well as the social inability
to conceive that a man can be raped in a daily context, corresponds to the silence of victims in real life (Kaufman, 1993). e
stigmatization of male victims of sexual violence is such in real life that it causes silence and invisibility in ctional content,
hence it becomes strange for a victim of rape, harassment, abuse, etc., to not be represented as a woman.
3. Design and methodology
3.1. Sample selection
e sample that makes up this work focuses on the television miniseries
I May Destroy You
, broadcast on HBO in June 2020.
e ction was created, co-directed and starred by Michaela Coel and has received numerous nominations and awards,
among which ve Bafta Awards (2021) and an Emmy Award (2021) stand out. In it, the author recounts the autobiographical
experience of Arabella, a young British writer who suers a sexual assault facilitated by drugs. is event marks the plot of
the miniseries, since throughout the episodes the consequences of this aggression for the protagonist are addressed, but the
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January-June of 2023
The representation of sexual violence in ction series: the case of
I May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020)
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
dierent aspects of sexual violence are also represented and experienced by both Arabella and her own friends. e miniseries
has a season of 12 episodes, which make a total of 5 hours, 23 minutes and 42 seconds of viewing, as can be seen in the
following table:
Table 1. Episode list of
I May Destroy You (HBO, 2020)
EpisodeTitleDuration
1x1
Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes00: 28:19
1x2
Someone is lying
00:28:37
1x3
Don’t forget the sea
00:28:29
1x4
at was fun
00:29:35
1x5
It just came up
00:28:46
1x6
e Alliance
00:28:46
1x7
Happy animals
00:28:50
1x8
Line spectrum border
00:29:41
1x9
Social Media is a grear way to connect
00:28:58
1x10
e cause the cure
00:29:11
1x11
Would you like to know the sex?
00:29:31
1x12
Ego death
00:34:47
Source: prepared by the author
Of the total sample selected, only those acts of sexual violence that take place in the development of the plot will be studied.
at is why any other type of violence that is represented explicitly or implicitly in ction is excluded from the analysis. Below
are the acts of sexual violence on which the bulk of the analysis in this work is based and in which Arabella (the protagonist of
the miniseries), Kwame and Terry (friends of the protagonist and secondary characters of the miniseries) are involved:
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a) Sexual assault (Episode 1 and 2):
Arabella is the victim of a drug-facilitated sexual assault. One night she goes out for drinks with a friend, Simon, and his
coworkers, unknown to her. She takes a shot, dances with the group and begins to feel bad; she can’t stand up, falls to the
ground and tries to leave the venue on her knees, almost unable to walk. e next day she shows up at her workspace, where
she writes a draft of her novel. She goes outside and feels a little dazed and disoriented. It’s hard to get home. When she
succeeds and enters her room, images come to mind in which she can only see the face of a boy (low angle shot) who is panting,
sweating and blocking a door while pushing towards it. Arabella nds it impossible to clearly remember what happened, how
the party ended, and how she got to her workspace. She talks with her friend Terry and her roommate and together they
begin to discover some events that Arabella is unaware of (for example, that she withdrew money from an ATM in an area
quite far from where she went out with her friend), something which leads her to talk to Simon and one of his coworkers and
she comes to the conclusion that she was hurt and drugged. She decides to go to the police station to report what happened.
Two agents specialized in rape cases interrogate her to learn about her case, they perform some tests (including DNA), they
take photographs of her body (she has bruises and scratches) and go to her house to collect evidence (clothes and personal
belongings from the night of the alleged assault) to investigate what happened.
b) Terry’s sexual abuse (Episode 3):
Terry is the victim of sexual abuse by deception. On a trip she made to Italy to visit her friend Arabella, they both go out to have
fun at night. ey use drugs and alcohol. At one point, Terry tells her friend that she wants to go home and leaves alone. On the
way, Terry passes a cocktail bar. ere are people on the street, including two boys. Seeing her go by, one of them goes inside
the premises and the other goes to her and begins to atter her. He strikes up a friendly conversation with Terry and convinces
her to go into the club to dance. When the boy leaves for a few drinks, Terry is left alone and the other boy’s friend appears
on the scene (Terry has not realized that they both know each other). He invites her to dance and she agrees. When they are
dancing, the other boy appears, tells them to continue and nally the three of them end up in bed having a threesome. Terry
feels empowered because she has had sex with two men and tells Kwame over the phone. When the two boys leave the house,
Terry sees through the window how they both walk away together, laughing and with a lot of complicity, something that is a bit
strange because she assumed they didn’t know each other. Over time and after discussing it with her friends, she comes to the
conclusion that the sexual encounter was not fortuitous and that it occurred through deception, since the two boys devised a
plan to have sexual relations with her by pretending not to know each other.
