I think this storyline on Switched At Birth is good-BUT-I think it should be focusing on how this guy has been wrongly accused and it’s going to F up his entire life. I disagree with them saying it is rape just because both of them were drunk. It feels like she feels guilty for cheating on her boyfriend and her family and older people are telling her it’s rape when clearly it wasn’t. I think this is an important topic, but I think the boy/male side is just as important as the female’s. What happens when someone is falsely accused? It’s hard to watch as I just feel sorry for Tank.
I am feeling compelled to start a new YA novel about a boy who this happens to-I think it’s important because not all guys are assholes and not all guys rape girls and when they are accused when it was just two drunk people making a mistake, it can destroy someone’s life. If I had a teenage son I would be terrified of this kind of thing happening. Yes rape happens all the time, but it also happens that girls regret things they do and then call it rape. That is just as bad.
I applaud them for even doing the storyline, but I don’t like how they are saying that just because they were drinking it was rape. THEY were drinking, not just her.
If she was drunk and he was sober, then yes that would be an issue, but where does the line get crossed? I mean if I had a teenage son I would be terrified that he would go to a party and sleep with someone and then she would turn around and call it rape.
I know that this happens a lot and date rape is real. I am not discounting that, but in this show, it was clear that it didn’t happen that way. What they have written is a girl who is guilty of cheating and then adults telling her what happened and changing the truth.
This is a really important issue for teens and young adults, VERY, but I wish that they had handled it differently, or maybe they will in upcoming episodes. For now I will say that I think I just found my next YA.
Someone has to stand up for the boys/males and show their side.
Steph Olivieri Bourbon ~ Writing Coach 