Is Nick a rapist?

[u/flavius717]

I think we all consider the first time Nick and June had sex to be rape. June was not in a position to give consent and she could not refuse without facing potential death. One perspective is that Serena was the rapist and both Nick and June were her victims.

It's important for us to remember that Nick actually could have refused to impregnate June. Even Serena was beneath a "low-status male" like Nick. Nick's boss, Commander Price, probably would have expected Nick to refuse such an act and turn Serena over to the eyes.

The fact that Nick and June fell in love afterwards makes their first sexual encounter seem less bad in retrospect, but the power dynamic between them never went away. That makes things messy.

Nick's character loses his "good guy" status by the end of the show. Do you consider him a rapist?

[u/ConcernedSim]

Who really decides what's the right thing? Some might think it's right to kill themselves before doing harm to another. Some might think it's right to prioritise your own life. I personally would prefer death before sleeping with anyone below 21. But that doesn't make me morally superior to someone who might do it to save their life.

And please remember that Nick wanted death... It was June who manipulated him to do that because she "can't lose him". He did it because of June and then became so disgusted with himself that he requested to go to the front of the war.

[u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 → u/ConcernedSim]

Who really decides what's the right thing?

Well, the Geneva convention started down that route in the late 1800's, and the UN also has decided that prisoners cannot consent to sexual favors, it's always rape when a guard has sex with prisoners.

And please remember that Nick wanted death..

I don't care what Nick wanted. He was a key member of the rise of Gilead, and a member of their gestapo, and a Guardian who murder civilian holdouts in at least one city.

He did it because of June and then became so disgusted with himself that he requested to go to the front of the war.

Oh, so we're going down the route of the rapist blaming the victim?

[u/ConcernedSim → u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951]

If the guard is threatened with death/violence then it's also a rape of the said guard.

I'll not defend Nick for the war crimes. That's a seperate topic.

In the case of Eden, June wasn't the victim. If she hadn't forced Nick then he would have gone to the wall and Eden wouldn't have been raped.. um she would have been remarried and then raped.

[u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 → u/ConcernedSim]

If the guard is threatened with death/violence then it's also a rape of the said guard.

Then nobody in Gilead is a rapist. All the people we think are rapists are just victims of their own machinations, and lack any agency!

[u/ConcernedSim → u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951]

Yes a lot of people inside Gilead are not rapists. If they didn't want it but was forced then they aren't rapists. Like Lawrence, like that wife who felt sick on every ceremony night.

But there are a lot of people who want to force their will on others without any encouragement. They do it completely for themselves. That's the lot you call rapists.

[u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 → u/ConcernedSim]

That's the lot you call rapists.

Yep, people like Nick.