Rape Jokes
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Author: Louise MacGregor
Price: $14.95 (pbk); $6.99 (e-book) ISBNs: 9781642510102 (pbk.); 9781642510119 (ebook) Physical description: 5.5x8.5; 207 p. Publication date: March 19, 2019 Now available for purchase
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About the book: No, rape isn't funny – but having a sense of humor does help in dealing with the aftermath. When Edie, a record label talent scout, is raped by her date, she has no idea what her post-rape future will look like. Navigating sex, pleasure, work, friends, and her forever-changed mental state in the aftermath of her assault is hard enough. But when the perfect guy turns up at the worst possible time, Edie has to figure out what romance and sex mean to her after her assault. This offbeat feminist romantic comedy moves beyond “girl meets guy,” dealing with sexual dysfunction, the ubiquity of rape culture, and what recovery looks like in a world filled with reminders of your assault
About the author: Louise MacGregor is an internationally-published writer of fiction, pop culture criticism, and feminist social commentary. A graduate of journalism and history from the University of Stirling, Louise brings her passion for women-centric stories to both her fiction and non-fiction. As well as running the long-standing pop cultural blog The Cutprice Guignol and film criticism outlet No But Listen, Louise has written boundary-pushing, genre-defying works such as Ruthless and Trouble Clef under her pen name, Kara Lowndes. She resides in Glasgow, Scotland, with her partner and her cat.
About the author: Louise MacGregor is an internationally-published writer of fiction, pop culture criticism, and feminist social commentary. A graduate of journalism and history from the University of Stirling, Louise brings her passion for women-centric stories to both her fiction and non-fiction. As well as running the long-standing pop cultural blog The Cutprice Guignol and film criticism outlet No But Listen, Louise has written boundary-pushing, genre-defying works such as Ruthless and Trouble Clef under her pen name, Kara Lowndes. She resides in Glasgow, Scotland, with her partner and her cat.
Q&A
Q&A with Louise MacGregor, author of Rape Jokes
Q: What’s that title about?
A: This is for sure the question I’ve fielded most since I announced Rape Jokes, and I totally get why. As far as most of the world is concerned, rape is something you shouldn’t be cracking wise about, and rape jokes as a whole have been on the forefront of some of the most prominent debates about sexual assault and the media in the last few years. But Rape Jokes (the book) isn’t an attempt to make light of sexual assault or the people who’ve dealt with it. Initially, Rape Jokes was just a working title, but as I went on with the story it became clear that there isn’t a more succinct name for a romantic comedy about rape, and I stuck with it. I know for some people it’s off-putting, but it wasn’t my attempt to turn rape into a laughing matter.
Honestly, the idea for this book came when I turned to my partner late one evening, barely looking up from my tea, and cracked a “Ha, wouldn’t it be funny if there was a romantic comedy called Rape Jokes?” And now, here we are. What I’m saying is every idea you’ve had at ten past one in the morning is the best decision you’ll ever make.
Q: Are there any parts of the book you’re especially proud of and if so why?
A: Honestly, I’m proud of the entire thing and could talk about how very proud I am of it for days. If I had to narrow it down (and bear in mind that I am a British person so “taking pride in my achievements” is a new one on me), I’m really pleased with the fact that this is a book I really would have wanted to read even if I hadn’t written it. It covers some issues that I haven’t seen covered in other books (not that they’re not out there, just that I haven’t come across them yet), and I hope that it makes some people dealing with similar stuff feel understood.
Q: To what extent did recent events influence the book?
A: I started writing Rape Jokes before the Weinstein scandal and everything that came with it broke, but it had a huge impact on the direction the book took. I remember reading that Asia Argento interview and just bursting into tears, pulling up the manuscript, and writing a thousand words to exorcise how awful all of it was. Rape Jokes is a book I wrote a lot of while really, really angry, and the still- unfolding sexual abuse scandal was a fire under my butt for a lot of that.
Q: Is any of it based on your own experiences and how you dealt with them?
A: I’ve written about my dealings with vaginismus on this blog in the past and there’s no doubt that handling that and the frustration and self-esteem body-blows that came with it made up a big part of the groundwork for my writing in Rape Jokes about the same thing. I’m also a giant rah- rah-my-female-friends-are-all-my-soulmates type, and I think that really heavily influenced how important the support network is in Rape Jokes. And yeah, there are some other significant things in my life that have influenced the writing of this book and my choice to pen it in the first place, but that’s not something I’m super comfortable going into at this time, though I probably will at some point before the book comes out if it’s something people think would inform their reading of the book.
Q: How would you define the perfect reader for Rape Jokes?
A: It doesn’t sound great if I just come out and say “I’m targeting victims of rape,” but that’s sort of the case here. Basically, the person who I think would get the most out of Rape Jokes is someone who has probably dealt with some of the issues it covers (such as sexual dysfunction, rape, assault, harassment, etc.) but finds the depictions of these things in the media they consume lacking. I wanted to write Rape Jokes because I found myself despairing at the way rape was depicted in most of the pop culture I immersed myself in, and I imagine that the people who’ll get the most out of this feel the same way.
