StrongFL

We're not going to agree on this, so I respectfully choose not to engage.

Thank you!

Please let me know if you get recommendations for shows with strong female leads. Thank you.

I don't know about the future, but I enjoyed:
---Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact
---The Legend of Shen Li
---No Boundary
---The Witch's Diner

Romanticized Abuse & Stockholm Syndrome

This show almost got it. It was so close! But they ruined it by romanticizing abuse (both romantic and parental).

One of the main characters is kidnapped and held hostage for years by a man who made her "into a play thing," which means he was sexually assaulting her. While in captivity, she swore to kill him. But here comes the Stockholm Syndrome. She goes to hell to break him out of his prison. Once he's free, he immediately tries to harm her. Despite all of this, she tries to sacrifice herself to save his life. In the end, she locks arms with her abuser, signifying their future relationship. What the actual hell?

Also, a father wouldn't help his son get out of a life-threatening situation, but it's shown as justified.

Why do so many C-dramas have these really messed-up dynamics?

Romanticized Abuse & Stockholm Syndrome

Same. I really wish someone had said something about it. I would've skipped it, also.

Thank you! His behavior made me angry, also.

I'm glad there are other romantics who don't think messed-up behavior is cute.

Thank you for saving me from watching this.

I've volunteered or worked in the gender-based violence field since I was a child. I've studied it, provided front-line service to victims, and created policies affecting hundreds of thousands of people. I'm not sure where you're getting your data, but rape victims aren't "abusing" saying no. They are clear about it and the rapists are also clear that they are doing something wrong. Please don't spout victim-blaming views to try to prove your argument. It does the opposite.

No, but these shows have strong FL and healthy couple relationships. They're also just great dramas.

I'm glad we agree that those scenes are problematic.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but what do you mean by "At least they chose him to do it, not an ugly actor." Are you saying that it's OK because he's attractive? As I explain in my post above, the portrayal of the "roughness" of relationships is not scarce in modern, toxic relationships. That doesn't mean I want to watch something where there's a lack of consent among the leads.

Violence is very normal in the present. I'm going to preface this by saying that I have wonderful male relatives and friends in my life. My husband has many of the traditional masculine qualities of being physically strong, athletic, and a provider. He has NEVER forcefully kissed a woman. EVER. Approximately 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, which equates to one person being victimized roughly every 2.5 seconds. Two. Point. Five. Seconds. I am disgusted thinking about the number of women who were victimized in the short time it took us to have this exchange. Do you know the biggest reason a woman dies? It's not cancer or other forms of illnesses. It's not car accidents. It's predatory men. And I say that with the pedagogical understanding that it's a very small percentage of men who hit or sexually assault women. The problem is that they are almost always repeat offenders and victimize multiple women. Hence the high numbers. Shows where the ML--someone we're supposed to like--forces physical intimacy on his "love," send the type of messaging that allows gender-based violence to continue. It's dangerous not only for women, but also the boys and men who are being told that they have to be hyper aggressive to be liked. It's a big reason for the male loneliness epidemic.

I'm sorry I should have prefaced my question/review by saying that I have nothing against the actor. I know actors can get typecast. Thank you for suggesting the other show.

Thank you for responding. I don't have anything against the actor. But I enjoyed the following dramas a lot more because of the consent issue:
Unveil: Jadewind
Legend of Fei
Legend of Shen Li

Thank you for your response. I have nothing against the actor himself. I know actors can get typecast. Since this is a historical drama, in history, could people leap over buildings and large distances because they knew martial arts? Or keep fighting at peak capacity after being stabbed/getting hit by arrows repeatedly? Having a butcher's daughter who is adept at martial arts & able to catch the heart of a nobleman is also historically inaccurate. Most of us watch these shows because they're fiction and not historical documentaries. If the writers/directors can take liberty with one plot point, they have the choice to take liberty with other plot points. I'm sick of purity culture and the harmful belief that a FL needs to be forced into anything sexual because "good women" don't have sexual desires. There are plenty of shows where consent is respected. A person who truly loves their love interest would ask for consent. They wouldn't disrespect the person they supposedly care about by forcing any form of physical intimacy. That's true regardless of the year we're in--whether it's in the past or present.

To begin with, I have nothing against the actor himself. This is the second drama I've watched with Zhang Ling He. Do the directors make him force himself onto women in every role he has? I hated Princess Royal when he tries to sexually assault the FL. I stopped watching Pursuit of Jade after he forcefully kisses the FL. TWICE. Not once. TWICE. If a woman forcefully pushes away a man after he tries to kiss her, a good person wouldn't try to kiss her again. Please let me know if all of his characters are like this and I'll have no choice but to avoid his dramas. TIA.

Thank you for the quick response. It's a cliffhanger without resolutions of major plot points. I will continuing searching. Happy NYE!