Mind rape?

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

While they didn't create the term, TV Tropes defines "Mind Rape" as when "a character is attacked by a villain in the most painful non-physical way possible. Their mind and soul are assaulted with painful, horrifying visions and memories, and broken until they're powerless and numb, but not dead, although afterwards they may wish they were. Nothing sexual occurs, but everything else is there to resemble a rape - violation, helplessness, and the poisoning of what could otherwise be a source of joy."

However I've seen a lot of people throw the term around whenever a character gets their mind read without their permission, as if it's just as bad (or almost as bad) as the act of sexual assault itself.

One such example occurred in New Avengers #19, by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato.

SHIELD has asked the New Avengers for help dealing with the Collective, which is later revealed to be the unified energy signatures of all the mutants depowered after "M-Day." Spider-Man and the Young Avengers' Vision are on the Helicarrier when SHIELD discovers that the energy readings match those of a large number of the depowered  mutants. When Spider-Man discovers the connection to the House of M, Iron Man tells him to take the Vision and get off the ship.




Later...






Another example of when the term "mind rape" was used was in reference to this scene from Captain America #28, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.




So, do you think any of these examples are comparable to actually raping someone?

Comments

[midnightvoyager.insanejournal.com]

If they're a completely uncontrolled telepath? Sure. However, a telepath does not have to look.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

That's a bit of a different issue, though.

Say you end up on Rot Lop Fan's world for some reason. No one's got eyes, so if they're all just sitting around in a room, some of them are picking their noses or scratching their asses or something because who can tell? Then you show up, and you've got eyes, so you know when they're doing this.

So, what's fair here? Is it a violation of their privacy to look at them? Is it rude? Is it fine? Are you going to walk around the planet with your eyes closed, or wearing a blindfold, except when you're given permission to look at someone? What if you hear a noise and instinctively look up? What if you're running and need to see where you're going? How much do you have to compromise, and how much do they, in order to be fair to everyone?

[midnightvoyager.insanejournal.com]

I doubt there'd be a taboo against doing any of that if nobody can tell it is being done. That's why thoughts are as private as they are. Any taboo involved with them is completely self-regulated.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

I would never be comfortable with my own existence again if I knew someone was reading my thoughts without my permission.

You're watching Rot Lop Fan's behavior without his permission. He has no way of knowing you're doing it and no way of stopping you. Nobody can tell it's being done. Is it okay or not?

[midnightvoyager.insanejournal.com]

Actually, he does. I recall the Green Lantern involved explaining it to him after it was found out that he was totally blind, and he was fine with it. So... It's obviously fine.

And, you know, they have to have some way of knowing how to get around. An extra sense that can be analogous to the ability to see where things are. It just wouldn't work if nobody knew what was going on around them.

And on top of that: There's an astronomical difference between "picking one's nose" and "my deepest, most innermost thoughts."

It doesn't seem that you care about the privacy of your deepest, most innermost thoughts. I do. The perspective shifts violently with that one change.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

There's an astronomical difference between "picking one's nose" and "my deepest, most innermost thoughts."

To a creature for whom picking one's nose has always been every bit as private as his innermost thoughts? I'm skeptical of that assertion.

[unknownscribler.insanejournal.com]

A telepath arguably has no choice. Thoughts after all are just biochemically generated electromagnetic pulses, and all telepathy is is just simply having a good enough aerial to pick up these transmissions. The genre is full of stories were telepaths have to erect shields or take chemical blockers or drink excessively not to protect your privacy, but to protect theirs from being ceaselessly spammed.

Accessing memories is more problematic, and could work either on the principle of RFID chips (which are inert and only send a signal back via a completely involuntary process when they are powered up by the energy contained by an incoming signal querying them) or a hard drive (which even in stand-by mode is powered and thus search activity is much more noticeable/deliberate)