Q&A with Alison Lewis, Frayed Edge Press publisher
Q: What made you want to publish a book with a provocative title like Rape Jokes?
A: Well, to be honest, it wasn’t an entirely easy decision. My knee-jerk reaction when we first got the query from Louise was kind of a hard “no.” I could imagine a book with this title getting a lot of criticism, warranted or not, from a wide range of people. But I ran it past a couple of our readers and one of them said, “What’s not to like?” I had to go back and look again at the sample chapter and I could see that it was well written and was dealing with a difficult topic in a sensitive way. I also had to remind myself that Frayed Edge Press is actively trying to publish things that are a bit outside of the mainstream and that may be dealing with harder issues. Suddenly, it seemed like a really good fit!
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the book?
A: There are a lot of things that I like about the book, so it’s hard to choose just one! I like that, despite the fact that dealing with the aftermath of date rape is one of the major themes of the book, it’s not at all a dark book that’s a downer to read. It’s actually kind of a light and fun read—and to put both of those things together is really hard to pull off! I also really like the book’s main character, Edie. Unlike most of the main characters I see in a lot of so-called “women’s fiction,” she’s not this perfect, ideal woman. She has her own flaws and her own struggles, and she doesn’t always get it right the first time. Because of that, she seems very real to me, and very relatable. I also have to admit that I like the way that the sex scenes were handled in this book. Writing about sex isn’t easy, and not everyone is good at it! Louise has a background in writing erotica, so I think that experience helped her in integrating sex realistically into a more mainstream novel. I like to say that she gets bonus points for having the consensual sex in the book clearly be “safe sex”—and the way that it’s written, it doesn’t come off as awkward at all. It just seems to be a natural, expected part of the experience.
Q: How would you define the perfect reader for Rape Jokes?
A: I’d agree with Louise that people who have experienced date rape or other forms of sexual assault would benefit from reading this book. I think it could help many of them feel less alone, to know that they aren’t the only ones who’ve had these thoughts and feelings and experiences. I also think that people, especially women, who haven’t had this experience would benefit from reading the book as well. Despite her flaws, the main character Edie is a great role model! She ends up handling her situation in a very positive way, and she stands up to some of the men in her life in a way that’s very empowering. I think that a lot of women would benefit from seeing that kind of interaction modelled. I also think that men who are interested in relationships with women would benefit from reading this book. Aside from the date rape perpetrator, there are a couple of other examples of “men behaving badly” in this book that male readers could learn from in a “what not to do” kind of way. And the love interest Philip of course stands as a more positive model of behaviors that many women find attractive in a relationship.
Age-wise, I see this novel as fitting in most closely with the “New Adult” genre. The characters are all in the “post-university, starting to get serious about my career” stage of life. Most are single, so their social lives are very important, with a lot of going to clubs and parties and learning to navigate their way around various relationships, whether that be with friends, co-workers, or dating/love interests. People at this same stage of their lives will find a lot to relate to here! At the same time, the audience is wider than that. I think that some more emotionally mature “young adult” readers would also get a lot out of this novel, and of course many people older than the target audience are still dealing with relationship issues and finding their way in the world. Hopefully, a wide range of readers will find something they can relate to, and something to like, about this novel!
Q&A with Louise MacGregor, author of Rape Jokes
Q: What’s that title about?
A: This is for sure the question I’ve fielded most since I announced Rape Jokes, and I totally get why. As far as most of the world is concerned, rape is something you shouldn’t be cracking wise about, and rape jokes as a whole have been on the forefront of some of the most prominent debates about sexual assault and the media in the last few years. But Rape Jokes (the book) isn’t an attempt to make light of sexual assault or the people who’ve dealt with it. Initially, Rape Jokes was just a working title, but as I went on with the story it became clear that there isn’t a more succinct name for a romantic comedy about rape, and I stuck with it. I know for some people it’s off-putting, but it wasn’t my attempt to turn rape into a laughing matter.
Honestly, the idea for this book came when I turned to my partner late one evening, barely looking up from my tea, and cracked a “Ha, wouldn’t it be funny if there was a romantic comedy called Rape Jokes?” And now, here we are. What I’m saying is every idea you’ve had at ten past one in the morning is the best decision you’ll ever make.
Q: Are there any parts of the book you’re especially proud of and if so why?
A: Honestly, I’m proud of the entire thing and could talk about how very proud I am of it for days. If I had to narrow it down (and bear in mind that I am a British person so “taking pride in my achievements” is a new one on me), I’m really pleased with the fact that this is a book I really would have wanted to read even if I hadn’t written it. It covers some issues that I haven’t seen covered in other books (not that they’re not out there, just that I haven’t come across them yet), and I hope that it makes some people dealing with similar stuff feel understood.
