I apologize in advance for the creepy nature of this question. I really do. But I need to write a specific character realistically. I’ll keep it short. One of my characters, Janis, has an obsessive personality. She becomes fixated on a male character, David. You know, stalking, collecting pictures, compulsive calling, harassment, the whole crazy-person deal. David is not the least bit interested in her, as he is in love with someone else. In fact, she makes his skin crawl due to her whole creepy, psychotic vibe. And she is very unattractive. Brief summary of what happened: Tired of being rejected by her love, Janis follows David to a party in order to slip a drug into his drink. After doing this successfully, she convinces David (while under the combined influences of drugs and alcohol) to come to her apartment, where she engages in intercourse with him. The next morning, he wakes up beside her in bed, horrified. He has no memory of the night before and is feeling terrible, so he gathers his things and bolts out. From there, I’m not sure of how to deal with this character’s thoughts and feelings. I’ve read books and seen movies detailing how female characters deal with rape and how they react toward their rapists, but have no idea how a male would react to the same situation. So how would he react? Would he be traumatized? Would he just pretend it never happened? And how would his behavior around Janis change? I just need a little help with this male character’s reactions to the event. Thanks in advance!
From what little you have revealed about this David character (the fact that he isn't attracted to Janis and that he is already in another relationship), I should guess that his disgust for Janis will multiply. He will probably have kept the encounter from his girl as well, so there is a factor of guilt involved (especially since he is unaware that Janis had tricked him, he assumes he is at fault). This again depends on David's character. In my point of view, if you want to make him a stereotypical male, I would go with him trying to avoid Janis as much as possible, and as in your words, "pretend that it never happened", while cursing himself inwardly. This is just my point of view; hope you found it helpful.
I agree with InkDreamer. He'd be even more disgusted with Janis and he'd, I think, feel some guilt but also a bit of anger, maybe. He probably wouldn't want to talk about the incindent, and he'd probably want to avoid Janis. He could also be haunted by the vague memories of the rape. This could make him anxious, confused (whether or not he thought he may have enjoyed it and other torturous thoughts which would lead to confusion) or angry. Just a few suggestions. Good luck.
If a stranger can predict how David will think based on a short description, he won't be a very interesting character, will he? PEOPLE all think in the same ways, and yet, their INDIVIDUAL reactions to a given situation will sometimes even surprise themselves. Perhaps Janis reminds him of someone he once knew, someone damaged, and that overcomes his anger at some point. Perhaps David is damaged in his own ways. When you have a character who behaves in an unexpected way given a particular stimulus, you have the makings of a story.
Personally, based on what you said I would think he would be confused, and very distant. As time passes his anger would start becoming violent, especially if he finds out what happened. So her desire to have this guy would eventually get her hurt or killed.
What's your goal for the story? That's what you have to figure out. Maybe he wakes up next to her and thinks this was all his idea, even though he can't remember why. Under that illusion, maybe he begins to see things about her that he likes, and has sudden doubts about the other woman, the one with whom he is in a relationship, and the story develops into a contest between the two women, as well as within himself. Overall theme - search for self. What's your goal? What is the story YOU want to tell? Why do you want to tell it? Why do you think a reader would want to read it? Rhetorical questions, all. But they are the ones you should ask yourself before you get too far into a story. Because they will shape your story and give life to it, and they are questions that only you can answer. Good luck.
If David is like your NAD (normal average dude), even if the chick made his 'skin crawl" and he wakes up next to her in bed, unless he is like really really sensitive he sure as hell wouldn't be traumatized. Unless you want to make more out of the episode than would happen in real life, just go with how YOU would feel in the same position. Me myself personally, I would say "well I have no memory of what happened, but maybe it was just good sex so WTF!"
I have read information from websites discussing male victims of rape. While other men may nudge-nudge wink-wink concerning female perpetrator male victim rape, that is not the kind of attitude I've seen in reports by victims. There has been, in some cases I've read of at least, a deep shame, compounded by the fact that our society will not take that shame seriously. And/or that significant others may not believe the male victim to be blameless. It can create a very complicated situation, and it has happened that victims will bottle it up, and try to pretend that it hasn't happened. I don't believe that everyone who has been raped will continue to be your "Normal Average Dude" afterwards. Particularly when relationships are at stake, and where there are potentially incurable STDs around. Furthermore, if the woman is a true stalker, she could have attempted to engineer a situation where she became pregnant to the other character. For the OP: there is material out there written by real male victims of rape. It may be worthwhile searching for this, and reading it. Personally I don't claim expertise, but I believe that a sensitive treatment of the subject of male rape victims could be a very worthwhile topic for a book.
I'm doing my best to think about how I would act in David's shoes (considering the fact that I don't know too much about David and his personality), however as a male I would be traumatized--- in the sense that I would be angry. Usually males exhibit their emotions differently from females. For example, a female in that situation would be terrified, cry, and feel a bit vulnerable. Although some guys are like this, the majority of them would feel that those emotions would display a sign of weakness. As for David maybe he would (obviously) have some resentment, intimacy issues, and bitterness towards his partner. He may also feel guilty -- even though being raped was not his fault. Hope I helped!
A lot of the feelings would be the same as a female rape victim. There are a few things that are different about male victims, however. Firstly, because men are supposed to be the powerful ones, many male victims feel like they've been emasculated. They're much more likely to blame themselves and to feel that they should've been able to stop it from happening. They may not realize it was rape. (Female victims often don't realize it was rape, either, but this is more likely for men.) Secondly, men tend to be socialized to hide fear and sadness and show anger, while women are socialized to do the opposite. Therefore, a male victim may be less likely to cry or act scared, and if he does feel fear and sadness, he might feel ashamed of being weak. Conversely, he's more likely than a female victim to turn his feelings into anger, and develop problems such as rage outbursts. Thoughts of revenge are also more common for men, though (unlike what movies make out) seeking revenge is uncommon for either gender.