c) Arabella sexual abuse (Episode 4):
Arabella is the victim of sexual abuse through deception. She meets Zain, a writer from the same publishing house where she
works who helps her nish her draft. ere is a strong connection between them and they end up having sex in Arabella’s room.
She asks Zain if he has a condom for her to put on and he does. In the middle of the sexual act and taking advantage of the fact
that her back is turned to him, Zain removes the condom without telling Arabella. At the end, Arabella realizes that the condom
has been removed and he justies it by saying that he felt uncomfortable and that he thought she had noticed, since she did
not say anything. She doesn’t seem too distraught, as she just tells him that now she has to take the pill and he has to pay for it.
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ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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d) Kwame’s sexual assault (Episodes 4 and 5):
Kwame is the victim of a sexual assault in which physical force is used. He has a date with a man through the dating app.
Kwame goes to the man’s house and they have consensual sex. When Kwame wants to leave, the other boy holds him back and
tells him to stay because they are going to play. Kwame tells him that he doesn’t want to have sex again, but the boy forcefully
restrains him, throws him on the bed, and rapes him despite Kwame’s repeated telling him to stop. Kwame’s reaction to this
event is silence and contradiction: he is unable to admit that he has been raped because he previously had consensual sex with
him. At rst he does not tell anyone about what happened, but then he decides to report it to the police station. Kwame feels
uncomfortable and humiliated at not nding empathy on the part of the agent who assists him. at is why he decides to leave
the police station and not report what happened.
e) Sexual abuse by Kwame (Episode 8):
Kwame sexually abuses a girl by cheating. After being raped and daring to tell her friends Arabella and Terry about it, Kwame
confesses that now he doesn’t feel safe to have relationships with boys and wants to try girls. He establishes contact with one
with whom he feels a strong connection and they speak frequently. ey meet one night for dinner and get to know each other.
Kwame accompanies her to her house and they have sex without him telling her that he is gay. When they’re done, they have
a nice chat in bed, but she starts talking a little inappropriately about homosexuals and he rebukes her comments by telling
her he’s gay. She doesn’t believe him at rst, but later she gets very angry and reproaches him for using her as a refuge and as
a new experience without previously warning her of his true intentions.
3.2. Methodology
To achieve the objectives of this work, an approach to the research corpus is carried out from an analytical-descriptive
perspective framed within the analysis of mixed content (Krippendorf, 1990, Piñeiro-Naval, 2020). Based on this methodological
design, the qualitative and quantitative contents are collected, analyzed and categorized to establish an interpretation and
integration between them. Content analysis is a technique widely used in the eld of communication, since it focuses on
“reducing large amounts of text (written, audio or audiovisual) to a number of more limited variables in order to establish
relationships between them and release meanings” (Peña, 2012, p. 48).
An analysis sheet is used, which has been rened and adapted during the viewing of the episodes which make up the ction
so that it meets the objectives of this paper. For its preparation, studies and reports on sexual violence and its victims are
used as a reference (OMS, 2013; Passos, Yela and Gonçalves, 2018; Fundación ANAR, 2020) and it collects the information
on the categories and variables of analysis which are structured in the following blocks of content: Characters, Acts of sexual
violence and Consequences of sexual violence. e rst has a greater breakdown than the rest, since it is the richest and most
interesting from the perspective of this research.
