Photo creds: www.drlauraberman.com
The romanticization of abuse in media has been normalized within Gen-Z culture, especially with the rise in the use of social media accessibility.
Recent television shows such as Euphoria, Blueface and Chrisean: Crazy in Love, or fictional characters Harley Quinn and the Joker each depicts scenes of physical abuse which are being presented to the teen viewers.
Jared Ocean, a criminal justice major, believes that romanticizing abuse is something that should be addressed.
“It really bothers me how media can romanticize abuse, and it’s emotionally distressing. It’s crucial that we address this issue and spread awareness to prevent such harmful portrayals from influencing our perception of relationships,” Ocean said.
The problem with toxic relationships displayed through the media is that unhealthy relationships are passed on as healthy ones. In television shows, movies and books, the media often masks the toxicity of certain relationships between characters with the idea of passionate and intense romance.
They cast conventionally attractive characters with ‘hot, sexy and exciting’ relationship dynamics, creating a sense of desire for the same thing in our lives.
This is prevalent on social media apps such as Instagram, where stan accounts will create edited videos of TV show couples with captions fawning over their relationship. More often than not the relationship in question is usually screaming with red flags left and right.
According to Domestic Violence Services, “Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. 1 in 3 girls in the US is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.”
Charlea Bing, an African-American studies major, believes certain social media accounts play a part in how relationships are being interpreted.
“The Shade Room is the main focal point within our community that economically benefits from being in people’s business. Couples like Blueface and Chrisean are constant talking points and examples of ‘toxic’ love,” Bing said.
“People buy into them as individuals and increase their wealth by supporting their monetary efforts off the idea of liking them destroying each other.”
Bing went on to share how this false perception of how a relationship should occur.
“They’re now being used as get rich quick schemes and emotional exploitation and we as consumers are eating it up.”
Azariah Richardson, also known by his stage name LucidLuunar, says romanticized abuse is profitable in the eyes of media outlets.
“I think abuse is romanticized because people want to see themselves in the world they observe,” Richardson said. “Media platforms have recognized that, along with recognizing that joy isn’t as profitable as it once was.”
Richardson left us with a crticial question to be answered.
“Who’s easier to market to than the abused?”