History Main / RapeAndSwitch

When it is stated or implied that a character is gay because of sexual assault. The rapist is [[AlwaysMale usually male]], and the rape itself is usually penetrative.

It is Administrivia/NotASubversion when a rape survivor does not become gay, nor is it automatically played straight if a gay person ''is'' a rape survivor. Abuse survivors are as likely to be any sexual orientation as anyone else, and there is no one "thing" that makes people gay. For this reason, this trope is passing into DiscreditedTrope territory.

* Maybe Celie from ''Film/TheColorPurple''. She says she is rather afraid of men when contemplating her attraction to women.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Electro attributes his wanting to experiment with his sexuality [[PrisonRape with the time he spent in prison]].

* ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'' have this trope [[IncrediblyLamePun up the ass]]. To the point that the change in sexual preference is explained by possession by a "demon of defilement" because of rape that occurred during their childhood. It's not just men turning gay, but it usually is.

* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' series. [=McCaffrey=] herself once said in [[http://web.archive.org/web/20140215152959/http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/187049.html an interview]] that being anally penetrated will cause a man to become gay and mentioned that she once a knew a guy who became gay after being raped with a tent-peg. The tent-peg story has undergone much MemeticMutation, especially in {{fanfic}} criticism circles where a tent-peg will often be blamed if a character in a fic inexplicably switches orientation. Make comparisons to trying to fit [[IncrediblyLamePun round pegs into square holes]] at your own discretion.

* ''Series/Accused2023'': {{Discussed}} as it turns out Jamie was sexually abused as a child, which Robyn suspects made him think it caused his attraction to men. He points out this isn't true; Jamie would have felt this way regardless.

* Averted with Herr Starr, the main villain of the Creator/GarthEnnis series ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'': he stays straight but can't orgasm with a woman unless she penetrates him anally with... something. Of course by the time he gets to the fish-ramming stage (... don't ask, please), he has no genitalia -- but presumably does still have a prostate. Also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] while he was beating his assistant, who hired the man who raped him (again, don't ask), for "Turning him into a homosexual", his other assistant chimes in with "I don't think it works that way..."

* {{Averted}} in ''Literature/{{Touch 2017}}.'' One of the young protagonists, James, was raped shortly before the story begins, and eventually begins to wonder if he's gay (particularly when his [[TheEmpath empath]] friend [[MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat tells him that he is]]). However, he was apparently showing signs ''before'' the rape, and the focus of this character arc is instead on how his experience makes coming to terms with this more difficult.

* Averted in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8692927/1/Lumenaria Lumenaria]]''. From the show canon, [[Series/{{Dexter}} Lumen]] was gang raped by Jordan Chase's group. In the present, she admits she slept with another woman once, as she no longer feels safe with men, but she didn't enjoy it.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheSwordOfTruth'' where Richard assumes one of the Mord-Sith became a lesbian after the "rape" section of her TrainingFromHell, only to be informed that no, she was before this ordeal. One of the vanishingly rare instances of [[MartyStu Richard]] actually being wrong about something (note it happened in the first third of the series), as well as him wanting to keep her as a friend even though he wasn't sure about the morality of it. Of course, if Creator/TerryGoodkind believed this trope there wouldn't be [[AuthorAppeal any straight women left in his novels]].

* ''Manga/SakuraGari'': Definitely [[spoiler: Masataka]] is going this way, but he manages to ''just'' scrape through on a subversion in that [[spoiler: Masataka ''was'' turned on when Souma hit on him in the library back in the very first chapter, indicating at least some kind of attraction before that point]], but it still swerves close enough to this trope played straight to be a little [[UnfortunateImplications uncomfortable]]. The fact that their relationship before this point was rather more pure and platonic with serious HoYay subtext could also be seen as another way this trope was subverted. It's still not a nice outcome for the poor boy, though.
** [[spoiler: ''Souma'']] on the other hand, has this trope played rather more straight, where he was raped and used for sex by so many people that he eventually came to just not distinguish between genders and would sleep with men or women.
* This seems to be the case with Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns''. A the beginning of the series, he has a girlfriend and has no interest in other men that he shows, but the longer Greg sexually and physically abuses him, the more interested in men (or more specifically, Ian), he becomes, although he does have feelings for Nadia for a short period. Eventually Jeremy becomes[[spoiler: a {{Hooker with a Heart of Gold}}]] because of his blatant post-traumatic stress disorder and consequential drug addiction, which probably doesn't help him out either. If anything, Jeremy is probably bisexual.

* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'': [[spoiler: Touga]] is revealed to have been raped by his stepfather as a child in the movie which makes all his relationships with both men and women fall into nightmare territory. He [[TheCasanova goes through woman like tissue paper]], [[spoiler: sleeps with Miki in a scene hinting at dubious consent in the novels]], has a close relationship with his adoptive sister Nanami, has a thing for Utena (and approaches her in the novels after his 'scene' with Miki which makes Miki worry for her), and is implied to have slept with Akio and had a three way with Saionji (who he manipulates very cruelly) and Akio. The relationship between Nanami and Touga especially falls into NoYay, thanks to her sheer obsession with him and the way he emotionally manipulates her. It all reaches a head in episode 32, in which Touga suddenly tries to rape Nanami in Akio's car (which she fights off in horror) and gets angry because if sex isn't what she wanted, then what does she want? Actually, the sheer level of bullshit he pulls on her in that episode is nightmarish in itself. That Touga's idea of family love and even romance has been so completely warped by the rape makes the entire mess chilling, to say the least.