On the other hand, it should be noted that the analysis sheet pays special attention to the gure of the victim, since she is the
protagonist of two of the content blocks in order to know both her prole and the consequences or reactions she experiences
after the act of sexual violence. On the other hand, it should be noted that the rst two blocks of content have categories that
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are mutually exclusive, while in the last block they are not, thus allowing one or more of them to be selected at the same time.
e items registered in the analysis are shown in the following table:
Table 2. Analysis sheet
Characters
Aggressor
Number of aggressorsIndividual, Group
Sex
Male, Female
Age
Preteen, Teen, Young, Adult, Mature, Elder,
Undistinguishable
Level of disabilityLow, Moderate, Serious, Very serious, None shown
Role
Protagonist, Antagonist, Secondary character,
Recurrent, Other
Relationship with the victimKnown, Unknown
Victim
Number of victimsIndividual, Group
Sex
Male, Female
Age
Preteen, Teen, Young, Adult, Mature, Elder,
Undistinguishable
Level of disabilityLow, Moderate, Serious, Very serious, None shown
Role
Protagonist, Antagonist, Secondary character,
Recurrent, Other
Relationship with the aggressorKnown, Unknown
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I May Destroy You
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ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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Sexual violence acts
Type
Sexual abuse
Sexual harassment
Sexual assault
Location of the
assault
Home
Street
Leisure space
Workspace
Natural space
Other
Time frame
Diurnal
Nocturnal
Not observed
Witnesses
Witnesses
No witnesses
Not observed
Use of mobile
devices
Observed
Not observed
Consequences of
sexual violence
Reacción de la
víctima
Socially reported
Legally reported
Not reported
Damages
suered by the
victim
Mental health
Reproductive health
Physical damages
Behavioral damage
Fatal damage
Others
Overcoming by
the victim
Psychological Support
Support from the family environment
Work environment support
Support from friends
Support among victims of sexual violence
Others
Source: prepared by the author
e stages followed for the development of this research are the following:
a) Viewing of the 12 episodes that make up the miniseries.
b) Selection of the scenes in which acts of sexual violence take place.
c) Categorization of the selected scenes according to the analysis sheet.
Based on the data record, a quantication of the information is carried out, followed by an inference and qualitative
interpretation of them in order to obtain the results and the corresponding conclusions.
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135
4. Results
e results obtained are presented following the established structure of the analysis sheet. Graphs will be used in those cases
in which the results are more relevant and, therefore, they need a visual reinforcement to illustrate them:
4.1. Characters
First, the gure of the aggressor of the analyzed acts of sexual violence is characterized by the fact that in all of them there is
unanimity in the categories of sex, age and degree of disability: 100% of the scenes have male aggressors, of a young age group
and with no degree of disability. Regarding the number of oenders participating in the sexual act, 75% of the scenes have a
single oender while 25% have a group oender. is case corresponds to the case of sexual abuse that Terry suers when she
is the victim of a deception by two boys so that the three of them have sexual relations.
Regarding the role they play in ction, 20% of the aggressors are framed in the role of secondary character, another 20% of them
do it in the role of regular character and 60% do not identify with any role, since they are totally unknown in the weight of the
plot. It is striking that the gure of the aggressor does not correspond in any case to the role of protagonist or antagonist, the
characters that have the greatest weight in any story.
Finally, in the category of the relationship that the aggressor holds with his victim, in 80% of the cases there is no relationship
because the aggressor is completely unknown to the victim (as it occurs in the case of Arabella’s sexual assault or the sexual
abuse Terry suers) or partially (as it is the case in the acts of sexual violence in which Kwame is involved, since he exchanges
some conversations with the people with whom he has dates through a mobile app). e remaining 20% corresponds to the act
of sexual violence that has Arabella and Zain as protagonists, since their work relationship favors the closeness and complicity
that exists between them.
Secondly, the gure of the victim of the acts of sexual violence analyzed is characterized by unanimity in the categories of
number of victims, age and degree of disability: 100% of the scenes have victims who suer sexual violence individually (there
are no more victims with them), who belong to a young age group and who do not have any degree of disability. Regarding the
sex of the victims, 80% are women, while 20% are men, a percentage that corresponds only to the scene in which Kwame is the
victim of a sexual assault by one of the boys he knows through a mobile dating app.
On the other hand, the category referring to the role played by the victims in ction does present dierences with that of the
aggressors, since, in this case, 40% fall within the role of protagonist, represented by Arabella, another 40% falls within the
role of secondary character, represented by Terry and Kwame and the remaining 20% do not identify with any role, since it
is represented by the girl with whom Kwame has a sexual relationship through deceit and she does not have a prominent or
signicant role in the plot of ction. Finally, it should be noted that in the category corresponding to the relationship between
the victim and her aggressor, the results are the same as those presented.
