Victim behaviour and trauma recovery: Representing black British femininity through fantasy in Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You

Abstract

This paper examines the representation of trauma recovery in the television series I May Destroy You ( 2020 ). Research on rape in fictional television programmes overwhelmingly focus on rape myths or how rape is represented. There is scant research on recovery from rape trauma in television drama. This paper contributes to scholarship on rape in fictional television, through a focus on the process of trauma recovery. Michaela Coel’s portrayal of the struggle to recover from the traumatic experience of sexual assault, makes a nuanced contribution to debates on sexual violence, victim behaviour, and black British identity.