Shedding Light on Scandal

I love me some Scandal.  It's my weekly guilty pleasure- after work I grab a bottle of wine and head to my girlfriend's house for our weekly dose of "No he didn't!...  no SHE didn't!.... what tha wha?!?!!?"     We ignore our husband's hater-ation, put the kids in bed, and GO IN.

So critiquing the show feels a little bit like talking bad about family.  I just don't wanna do it.   But this just has to be on the table.

I feel like Mellie's rape scene was handled irresponsibly.

I have worked with countless women, in various stages of recovery from various types of sexual assault.  I have witnessed the enormous shock, terror, pain, shame, and vulnerability involved.  I have seen how trauma can live in our bodies- manifesting as numbness, anxiety, shame, and illness- years after the incident. 

Aside from the fact that there was no pre-show warning regarding the sensitive nature of the episode's content, and I am worried that the writers in Shondaland are perpetuating the code of silence that surrounds sexual abuse. Worried that when women watch Season 3 Episode 7, they will see Mellie as an example that says we should "suck it up".  That we should use our exploitation- implicit or explicit- as a leveraging tool.  That our strength is looking our perpetuators in the eye, and saying "Good Morning" over orange juice.  The mistaken belief that our power is our silence.

Instead,  we need to see that Mellie would not be any less the 'fierce-and-fearless-Mellie-we-know-and-love' if she were to bring Hell down on Papa Fitz, either that morning or 20 years later.  And NOT as an agent of political power, but as an agent of her own healing.   Because  whenever a women speaks her truth,  she is wielding tremendous political and spiritual power.

It is my naive hope that Shondaland writers will handle this delicate matter with the sensitivity it deserves. That they will show what really happens when suppressed memories of sexual trauma emerge, as well as the tremendous amount of courage, love and support required to heal such trauma.  And if they don't go there, at the very least they can give us a glimpse at how unhealed trauma rips apart the fabric of families and communities for generations.

It is also my naive hope that Shondaland will not use Mellie's story for ratings and shock value, but to empower real women towards a path of healing.

After studying Media Sociology in grad school, I know better than to hope for such things.  Scandal is just meant to be entertainment, right?  After all, more people are talking about Olivia's mother still being alive than the rape scene. And is anyone still talking about the degrading electric closet scene from last season?  I could go on and on about the dehumanization of female sexuality in the media these days, at a time when Goddess energy is trying her best to re-emerge in the consciousness of a patriarchal world.

We have so far to go.

Yet and still, there is the potential that at each Scandal party,  we can create space for real dialogue about the politics of race, culture and sex in this country. We do not need to depend on the writers to engage us, these are conversations we can and should have amongst ourselves.


  1 in 4 women have been sexually assaulted- it's time we start talking.



If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault:

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1.800.656.HOPE (4673)

Survivors of Incest Anonymous:  www.siawso.org

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network:   www.rainn.org

Black Women's Blueprint:  www.blackwomensblueprint.org


What do you think?  Should Shondaland writers revisit the rape scene in a more responsible way?


*Note:  I love the photo of the line of girls above, but have no idea where I found it.  If anyone recognizes it, please put me on to the photographer so i can properly credit her/him.