136
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I May Destroy You
(HBO, 2020)
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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4.2. Sexual violence acts
Acts of sexual violence based on their typology are distributed as follows, as can be seen in the following graph:
Graph 1. Typology of acts of sexual violence
victim (as it occurs in the case of
Arabell
a’s
sexual assault
o
r the sexual abuse Terry
suffers) or partially (as it is the case in the acts of sexual violence in which Kwame is
involved, since he exchanges some conversations with the people with whom he has dates
through a mobile app). The remaining 20% corresponds to the act of sexual violence that
has Arabella and Zain as protagonists, since their
work
relationship favors the closeness
and complicity that exists between them.
Secondly, the figure of the victim of the acts of sexual violence analyzed is characterized
by unanimity in the categories of number of victims, age and degree of disability: 100%
of the scenes have victims who suffer sexual violence individually (there are no more
victims with them), who belong to a young age group and who do not have any degree of
disability. Regarding the sex of the victims, 80% are women, while 20% are men, a
percentage that corresponds only to the scene in which Kwame is the victim of a sexual
assault by one of the boys he knows through a mobile dating
app
.
On the other hand, the category referring to the role played by the victims in fiction does
present differences with that of the aggressors, since, in this case, 40% fall within the role
of protagonist, represented by Arabella, another 40%
falls
wi
thin the role of secondary
character, represented by Terry and Kwame and the remaining 20% do not identify with
any role, since it is represented by the girl with whom Kwame has a sexual relationship
through deceit and she does not have a prominent or significant role in the plot of fiction.
Finally, it should be noted that in the category corresponding to the relationship between
the victim and her aggressor, the results are the same as those presented.
4.2. Sexual violence acts
Acts of sexual violence based on their typology are distributed as follows, as can be seen
in the following graph:
Graph 1. Typology of acts of sexual violence
Source: prepared by the author
No act of sexual harassment is seen in this
fiction
series
.
The
most staged type of sexual
violence is sexual abuse, since it has a 60% representation. In all the cases analyzed, it
focuse
s
on
penetrative sexual abuse in which no type of physical violence or intimidation
is applied, but sexual freedom is violated because the aggressor manipulates and deceives
the victim to satisfy his interests;
h
ence, the members who participate in the sexual act do
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!ƐƐĂƵůƚ
Source: prepared by the author
No act of sexual harassment is seen in this ction series. e most staged type of sexual violence is sexual abuse, since it has a
60% representation. In all the cases analyzed, it focuses on penetrative sexual abuse in which no type of physical violence or
intimidation is applied, but sexual freedom is violated because the aggressor manipulates and deceives the victim to satisfy his
interests; hence, the members who participate in the sexual act do not do so from a situation of equality, especially from the
point of view of the information available to them to be able to access or not to have sexual relations.
is occurs in the case where Zain decides to remove his condom without telling Arabella; also in Terry’s threesome with the
two Italian guys, which is not fortuitous, but something planned unbeknownst to her, and in the one in which Kwame has sex
with a girl without informing her beforehand that he is gay and that he just wanted to try it out with a woman despite the fact
that he is not attracted to them. In all cases, the victim consents to having sexual relations with her aggressor, but it should also
be noted that in all of them persuasion, manipulation and deception are present and condition her decision.
e remaining 40% are acts of sexual violence framed within what is considered sexual assault, that is, an attack against the
sexual freedom of the victim using physical violence or intimidation. In the series, two acts of sexual assault can be seen: one
of them has Arabella as a victim and it is a drug-facilitated sexual assault in which there is penetration and in which she suers
physical violence as can be seen in the gaps, scratches and bruises on her body; the other has Kwame as a victim and it is a
sexual assault in which the aggressor uses his physical force to immobilize him and thus be able to penetrate him against his
will.
Regarding the place where the acts of sexual violence take place, the majority take place in the home, since this category has
an 80% representation. Leisure spaces account for the remaining 20% and correspond to the act in which Arabella suers a
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137
drug-facilitated rape in a cocktail bar. e rest of the categories do not have any type of representation. On the other hand, in
the time slot in which the acts of sexual violence take place there is unanimity, since 100% of them take place at night.
