Frankly I can't imagine a setting that's honest about human nature while also being devoid of rape entirely - although XIV features "non-human" races they are not different enough to fall free of that assertion.
XIV is a bright game about heroes, but these heroes also live in a dangerous world alongside good and evil folk alike. One of the more subtle themes of the story is that the mortal races are a chaotic force composed of both light and darkness, and it shows in the setting.
Whether using rape is lazy or not is up for debate. I think that XIV could have gotten away without mentioning it ever and no one would've thought anything of it - mind you, this wouldn't have stopped any roleplayers from using the "rape as backstory" trope to their fullest indulgence - however SE chose to imply rape in the setting, so here we are.
The disturbingly blatant implications of Sastasha kind of shocked me, but even though it shocked me it also served well to illustrate that these pirates were a big problem for Limsa Lominsa and as a result it became way more important for me to get rid of them.
I also think XIV handles it in a way that I find acceptable - though I respectfully disagree with the crowd that believes that rape can never be used in a story acceptably I also understand that this is a very hot button issue with a lot of strong emotions surrounding it, so you'll not catch me arguing vehemently with those that feel this way.
The way that XIV uses it that I find acceptable is that SE doesn't use it to make a major female character appear weak or play it for cheap drama. In fact the incident in Little Ala Mhigo I thought was well done in the way that the victim asserted that she's going to be alright despite what happened (at least that's how I recall it, correct me if I'm wrong). It goes without saying that rape is an extremely horrible trauma for anyone to experience, but it was refreshing to see a character approach the aftermath from a position of strength rather than the more common emotional devastation that follows.
That's something you rarely see in media, as it's way way more common for raped characters to become fragile creatures that are forever marked and in need of delicate treatment or for them to become psychotic and fueled by a desire for revenge or random violence. These common portrayals and unfortunately real life reactions I think can be extremely harmful to a victim of rape as not only do they have to process their own feelings, they also have to contend with well-meaning but misguided people telling them that they are weak and/or damaged/marked/soiled or any number of negative projections. So in this case I thought it was unusual and welcome that they handled it differently.
XIV is a bright game about heroes, but these heroes also live in a dangerous world alongside good and evil folk alike. One of the more subtle themes of the story is that the mortal races are a chaotic force composed of both light and darkness, and it shows in the setting.
Whether using rape is lazy or not is up for debate. I think that XIV could have gotten away without mentioning it ever and no one would've thought anything of it - mind you, this wouldn't have stopped any roleplayers from using the "rape as backstory" trope to their fullest indulgence - however SE chose to imply rape in the setting, so here we are.
The disturbingly blatant implications of Sastasha kind of shocked me, but even though it shocked me it also served well to illustrate that these pirates were a big problem for Limsa Lominsa and as a result it became way more important for me to get rid of them.
I also think XIV handles it in a way that I find acceptable - though I respectfully disagree with the crowd that believes that rape can never be used in a story acceptably I also understand that this is a very hot button issue with a lot of strong emotions surrounding it, so you'll not catch me arguing vehemently with those that feel this way.
The way that XIV uses it that I find acceptable is that SE doesn't use it to make a major female character appear weak or play it for cheap drama. In fact the incident in Little Ala Mhigo I thought was well done in the way that the victim asserted that she's going to be alright despite what happened (at least that's how I recall it, correct me if I'm wrong). It goes without saying that rape is an extremely horrible trauma for anyone to experience, but it was refreshing to see a character approach the aftermath from a position of strength rather than the more common emotional devastation that follows.
That's something you rarely see in media, as it's way way more common for raped characters to become fragile creatures that are forever marked and in need of delicate treatment or for them to become psychotic and fueled by a desire for revenge or random violence. These common portrayals and unfortunately real life reactions I think can be extremely harmful to a victim of rape as not only do they have to process their own feelings, they also have to contend with well-meaning but misguided people telling them that they are weak and/or damaged/marked/soiled or any number of negative projections. So in this case I thought it was unusual and welcome that they handled it differently.
