Compelling Engagements: Feminism, Rape Law, and Romance FictionAfter decades of rape law reform, it is still being argued that the criminal justice system fails rape victims, that too few cases are prosecuted and too few prosecutions result in conviction. Compelling Engagements is a ground-breaking work which investigates the narratives of rape law and of romance fiction, and explores the outmoded and strikingly similar depictions of their normative female subjects. These are women who are not only vulnerable but also evidently worthy of the protections or rewards promised: punishment of the rapist or the hero's love. Larcombe's analysis explores: the definitions of "rape" in the criminal law and "romance" in Harlequin Mills and Boon fiction; the feminine subjects represented in the texts of rape law and romance fiction; the feminised subject positions the texts produce: the rape complainant and the romance reader; particular fictionalisations of the rape complainant and the romance reader: the false rape complainant and the ideal romance consumer; and how these fictionalisations serve the interests of the criminal justice system and the romance publishing industry. Larcombe shows how the legal construction of gender and subjectivity in rape law is still working to disempower victims. She suggests feminism's failure to accommodate women's investment in heroines of romance fiction has limited their effectiveness in transforming rape law. Compelling Engagements is an original and engaging analysis, and fascinating reading for anyone who deals with rape as part of the criminal justice system. |
From inside the book
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Page 4
... juries . I also analyse popular women's romance and offer readings of a range of romance titles , all published in Australia by Harlequin Mills and Boon ( HMB ) ; 5 as well as promotional material and media coverage of romance reading ...
... juries . I also analyse popular women's romance and offer readings of a range of romance titles , all published in Australia by Harlequin Mills and Boon ( HMB ) ; 5 as well as promotional material and media coverage of romance reading ...
Page 16
... Juries , for example , can no longer be directed to the effect that " consent may be hesitant , grudging or tearful ... jury directions , so that in relevant cases the judge will instruct that " the fact that a person did not say or do ...
... Juries , for example , can no longer be directed to the effect that " consent may be hesitant , grudging or tearful ... jury directions , so that in relevant cases the judge will instruct that " the fact that a person did not say or do ...
Page 22
... juries may have a tendency to disregard what women say , but also because rape at law has already been legislatively defined as a product of his attitude to her non - consent . That is , rape requires a specific relation between the ...
... juries may have a tendency to disregard what women say , but also because rape at law has already been legislatively defined as a product of his attitude to her non - consent . That is , rape requires a specific relation between the ...
Page 23
... jury con- viction for rape : The actual act to which she consents , the act of sexual intercourse , is not different and has no different effect on her body if the man has one ulterior purpose rather than another . It is otherwise in ...
... jury con- viction for rape : The actual act to which she consents , the act of sexual intercourse , is not different and has no different effect on her body if the man has one ulterior purpose rather than another . It is otherwise in ...
Page 27
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Contents
13 | |
Desire and Love Gendering Subjectivity | 34 |
The Fortitude of Heroines | 59 |
Heroines and the InSecurity | 78 |
Fear and Hope | 97 |
Preferred Readers and Other Romances | 115 |
Compelling Engagements | 135 |
Index | 161 |
Common terms and phrases
accused appeal argue attempts Australian basis become changes chapters complainant's consent consequence construction consumer contemporary continue conviction course criminal law critics cultural defence desire effect engagements evidence example experience explains fact false false complaint fantasy female feminine subjectivity feminist gender genre Harlequin hero hero's heroine heroine's heterosexual exchange ideal individual interests issues judges jury knowledge law and romance law's limited means mind narrative nature non-consent normative object particular person pleasures political popular romance position practice Press problem produced promises prosecution provides publishers questions rape complainant rape law rape victim reading reason reform relations relationship representation represented reproduce requirement resistance respect romance fiction romance reader satisfaction satisfied sense sexual assault sexual penetration social specific standard story successful suggest takes testimony texts true understand victim violence woman women women's romance Writing
References to this book
Choice and Consent: Feminist Engagements with Law and Subjectivity Rosemary C. Hunter,Sharon Cowan No preview available - 2007 |