Regarding the presence of witnesses, it should be noted that, for the most part and with 80% representation, the acts of sexual
violence do not have any witnesses, while the remaining 20% correspond to the scene in which Arabella is sexually assaulted,
because a friend of the aggressor, despite not being inside the bathroom of the cocktail bar where she is raped, is at the door
watching so that no one enters and they discovers what is happening inside. Hence, in addition to being a witness, he is an
accomplice of the aggressor, because he helps, facilitates and does not prevent the aggression from taking place.
To end this block, and in reference to the use of mobile devices in acts of sexual violence, it should be noted that in none of the
analyzed acts mobile devices are used either to photograph or to record or to disclose the acts in which aggressors and victims
are participating.
4.3. Consequences of sexual violence
e category related to the reaction that the victim has to the act of sexual violence that they have suered reveals that, for the
most part, no type of complaint is made against the aggressor; this can happen for two reasons: either because the victim is not
aware that they have suered abuse or aggression, as it occurs, for example, with Terry, who is aware of the deception of which
she has been the victim several months after the sexual encounter with the two Italian boys take place; or because the victim
considers that it is not worth ling a complaint, as happens with Kwame when he is raped. Kwame takes a few days to realize
that he has suered an assault and decides to turn the case over to the authorities, just as his friend Arabella did. However,
despite the fact that he goes to the police station with that intention, given the little empathetic reaction of the ocer who
assists him, he decides to leave without actually ling any complaint.
Graphic 2. Victim’s reaction
few days to realize that he has suffered an assault and decides to turn the case over to the
authorities, just as his friend Arabella did. However, despite the fact that he goes to the
police station with that intention, given the little empathetic reaction of the officer who
assists
him, he decides to leave without actually filing any complaint.
Graphic
2
.
Victim’s reaction
Source: prepared by the author
Meanwhile, in 33% of cases, the victims socially
report
the sexual violence they have
suffered, something that materializes in the figure of Arabella by publicly and socially
reporting
the two acts of sexual violence of which she has been a victim: the first, the
rape
facilitated by drugs, she reports through
her
new book which she is about to be published,
while the second is reported at an event organized by h
er
publishing house. In it, instead
of doing a reading of her work to the audience,
s
he decides to address
them
and say that
Zain, h
er
co-
worker who is also on stage at the moment, is a rapist. Her words have a
huge impact among those present, but above all, through social networks, since her friend
Terry records her speech and
posts
it on the Internet, making it go viral and reaching
millions of people.
Social networks and the virtual world become great allies for Arabella, since they are very
present in her acts of
reporting
and function not only as a
platform
to make her
experiences public, but also as a space in which to share testimonies from other victims,
as well as to support and advise all those who have suffered or experienced a similar
situation. On the other hand, the remaining 17% corresponds to those acts that have been
reported to the authorities. In this case, it is only
identified
with the sexual assault suffered
by Arabella which she reports at the police station, although the case is eventually closed
due to the impossibility of finding the aggressor.
Regarding the damages suffered by the victim after the assault or sexual abuse, the
foll
owing graph shows that, in the majority of cases (63%), behavioral damages are the
ones that have a greater representation, since, to a greater or lesser extent, they are present
in all victims: anxiety, emotional insensitivity, changes in the way of relating and
interacting with others, low self
-
esteem, and feelings of guilt and shame are some of the
main symptoms that can be classified within this category,
all
of them
suffer
ed by people
who have experienced an act of sexual violence.
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WĞŶĂů ƌĞƉŽƌƚ
hŶƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚ
Source: prepared by the author
138
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January-June of 2023
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I May Destroy You
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ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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Meanwhile, in 33% of cases, the victims socially report the sexual violence they have suered, something that materializes
in the gure of Arabella by publicly and socially reporting the two acts of sexual violence of which she has been a victim: the
rst, the rape facilitated by drugs, she reports through her new book which she is about to be published, while the second
is reported at an event organized by her publishing house. In it, instead of doing a reading of her work to the audience, she
decides to address them and say that Zain, her co-worker who is also on stage at the moment, is a rapist. Her words have a huge
impact among those present, but above all, through social networks, since her friend Terry records her speech and posts it on
the Internet, making it go viral and reaching millions of people.
Social networks and the virtual world become great allies for Arabella, since they are very present in her acts of reporting and
function not only as a platform to make her experiences public, but also as a space in which to share testimonies from other
victims, as well as to support and advise all those who have suered or experienced a similar situation. On the other hand, the
remaining 17% corresponds to those acts that have been reported to the authorities. In this case, it is only identied with the
sexual assault suered by Arabella which she reports at the police station, although the case is eventually closed due to the
impossibility of nding the aggressor.
