Succubi, Magic Roofies, and Consent
Pop culture that veers into the supernatural is awesome. Like any other form of fantasy, it allows you to depict totally made up creatures and secret societies. It’s fun and, if not pure escapism, certainly not the world as it is. There’s magic! And this is where I’m going to be a killjoy – just because it’s fantasy, and the creatures are made up, doesn’t mean we, as either creators or consumers, can ignore the real-world implications of those fantastical situations.
Which bring me to succubi. A succubus is a female demon/magic creature that seduces and has sex with, traditionally, men. The male version is an incubus, but that is far less commonly seen in pop culture from my experience. My main pop culture experience with succubi comes from Lost Girl, a Canadian TV show which ran from 2010-2015. Our heroine is a succubus, and much of the first season involves her struggling with her powers which, incidentally, could accidentally kill people. And while she never never seems to sleep with anyone who would otherwise be unwilling, she does use her power to basically seduce people to get stuff for free.
This is all largely harmless, until we meet an evil succubus, who literally uses her powers to force someone uninterested to have sex with her. That’s called rape. And the show completely ignored/glossed over it. The plot just continued. And while yes, the character was evil, it’s still should have been acknowledged that she could a did use her power for evil.
Succubi are not the only magic creatures that can convince people to sleep with them. Vampires in particular are known for enthralling people to their bidding, although that is, by and large, not explicitly about sex even though vampires have always been associated with the sensuous. In both novels and fan fiction about werewolves, there are stories of werewolves sleeping with others either because they have the “right” due to hierarchical differences, or because the other wolf was “in heat.” All of these create situations where, through magic, consent is dubious at best and straightforward rape at worst.
I understand and completely agree with the fact that depicting something in fiction does not equal condoning such behavior in the real world. Fiction (and fan fiction) is often a space for people to explore different taboos and behaviors without necessarily supporting them in real life. Especially when the fiction in question is magical. Magic in pop culture and the real world are separate, no matter how much I still want that letter from Hogwarts.
That said, we live in a world where it is crucial to understand and respect the consent of others. The United States in particular is currently being forced to not just grapple with the very real dangers and impacts of rape culture, but what consent means on all levels, in the workplace, in dating, and in everyday interactions.
And the fact of the matter is that people, to an extent, learn what is acceptable behavior from pop culture. We internalize it just as we internalize what our parents and schools teach us. I can’t even count the number times I’ve heard black celebrities, and in one case an astronaut, say they were inspired by seeing Uhura on the bridge of the Enterprise. And that’s just one casting choice in one show (admittedly both the casting and the show were ground breaking). Pop culture impacted their lives in a very real way.
Now, the solution isn’t to say “no succubi in pop culture” because it can be kind of rape-y. Shutting things away rarely works or fixes an issue. But I do think that, even if its in passing, it is important to acknowledge issues regarding consent in TV shows, fiction, etc. about not just succubi, but other magical creature that can control people. Because while they may only put a fake, “magical” whammy on people, fundamentally it is no different than Bill Cosby drugging his victims. And the supernatural world of fiction is a perfect place to grapple with this issue precisely because it’s slightly removed from the real world. The more we talk about and acknowledge these sorts of things, the better it will be for people in the real world. Even if its just in relation to magical creatures in TV shows.
