History Main / RapeAndSwitch

* Mutsuki of ’’Manga/TokyoGhoul’’ is revealed to be a trans male with psychotic feelings for Sasaki/Kaneki. We learn the reason he became psychotic was due to loneliness and jealousy and a messed up past involving a alcoholic father who sexually, physically, and verbally abused him. He became afraid of men due to his father which is implied to be the reason why he transitioned from a female to a male who had feelings for another kinder male, as a means to protect himself from being victimized again. He tried to kill Touka for being the one Kaneki loved but ultimately ends up being redeemed. The scene where he holds a cut off and disfigured hand (albeit fake) with a wedding ring on it which he says is from Touka’s beloved friend in a bid to get at Touka is particularly memorable.

An exception is fanfiction. Many fanfics ''love'' this trope, using it [[SturgeonsLaw to an absurd degree]]. 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.

It is Administrivia/NotASubversion when a rape survivor does not become gay, nor is it automatically played straight if a gay person reveals that they were sexually assaulted in the past. 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.

* ’’Anime/FushigiYuugi’’: Nakago was molested at a young age possibly leading to his status as a DepravedBisexual later on who preyed on both Tamahome and Miaka to a lesser extent to assert his dominance and power over them.

* A variation is referenced but not actually accurate in ''Fanfic/{{Hivefled}}'', where the victim wonders if his abuse caused his [[{{Transgender}} genderfluid]] status. It didn't, but he hadn't really thought about it until that point.

* A variation is referenced but not actually accurate in ''FanFic/{{Hivefled}}'', where the victim wonders if his abuse caused his [[{{Transgender}} genderfluid]] status. It didn't, but he hadn't really thought about it until that point.

* Implied with Yuri from Anime/MawaruPenguindrum who as revealed in episode 15 has a bad past involving her father carving her body with a chisel to make her "worthy of being loved". It's made even worse by the fact that this can be interpreted as a metaphor for physical and sexual abuse, with the pounding and nudity imagery. Later on, she falls heavily in love with Momoka and becomes a lesbian, going as far as to try to rape Ringo (Momoka’s sister) because she looks so much like Momoka (and Momoka has long been deceased.)

* 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.

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has Corporal Betsy, who was raped by Cook-Cook before trying to eat her. She and her squadmate survived, but she entered denial of the events and started aggressively hit on any women she encountered. One of the quests in the game involve helping her to seek help to deal with her trauma.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'', Benny was gay before meeting AM. Unlike most examples of the trope, though, AM's violation of Benny's body and mind is done directly and intentionally, as AM is capable of changing the brains and bodies of his victims as easily as editing them in Photoshop. Making Benny heterosexual came along with changing him from a handsome, austere man into a brutish "ape-thing" with exaggerated [[GagPenis sexual]] [[BiggerisBetterinBed organs]], ostensibly forcing him to become the absolute worst expression of what heterosexualty is supposed to represent.

* {{Averted}} in ''Literature/{{Touch}}.'' 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.

* 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 [[SuddenlySexuality 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.

According to this trope, both male and female victims exhibit the same response to rape, which is to become attracted to the same sex. [[DoubleStandard Men become attracted to men, and women become repulsed by men]]. This trope is based on the premise that heterosexuality is the "default" state, and that people are only gay as psychological response to sexual trauma: addiction for men and revulsion for women. The further implication is that being gay is inherently unhealthy and interferes with a "normal" sex life.

* ''Theatre/TheVaginaMonologues'' has a rather controversial piece where a character is raped by men multiple times as a child... but becomes a lesbian because she is "healed" when seduced (while underage, making it statutory rape) by another woman. This piece is censored to remove lines like her declaring the experience to be "[[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization good rape]]" and raising her age from 13 to 16, mostly because in the view of the monologues, this experience is a ''[[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop good thing]]''. Some performances cut this monologue entirely because for many people, it makes the rest of the play almost unwatchable.

* ''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 [[BiTheWay 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.

* 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 BiTheWay.

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

* Striker in ''ComicBook/AvengersAcademy'', a former child actor who was molested by his manager as a young boy, wonders if this is why he's gay. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when his classmate [[ComicBook/PowerPack Julie Power]] shoots down this notion, and tells a crying Striker that his abuser does not hold that sort of power over him.