* In ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', [[spoiler: after being seduced by [[DepravedBisexual Dr. Frank-N-Furter]], Brad Majors becomes gay and interested in crossdressing. Some of the unmade sequels would have said that the events of the first film turned Brad gay. ''Rocky Horror Shows His Heels'' has Brad leaving Janet and shacking up with Dr. Scott and ''Script/RevengeOfTheOldQueen'' said that he left Janet to become a bottomless go-go dancer in Las Vegas]].

* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/RoseMadder,'' one character is believed to have been made gay by two of his father's friends taking turns performing oral sex on him when he was a young child. It's unclear if he actually is though-Norman is just convinced of it.

An exception is fanfiction. Many fanfics ''love'' this trope, using it to an absurd degree, often with {{Squick}}-y and disturbing results. Hentai and other pornographic stories involving some form of rape of a target whose sexuality is [[IncompatibleOrientation not in preference of the rapist's gender]] are often guilty of this as well. Related to CureYourGays (if the character embarks on pleasant heterosexual sex and consequently has a change of orientation). May overlap with PromiscuityAfterRape.

* There's a CreepyPasta where the main character becomes gay after his girlfriend turned out to be some kind of {{succubus}}.

* Subverted in the ''Lyrical Nanoha'' fic, ''Behind The Smile''. Hayate was sexually abused in her childhood, and becomes quite uncomfortable around men, decidingto act as though she's attracted to her female friends to get the boys at school to leave her alone. She does, however, eventually fall for Yuuno.

* [[CreepyChild Alois Trancy]] in the second season of ''Manga/BlackButler''. In the beginning of the first episode, Alois is shown with many bruises all over his body and marks around his ankles, and he is shown laying in bed naked next to an old man who likewise unclothed. This is confirmed in episode 8 where we see Lord Trancy made him his favorite SexSlave. Following that we see him do things like alternate between being AxCrazy and [[StepfordSmiler cute and innocent at the drop of a hat,]] treat his female maid like complete crap, act in a flamboyant manner, wear black stockings with high-heeled boots and short-shorts, act [[HoYay very attached]] to his butler Claude and pretty much flirts with Sebastian when he first meets him by leaning into him, smelling him and proclaiming that Sebastian "smells good". In the fifth episode he cross-dresses as a maid, pretty much tries to seduce Ciel and outright tells Ciel that he "wants" him. He also confesses his love for Claude and is a {{Yandere}} for him. This is only a partial example, since we don't know for certain that the rape ''caused'' his status as a DepravedHomosexual, but it's heavily implied that it lead to him becoming [[MindRape tremendously twisted,]] perhaps affecting his conceptions of sex worst of all. He also, before meeting Lord Trancy, was implied to have sold his body to people for money once his remaining family member died and he was left alone hence why he was so knowledgeable about how to entice Lord Trancy to him.

* ''Series/{{OZ}}'':
** Beecher becomes bisexual after being raped in prison.
** Franklin Winthrop, a straight man, is about to willingly go down on Keller [[spoiler:right before Keller kills him in revenge of Beecher's father.]]
** Oddly enough, both of these men were the prags of Vern Schillinger.

* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': [[spoiler:Woody Goodman]] is a pedophile CreepyGymCoach who preyed on young boys. His now-teenage victims are portrayed as gay (Peter) and questioning, with the strong implication of being gay (Marcos). Lucky's sexualtiy is not as important. Veronica also more or less calls the last victim, [[spoiler:Cassidy]], gay to his face. [[spoiler:Given that he raped Veronica and was unable to consummate his relationship with Mac, it's left ambiguous whether he's secretly gay/bisexual, straight, and/or disgusted by sex.

* In the Creator/PaulVerhoeven film, ''Spetters'', a character preys on gay men, leading them on before beating them up and robbing them. The tables are turned when he is gang raped, accepts himself as gay and begins a relationship with one of his rapists. Steven Spielberg recommended Verhoeven for ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Then he saw this. The rest is history.

* Legato Bluesummers from the ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' manga is shown to have been raped (possibly numerous times) by the town mayor, or someone like a mayor. After he gets rescued by Knives he is later seen being only attracted to and in love with men (namely Knives and possibly [[FoeYay Vash]]).[[note]]Though [[TwinThreesomeFantasy that could be considered]] SingleTargetSexuality.[[/note]]

Referenced in ''Film/ChasingAmy'', where Holden's friend Banky brags that "lesbians need a good dicking". Holden doesn't find it funny.

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/{{Eminem}}'s "Underground", uses this as part of a DarkerAndEdgier BoastfulRap as his [[ShiftingVoiceOfMadness accent-hopping]] SerialKiller [[EraSpecificPersonality incarnation]] of Slim Shady:
-->Fuckin' lesbian shouldn't have had her legs in the way
-->Now she's pregnant and gay, missin' both legs and beggin' to stay
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