Comments on: Stephen Moyer on Vampire Sex: Masculinity in True Blood

By: Truebloodfan

Truebloodfan — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:25:24 +0000

This is a TV show, meant for entertainment. Don’t try to find issues where there are none. I’m all for equal rights, but I really dislike when feminists find problems where there shouldn’t be any. I’m extremely independent and no man could make me do something I didn’t want to, but to stare too much into the face of something that shouldn’t mean much…that’s just ridiculous. Moyer is just stating what he sees in the show, he’s allowed his opinion and view of the show, as we are ours. Just relax.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:08:04 +0000

@Renee. I’m sorry but I beg to differ. Even if the point of the article
and thread is about society’s attitude toward and perceptions of rape, there are MANY people on this who are indeed judging Stephen Moyer. (accusations of mysogny, insensitivity etc.). Don’t get me wrong, this certainly sounds badly worded (at best!!) and possibly he is oblivious to the true definition of rape but I would prefer to save my condemnation of the man until I have read the full article in context. Also perhaps my viewing of the graveyard scene is colored by the book but perhaps the actor’s is too if he has a deeper understanding of his character’s motivations. If indeed he is referring to that exact scene and it is not simply the addition of the author – who is actually the one suggesting that Bill raped Sookie.

By: ACG

ACG — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:04:40 +0000

But that’s not the way I interpreted it when she said “And that, in a nutshell, is why so many modern women fantasize about being with vampires, be they Bill types or Eric types!”

But that’s true. That is why many (although by no means all) modern women fantasize about being with vampires.

By: Cara

Cara — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:26:08 +0000

I haven’t really been following the conversation, but going through the mod queue, I keep seeing people saying something along the lines of “give the guy a break, he didn’t mean rape, he just said ‘rape’ to indicate a certain type of consensual sex.”

You know, that’s entirely possible! But the first time I saw it and realized that the person saying it might be right, I felt absolutely sick to my stomach. Is calling rough or passionate consensual sex “rape” better than musing on whether or not actual rape is okay? Probably. But that doesn’t make it good! In fact, it’s really, really awful! The fact that people use the word “rape” to mean all kinds of things that aren’t really rape is something that feminists actually spend a good deal of time trying to counter. And I think that using the word to refer to consensual sex is a whole lot worse, actually, than saying “I totally got raped by that test.” Because the latter minimizes rape as not all that much worse than a bad test score (which is probably your own fault), but the former actually works to further blur the bright red line between consent and rape that most people see as far too blurry already. We have some people talking about rape as something that only happens when a guy jumps out of the bushes and beats the living shit out of you, and other people positively talking about rape as consensual and enjoyable sex that just so happens to be vigorous . . . is it really any wonder that there are so many damn arguments in the world over whether or not something was “really” rape, not to mention so many arguments over whether or not most rapes are actually serious? Dear lord.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:13:52 +0000

Also, TEAM ERIC FOR THE WIN!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:13:13 +0000

I really hate to defend Stephen Moyer (SOOKeh!), but I think he was getting at the idea of ravishment fantasies. And like others have said, it’s weird that he doesn’t get the whole point of the scene (and one of the major themes of the show really). Sookie Stackhouse is a pretty remarkable character precisely because she is in control of her own sexuality, and it’s one of the many reasons I watch the show in the first place.

By: Natalia

Natalia — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:11:58 +0000

Team Bill! Team Bill!

Er… I mean… We were saying…? :)

It would be interesting to see if Moyer really meant what he said when he said “rape” – in regards to the scene on the show. The word “rape” is used in all sorts of contexts, most of them wrong ones…

By: Renee

Renee — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:54:46 +0000

@Sheila
No one is judging Moyer personally. The conversation all involves this quote taken from the article. I don’t believe that he was referring to the books at all.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:47:32 +0000

(1) This quote from Nylon has no context and I think it is unfair to judge a person on one supposed comment rather than their life and behavior.

(2) In actual fact, the book had Sookie encouraging the sex in the graveyard because she was worried that Bill would be so angry and out of control that he might hurt her (kill her? drain her?) – she figured sex would be a better distraction. To me that doesn’t exactly say “consent”.

By: Cara

Cara — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:53:08 +0000

FYI, don’t bother. O.o is a troll who I’d previous banned, and then came back with a different username. (Anyone remember “Shrug” from Lisa’s second to last post?) It should be taken care of.