* Rocky from ''Webcomic/TooMuchInformation'' at least had the false memory of her father raping her put into her head by suggestion, and likely was raped by one or more of his friends. As a result, as becomes clear when she sleepwalks into a male roommate's bed, her bisexuality is repressed by a complex over the idea of sex with men, until she ultimately starts a relationship with a male-identified full-time transvestite (who, interestingly, [[IfItsYouItsOkay had previously identified as gay]], with no such "excuse") who lets her, uniquely, refer to him with female pronouns.

* In ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'', Benny was gay before meeting AM. Unlike most examples of the trope, though, AM's violation of Benny's body and mind is done directly and intentionally, as AM is capable of changing the brains and bodies of his victims as easily as editing them in Photoshop. Making Benny heterosexual came along with changing him from a handsome, austere man into a brutish "ape-thing" with exaggerated [[MurderArsonandJaywalking sexual]] [[BiggerisBetterinBed organs]], ostensibly forcing him to become the absolute worst expression of what heterosexualty is supposed to represent.

* Implied with Yuri from Anime/MawaruPenguindrum who as revealed in episode 15 has a bad past involving her father carving her body with a chisel to make her "worthy of being loved". It's made even worse by the fact that this can be interpreted as a metaphor for physical and sexual abuse, with the pounding and nudity imagery. Later on, she falls heavily in love with Momoka and becomes a lesbian, going as far as to try to rape Ringo (Momoka’s sister) because she looks so much like Momoka (and Momoka has long been diseased.)

* It was implied that this might be the case for Striker in ''ComicBook/AvengersAcademy'', who was molested by his manager as a young boy. However, his classmate [[ComicBook/PowerPack Julie Power]] shoots down this notion, and tells a crying Striker that his abuser does not hold that sort of power over him.

* Griffith from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has extensive HomoeroticSubtext with main character Guts which he himself generated and also participated in sex for money with an old man to fund his expanding army and was clearly traumatized by the experience. He also was violated from torture by a disfigured guard which is implied to include rape given how depraved the man sounded when he talked about how he destroyed Griffith’s beauty. Since the crime which led to the torture was him sleeping with the Kings daughter it’s likely he was castrated as well. All this destroyed his sanity and among other events led to him to rape the lover of his friend Guts (the one he believed caused his torment) in front of him in order to spite him. While Casca is raped and Guts is made to watch its almost like Guts is being psychologically raped in a experience which mirrors how he was held down and sexually assaulted by a man his father figure (whom he trusted) sold him to as a child out of spite.

* In one episode of the Creator/{{Netflix}} original series ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', Vause threatens to rape Pennsatucky, and implies that [[HeteronormativeCrusader Pennsatucky]] will enjoy it so much that she will become gay. This is an unusual example in that it is a case where rape by another woman is implied to turn a woman gay, although it should be noted that this does not actually happen; Vause only threatens it.
** Should also be noted that Vause likely doesn't believe what she's saying, she's simply using Pennsatucky's deluded notions about gay people.
* In ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', There's the UnfortunateImplications that after Cheryl Blossom dates numerous boys and Nick St. Clair attempting to date-rape her, did she become traumatized, come out as a closet lesbian and eventually develops a Yandere obsessive crush on Josie and date Toni Topaz.

* ''Theatre/TheVaginaMonologues'' has rather controversial piece where a character is raped by men multiple times as a child... but becomes a lesbian because she is "healed" when seduced (while underage, making it statutory rape) by another woman. This piece is censored to remove lines like her declaring the experience to be "[[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization good rape]]" and raising her age from 13 to 16, mostly because in the view of the monologues, this experience is a ''[[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop good thing]]''. Some performances cut this monologue entirely because for many people, it makes the rest of the play almost unwatchable.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheSwordOfTruth'' where Richard assumes one of the Mord-Sith became a lesbian after the "rape" section of her TrainingFromHell, 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]].

* In ''Literature/TheHotelNewHampshire'', Franny decides to try out women after being raped. But she later decides it isn't for her. The author is too good to try to claim a RapeAndSwitch, he just notes she is quite confused about her emotional state.
* Molly, from Rubyfruit Jungle, was [[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization raped by her female roommate]], which helped her realize that was a lesbian.

* Beecher from ''Series/{{OZ}}'' becomes bisexual after being raped in prison.

*** Oddly enough, both of these men were the prags of Vern Schillinger.