Hi everyone
This is my first email to the discussion group.
I am writing a piece on
We were the Mulvaneys and in particular the representation of rape. I have come across an essay by Christine Atkins "'This is What you Deserve' : Rape as Rite of Passage in Joyce Carol Oates's 'Naked' - which seems to me to be a feminist criticism on the portrayal of rape in this particular short story. Atkins criticizes Oates as it aligns itself with 'cultural rape scripts' - which she sees as: 'problematic because they serve to justify and/or deny male sexual aggression toward women through the perpetuation of false beliefs about rape. They suggest that rape is inevitable, that women like, desire, or deserve rape, and construct women as always already victims or victimized.'
She accuses 'women writers such as Oates' of not challenging rape scripts but instead making rape part of the 'modern female coming-of-age story.'
Has anyone seen this particular article or any responses to it or have any comments on to what extent the Mulvaneys might be seen as 'problematic' in the Atkins sense? Julie W
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