Q: To what extent did recent events influence the book?
A: I started writing Rape Jokes before the Weinstein scandal and everything that came with it broke, but it had a huge impact on the direction the book took. I remember reading that Asia Argento interview and just bursting into tears, pulling up the manuscript, and writing a thousand words to exorcise how awful all of it was. Rape Jokes is a book I wrote a lot of while really, really angry, and the still- unfolding sexual abuse scandal was a fire under my butt for a lot of that.
Q: Is any of it based on your own experiences and how you dealt with them?
A: I’ve written about my dealings with vaginismus on this blog in the past and there’s no doubt that handling that and the frustration and self-esteem body-blows that came with it made up a big part of the groundwork for my writing in Rape Jokes about the same thing. I’m also a giant rah- rah-my-female-friends-are-all-my-soulmates type, and I think that really heavily influenced how important the support network is in Rape Jokes. And yeah, there are some other significant things in my life that have influenced the writing of this book and my choice to pen it in the first place, but that’s not something I’m super comfortable going into at this time, though I probably will at some point before the book comes out if it’s something people think would inform their reading of the book.
Q: How would you define the perfect reader for Rape Jokes?
A: It doesn’t sound great if I just come out and say “I’m targeting victims of rape,” but that’s sort of the case here. Basically, the person who I think would get the most out of Rape Jokes is someone who has probably dealt with some of the issues it covers (such as sexual dysfunction, rape, assault, harassment, etc.) but finds the depictions of these things in the media they consume lacking. I wanted to write Rape Jokes because I found myself despairing at the way rape was depicted in most of the pop culture I immersed myself in, and I imagine that the people who’ll get the most out of this feel the same way.
Q&A with Alison Lewis, Frayed Edge Press publisher
Q: What made you want to publish a book with a provocative title like Rape Jokes?
A: Well, to be honest, it wasn’t an entirely easy decision. My knee-jerk reaction when we first got the query from Louise was kind of a hard “no.” I could imagine a book with this title getting a lot of criticism, warranted or not, from a wide range of people. But I ran it past a couple of our readers and one of them said, “What’s not to like?” I had to go back and look again at the sample chapter and I could see that it was well written and was dealing with a difficult topic in a sensitive way. I also had to remind myself that Frayed Edge Press is actively trying to publish things that are a bit outside of the mainstream and that may be dealing with harder issues. Suddenly, it seemed like a really good fit!
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the book?
A: There are a lot of things that I like about the book, so it’s hard to choose just one! I like that, despite the fact that dealing with the aftermath of date rape is one of the major themes of the book, it’s not at all a dark book that’s a downer to read. It’s actually kind of a light and fun read—and to put both of those things together is really hard to pull off! I also really like the book’s main character, Edie. Unlike most of the main characters I see in a lot of so-called “women’s fiction,” she’s not this perfect, ideal woman. She has her own flaws and her own struggles, and she doesn’t always get it right the first time. Because of that, she seems very real to me, and very relatable. I also have to admit that I like the way that the sex scenes were handled in this book. Writing about sex isn’t easy, and not everyone is good at it! Louise has a background in writing erotica, so I think that experience helped her in integrating sex realistically into a more mainstream novel. I like to say that she gets bonus points for having the consensual sex in the book clearly be “safe sex”—and the way that it’s written, it doesn’t come off as awkward at all. It just seems to be a natural, expected part of the experience.
Q: How would you define the perfect reader for Rape Jokes?
A: I’d agree with Louise that people who have experienced date rape or other forms of sexual assault would benefit from reading this book. I think it could help many of them feel less alone, to know that they aren’t the only ones who’ve had these thoughts and feelings and experiences. I also think that people, especially women, who haven’t had this experience would benefit from reading the book as well. Despite her flaws, the main character Edie is a great role model! She ends up handling her situation in a very positive way, and she stands up to some of the men in her life in a way that’s very empowering. I think that a lot of women would benefit from seeing that kind of interaction modelled. I also think that men who are interested in relationships with women would benefit from reading this book. Aside from the date rape perpetrator, there are a couple of other examples of “men behaving badly” in this book that male readers could learn from in a “what not to do” kind of way. And the love interest Philip of course stands as a more positive model of behaviors that many women find attractive in a relationship.
Age-wise, I see this novel as fitting in most closely with the “New Adult” genre. The characters are all in the “post-university, starting to get serious about my career” stage of life. Most are single, so their social lives are very important, with a lot of going to clubs and parties and learning to navigate their way around various relationships, whether that be with friends, co-workers, or dating/love interests. People at this same stage of their lives will find a lot to relate to here! At the same time, the audience is wider than that. I think that some more emotionally mature “young adult” readers would also get a lot out of this novel, and of course many people older than the target audience are still dealing with relationship issues and finding their way in the world. Hopefully, a wide range of readers will find something they can relate to, and something to like, about this novel!