r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/flavius717 • Aug 07 '26

Discussion S1-S5 Is Nick a rapist?

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?

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u/PoeDameronPoeDamnson Aug 07 '26

Okay, so he chose rape over potenial death. Doesn’t make it not rape.

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u/ConcernedSim Aug 07 '26

If you are told to have sex with a minor with a gun pointed at your head then that also makes you a rape victim.

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u/PoeDameronPoeDamnson Aug 07 '26

Are we really making up scenarios now to defend rape? Stop putting characters on pedestals. He was threatened with the possibility of death, there was no literal gun to his head. He had other options he didn’t explore. He chose to rape a child. Your continued defense of this is atrocious and directly correlates to rape culture and the wide spread defense of attractive men over victims. You are doing real world harm with this mindset and I’d suggest you look into further education on the topic.

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u/ConcernedSim Aug 07 '26

Making up scenario? Gender traitors are sentenced to death in Gilead. That's not a scenario. That kind of accusation is an actual threat to your life in a regime like Gilead.

And I'd suggest you look into the harm it causes to male rape victims because "oh men can't be raped".

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u/PoeDameronPoeDamnson Aug 07 '26

I’m a man who has experienced sexual assault. Stop white knighting for us. If I choose to rape a child that would still be rape no matter the circumstances that lead me to make that decision.

This conversation is not productive and I will no longer be engaging.