Regarding the damages suered by the victim after the assault or sexual abuse, the following graph shows that, in the majority
of cases (63%), behavioral damages are the ones that have a greater representation, since, to a greater or lesser extent, they
are present in all victims: anxiety, emotional insensitivity, changes in the way of relating and interacting with others, low self-
esteem, and feelings of guilt and shame are some of the main symptoms that can be classied within this category, all of them
suered by people who have experienced an act of sexual violence.
Graphic 3. Damages suered by the victim
Graphic
3
. Damages suffered by the victim
Source: prepared by the author
Physical damage (13%) refers to the explicit sequelae that remain palpable in the victim's
body, as occurs in the cases of Arabella or Kwame when they suffer a sexual assault.
D
amage to mental health (12%) and reproductive health (12%) have the same percentage
of representation and have Arabella as the protagonist. The young woman checks how
her mental health has been damaged after the drug
-
facilitated sexual assault she has
suffered and requires the help of a specialist to try to overcome the post
-
traumatic stress
disorder, anxiety or sleeping difficulties that she presents; her reproductive health is also
affected when Zain removes the condom during sex and exposes herself to a possible
infection or sexually transmitted disease, as well as an unwanted pregnancy, which causes
her to take the contraceptive pill. The two remaining categories (Fatal Damages and
Others) do not have any representation.
To finish this block and, with respect to the victim's overcoming of the act/s of sexual
violence that they have experienced, the graph presented below shows that the support of
friends (72%) has been in this
series
the greatest bulwark that the victims have had to
come out ahead and try to overcome the sexual violence they have suffered. Arabella has
Terry’s
unconditional help, as she becomes her refuge and support to be able to turn the
page on the harsh events she has experienced.
Sh
e also leans on Kwame and Ben, h
er
roommate. The three arm her with strength and courage so that she can continue her bright
future as a writer and be able to overcome what she has suffered. The same goes for Terry
and Kwame, who find in each other, as well as in Arabella, the understanding and help
they need to overcome their fears and pain after being sexually assaulted. The three of
them become a great team and their friendship is strengthened as a result of suffering this
type of sexual violence.
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DĞŶƚĂů ŚĞĂůƚŚ
ZĞƉƌŽĚƵĐƚŝǀĞ ŚĞĂůƚŚ
WŚLJƐŝĐĂů ĚĂŵĂŐĞƐ
!ĞŚĂǀŝŽƌĂů ĚĂŵĂŐĞƐ
&ĂƚĂů ĚĂŵĂŐĞƐ
KƚŚĞƌƐ
Source: prepared by the author
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|
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Sara González-Fernández
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
139
Physical damage (13%) refers to the explicit sequelae that remain palpable in the victim’s body, as occurs in the cases of
Arabella or Kwame when they suer a sexual assault. Damage to mental health (12%) and reproductive health (12%) have the
same percentage of representation and have Arabella as the protagonist. e young woman checks how her mental health has
been damaged after the drug-facilitated sexual assault she has suered and requires the help of a specialist to try to overcome
the post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or sleeping diculties that she presents; her reproductive health is also aected
when Zain removes the condom during sex and exposes herself to a possible infection or sexually transmitted disease, as well
as an unwanted pregnancy, which causes her to take the contraceptive pill. e two remaining categories (Fatal Damages and
Others) do not have any representation.
To nish this block and, with respect to the victim’s overcoming of the act/s of sexual violence that they have experienced, the
graph presented below shows that the support of friends (72%) has been in this series the greatest bulwark that the victims
have had to come out ahead and try to overcome the sexual violence they have suered. Arabella has Terry’s unconditional
help, as she becomes her refuge and support to be able to turn the page on the harsh events she has experienced. She also leans
on Kwame and Ben, her roommate. e three arm her with strength and courage so that she can continue her bright future as
a writer and be able to overcome what she has suered. e same goes for Terry and Kwame, who nd in each other, as well as
in Arabella, the understanding and help they need to overcome their fears and pain after being sexually assaulted. e three of
them become a great team and their friendship is strengthened as a result of suering this type of sexual violence.
Graphic 4. Victim’s overcoming
Graphic
4
.
