Sansa-Ramsay Scene: Your Thoughts?

I certainly can sympathize with people who can't make this distinction and have fictional things act as triggers for real world stuff. It is always strange to me however, that sexual violence is the ONLY thing that seems to create this reaction. I assume many people in a show's audience have had to deal with loved ones dying (possibly violently), physical abuse, painful disease, bullying, being marginalized, being discriminated against etc etc. But there appears to be a general acceptance of these acts as being a part of the fictional world that the characters there may have to endure. I'm not entirely certain why rape is a completely separate category that just cannot be touched upon in a fictional universe, especially if the preponderance of it is consistent with the universe created.

It was tough to see Sansa raped but I personally feel more engaged in her story as a result as I would like to see how she deals with it and what it propels her to do next. I also feel like I'm more engaged with seeing Ramsay get his comeuppance which I think is another purpose of the scene. It is true that we always knew Ramsay was an awful person but did we all so viscerally want to see him punished as we do now? Again, this engages me more. Do I want to see a character raped on a regular basis on the show? No, of course not. It's a terrible thing (as is murder) and the more you see an awful thing, the more it loses its power.

But to say there was NO REASON for the scene, I beg to differ. I didn't want to see Sansa raped but I sure as hell want to see what happens next because she did, and I already was liking the Winterfell story.

I agree that sexual violence gets a disproportionate amount of the outrage aimed at a show that features gory murder, torture, infanticide, and just about every atrocity possible.

No one was up-in-arms about Janos Slynt murdering a baby just off-screen while the camera focused on his screaming mother, but are OUTRAGED when Sansa Stark is raped just off-screen while the camera focuses on a horrified Theon.

I'm at a loss to understand why the former is more 'acceptable' than the latter.

Uh, no.  You are confusing the VERY FEW people who are rape apologists with the majority of people who disliked Sansa being raped but thought the scene was powerful and well done.

To me there is a difference, and that difference is how the audience is likely to respond. No (sane) viewer would think that the murder of a baby was anything less than a vile, despicable act. No sane viewer would watch the violence in the show and not be aware that what they're seeing is horrible. Rape is not afforded the same luxury. I've seen innumerable comments today along the lines of "But... it wasn't actually rape", "I don't consider it rape", "Sansa wasn't raped". Some people just don't take it seriously. Add to that the fact that seeing rape depicted on screen is likely to be a trigger for many victims of rape, but seeing a murder taking place on screen is not going to trigger anything in murder victims because, well..

Uh, no.  You are confusing the VERY FEW people who are rape apologists with the majority of people who disliked Sansa being raped but thought the scene was powerful and well done.

They aren't the same thing, nor do they mean the same thing.  But the internet social justice warriors come out in force every time there is a woman raped in the show, calling for boycotts and decrying the way the show treats women, yet never utter a peep when any other atrocity is committed.  Where were they when babies were murdered?  Or when a man was tortured and mutilated over and over again by a deranged psychopath?  Or the numerous, numerous times that people were killed in horrible ways?

It's fine to be outraged over the rape of a character in the show.  However, it's incredibly hypocritical to not have the same outrage for the other terrible things, as well.

And I say this as a woman.  People get outraged over sexual violence yet don't care about the actual violence.

I hated it.

I suppose the thing about it that I hated most is the fact, that Sansa in the books is in a pretty good place right now. She's learning how to play the game, how to manipulate others and how to survive, basically. She has been through enough torment in the first three books, she has suffered both mentally and physically, but now she has finally regained some control over her life, at least to a certain extent.

In the show, they have turned Sansa into a victim again. A prisoner in her own home. Having Ramsay rape her is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to her and it happens right after she had finally escaped victimhood in King's Landing. Remember the scene last season, where Sansa lied to the Lords of the Vale? It's not what happens in the books, but it's awesome nonetheless, because finally, after all these seasons, Sansa has learned to play the game. Or how about the first appearance of 'Dark Sansa'? I mean, it was cheesy as hell, but at least she wasn't a victim anymore.

But no, why bother with having a more subtle and slow paced storyline, which would actually lead to some character development. It's just Sansa, who cares about her, right? She's not as badass as Arya, so what good is she for anyway? Let's just turn her into another victim. Seriously, what the fuck are the writers thinking?

And of course, the rape happened in Winterfell. They have simultaneously defiled Winterfell and destroyed Sansa's (and the viewer's) romanticised image of the home of House Stark, the place Sansa paid tribute to in Book 3 by building a snow castle. It's just the fort of the Boltons now, nothing more, where Ramsay violently took Sansa's maidenhood. Great work, guys! But hey, Ramsay is kinda funny in a weird way, right? So it's all good, I guess ...

David and Dan, man, they really value the shock factor of any given event more than anything else. And they freaking love their villainous characters. It's enough, guys. Bad things happen in the books as well but, man ... most of the time there is some reason behind it, something that actually progresses the story or leads to character developement. They killed Selmy for the sake of killing a character, Game of Thrones is turning into The Walking Dead, in that regard. Stop freaking torturing the 'good guys', let's have something 'good' happen to House Stark for a change, alright? 

And they have gotten rid of Stoneheart, the one character who could provide us with at least a little bit of satisfaction and retribution. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, because I probably am, but isn't it illegal in the UK to film underage characters having sex, even if the actors are adults?

Just asking because that could be the reason they focused on Theon instead of Sansa, even though the ideal solution would have been not to have that scene at all.

ETA: anyone capable of watching the scene and say it wasn't rape is someone I don't want to know. 

I know what your comment was about and I never suggested you thought it wasn't rape or sympathising with rape apologists or whatever. I just gave my perspective on why people are so much more sensitive to sexual violence which you completely dismissed because, well, I don't actually know why you dismissed it. Perhaps you should read what I said again and maybe you'll understand why I think regular, non-sexual violence and sexual violence should be dealt with and treated differently:

I didn't dismiss it.  I called it hypocritical.  There's a difference.