TW: mentions of r*pe and SA
Let’s talk about consent in magical stories.
I’ve recently seen a rise in stories that portray SA as more “lighthearted” rather than what it actually is, simply because the story takes place in a magical setting. I’ve seen even more authors get away with writing these things simply because it seems that them throwing in magic instead of, let’s say, alcohol, takes away the graveness of the issue at hand. I would just like to bring up the fact that it does not, and it’s just as serious as it would be in a more “real life” setting. I’ve also seen people refuse to add trigger warnings to these kinds of things simply because the magical setting leads them to take it less seriously.
A character in a magical setting cannot consent while:
- Under the influence of love spells or magic.
- In any kind of hypnotic state.
- Being compelled by a vampire or any other creature you decide has compulsion powers.
- Being controlled by their “inner wolf”.
- Under mind control.
These kinds of things do not get a pass just because it’s “magic” instead of real life substances. You don’t get the right to just throw them in for plot reasons or to “spice” your story up. It’s still sexual assault regardless of the setting, and still requires a proper trigger warning and needs to be tackled with care. I’m honestly sick of these types of things getting ignored because they involve magic. A person cannot consent while under the influence of drugs/alcohol, so why would it be any different with potions and spells? Would it be taken more seriously if this magic was labelled as something else? Consent under an influence of any kind is not consent, so stop acting like it is.