Victim’s overcoming
Source: prepared by the author
In addition to this, it should be noted that psychological support (14%) also plays an
important role in Arabella's assimilation, acceptance and recovery, as she puts herself in
the hands of a psychologist who helps her channel her anger, overcome her fears and not
let these facts become an obstacle to carry on with
her
life.
Sh
e is the only victim who
receives professional psychological help in this
series
. Arabella is also the only one who
receives support from other victims of sexual violence through messages and the
community that forms around her on social networks, but, above all, through
her
support
group
for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Violence
that
she attends. This group is run by
Theo, an old classmate of Arabella's. There they meet again and manage to establish a
bond of friendship based on the support
she
receives
both from her and from the rest of
the women who attend the group sessions every week to tell their experience.
With respect to the rest of the categories, despite the fact that they lack representation,
they do not cease to have a relevant meaning. This is the case, for example,
of
the lack of
support that Arabella receives at her workplace, something that may seem contradictory
because it is her publisher that allows her to publish a book based on her experience as a
victim of sexual assault. Her bosses know that she has been raped and drugged, that weeks
later she suffers another act of sexual violence and they are only interested in finishing
her draft: they pressure her to meet the deadlines, they suspend her payments and she has
to find other
forms
of income to be able to live and pay h
er
expenses, which causes
her
to delay
her
work with the publisher. The lack of empathy from their bosses means that
they do not understand that Arabella is not going through a good time after the double
sexual assault that she has suffered and that is why they are only interested in her
meeting
the
deadline, something she is not going to be able to do until she overcomes her recovery
phase
.
5. Discussion and conclusions
The results obtained in this work show that the representation of sexual violence in the
fiction analyzed is done from a feminist perspective. The woman, despite playing the role
of victim for the most part, does not use her suffering to wallow in it, but shows herself
to be a woman who is capable of overcoming the painful experience she has
experienced
and thus resume her sexual life, her working life and become a reference and support for
many other people who have been victims of sexual assault or abuse.
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WƐLJĐŚŽůŽŐŝĐĂů ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ
&ĂŵŝůLJ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ
tŽƌŬƉůĂĐĞ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ
&ƌŝĞŶĚ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ
^ƵƉƉŽƌƚ ĂŵŽŶŐ ǀŝĐƚŝŵƐ
ŽĨ ƐĞdžƵĂů ǀŝŽůĞŶĐĞ
KƚŚĞƌƐ
Source: prepared by the author
140
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January-June of 2023
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I May Destroy You
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ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
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In addition to this, it should be noted that psychological support (14%) also plays an important role in Arabella’s assimilation,
acceptance and recovery, as she puts herself in the hands of a psychologist who helps her channel her anger, overcome her
fears and not let these facts become an obstacle to carry on with her life. She is the only victim who receives professional
psychological help in this series. Arabella is also the only one who receives support from other victims of sexual violence
through messages and the community that forms around her on social networks, but, above all, through her support group for
Survivors of Sexual Assault and Violence that she attends. is group is run by eo, an old classmate of Arabella’s. ere they
meet again and manage to establish a bond of friendship based on the support she receives both from her and from the rest of
the women who attend the group sessions every week to tell their experience.
With respect to the rest of the categories, despite the fact that they lack representation, they do not cease to have a relevant
meaning. is is the case, for example, of the lack of support that Arabella receives at her workplace, something that may seem
contradictory because it is her publisher that allows her to publish a book based on her experience as a victim of sexual assault.
Her bosses know that she has been raped and drugged, that weeks later she suers another act of sexual violence and they
are only interested in nishing her draft: they pressure her to meet the deadlines, they suspend her payments and she has to
nd other forms of income to be able to live and pay her expenses, which causes her to delay her work with the publisher. e
lack of empathy from their bosses means that they do not understand that Arabella is not going through a good time after the
double sexual assault that she has suered and that is why they are only interested in her meeting the deadline, something she
is not going to be able to do until she overcomes her recovery phase.
5. Discussion and conclusions
e results obtained in this work show that the representation of sexual violence in the ction analyzed is done from a feminist
perspective. e woman, despite playing the role of victim for the most part, does not use her suering to wallow in it, but
shows herself to be a woman who is capable of overcoming the painful experience she has experienced and thus resume her
sexual life, her working life and become a reference and support for many other people who have been victims of sexual assault
or abuse.
is representation is very important, since it shows a female character who is not self-limited or self-controlled due to the
fear of suering an experience similar to the one she has already suered and, therefore, oers viewers a new way of dealing
with these situations, away from clichés that continue to perpetuate social male hegemony. Undoubtedly, the fact that the
experience of the victim (woman) and not that of the aggressor (man) has a primary weight in the story contributes to this,
since that way the focus is placed on the consequences and experience of her and not in her enjoyment or motivations: the
victim is, thus, the absolute protagonist of the plot, while the aggressor is relegated to the background.
In addition to this feminist perspective, it should also be noted that
I May Destroy You
moves away from stereotypes, especially
in the representation of the victim, since she is not similar to the one that has traditionally been staged in television ction
(young, white, shy, submissive and vulnerable) nor the one that conforms to the social stereotypes related to acts of sexual
violence, where “on the one hand they are seen as a fragile, vulnerable, passive being, dependent on men and their desires and,
on the other on the other, it is found seductive and provocative, inciting men” (Janos and Espinosa, 2015, p. 5-6).
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141
In this miniseries, a very diverse victim role is shown: white and black people; employed and unemployed; those who drink
and use drugs and those who don’t; although if there is something that stands out, it is that a male character is represented as
a victim of sexual assault. And it does so precisely because many myths circulate around male rape that manage to stigmatize
the men who are victims for not complying with the hegemonic model of masculinity, that is, that men are not raped; that they
have failed as men by not physically resisting and defending themselves from the sexual act (Javaid, 2016) or that, if they are
raped, their experience is not as traumatic as if it had happened to a woman (Woods, 2017).
e representation of the rape suered by Kwame in this miniseries is very relevant, since it reects an act with little visibility
and social awareness and also because it does not perpetuate those culturally accepted myths that respond to the maintenance
of traditional gender roles. is means that there is no possibility for the roles of aggressors or victims to be reversed, although,
in the event that they do, the woman would only become an aggressor if she adopts properly masculine characteristics and the
man could become a victim if he denies their traditional masculinity (Janos and Espinosa, 2015, p.13).
Along these lines, and despite the fact that the ction analyzed does not use stereotypes to represent sexual violence, it must
be said that the story reects situations and events that reect the social reality in this eld, such as, for example, that most
of the victims are women, that the majority of the aggressors are men, that acts of sexual violence take place at night and that
their participants are young people.
On the other hand, the results obtained in this paper reveal that this ction not only shows dierent acts of sexual violence, but
that its representation has an educational and transgressive purpose by breaking with the socially and culturally established
in the matter of sexual violence. First of all, because it sends an important message: victims are never to blame for suering
an assault or sexual abuse, regardless of their physique, way of being, way of dressing or places they go. Secondly, because it
stages a variety of situations and types of sexual violence, some of which become socially accepted or which are not known to
be sexual assaults or abuses. And, thirdly, that the victim should always report and not be ashamed or feel guilty for what has
happened to them.
Television ction series can play, as in this case, a relevant role both to make sexual violence visible in all its aspects and to
educate the viewers’ gaze and raise awareness about such relevant aspects as consent, a fundamental key to conceiving a
sexual relationship from freedom. Consent understood as the fact that the participants in a sexual act must have the same
initial information and the acceptance of the conditions in which it will be carried out. Only in this way there will be neither
victims nor aggressors, but people who, voluntarily, wish to interact sexually without their rights being violated.
Finally, it should be noted that the main limitations of this work are found in the small study sample taken as analysis. e fact
of focusing attention only on one miniseries means that the results of this research cannot be extrapolated, but, on the other
hand, they do function as a starting point to motivate the development of other studies of these characteristics. erefore, it
would be interesting to continue with this line of research and deepen, through the proposed methodology, the treatment of
sexual violence in current ctional stories in order to establish similarities and dierences between the series analyzed or to
know their evolution or treatment trends. It would also be convenient to broaden the research focus and include lm analysis
of the construction of audiovisual history to learn how sexual violence is represented from a narrative perspective (characters,
142
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doxa.comunicación
montage, photography, resources, etc.), so that knowledge about this eld of study is as complete and comprehensive as
possible for the research community.
6. Acknowledgements
is article has been translated to English by Leticia de la Paz de Dios, whom I thank for her work
.
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