Sheila Jackson, fan favorite of the Showtime television show “Shameless” is characterized by her debilitating anxiety disorder, naivety and "quirky" penchant for massive dildos. She’s introduced early in season one when she welcomes the protagonist Frank Gallagher into her home after his family kicks him out. Throughout the serious Sheila is viewed as a caring, kind and always willing to help. However it is her unexpected aggressive sexuality that fans find truly endearing about her character. If rape is what you call endearing.
We’re first introduced to Sheila when Frank hears that her husband Eddie just left her and that she collects an impressive amount of disability compensation for her agoraphobia. Frank, always on the lookout for the latest money scheme to aid his alcoholism, makes plans to seduce Sheila as a means to reap some of her benefits. When Sheila allows Frank to bathe in her home because Frank complains that his own house does not have hot water, Frank sees this as an opportunity to seduce Sheila. He succeeds in his attempt and she brings him to her room, throws him on her bed and roughly handcuffs him to her headboard. Frank is caught off guard by her force and quickly backtracks saying, “Listen, I’ve changed my mind. Listen...seriously.” Here is where Sheila should have stopped, made sure Fank did not want to continue and then uncuffed him. Instead she retrieves a box from under her bed, which leads Frank to nervously ask, “What’s in there?” Without an answer, Frank gets anxious and says, “I’m having a bit of a panic attack here. No, honestly, I’m struggling to breathe.” Sheila responds, “Frank, the more you beg, the more you’re in for, now RELAX.” For Sheila, Frank’s struggle is part of her foreplay. This is often dismissed as Sheila’s harmless kink, but without consent, her kink is sexual abuse.
Clearly afraid of Sheila’s aggression and his powerless state handcuffed to the bed, Frank asks Sheila to agree on a safety word so that she will back off if things get too rough for him. She complies and they agree that “stop” is the safety word, which as far as safety words are concerned is the most unambiguous word there is. Sheila reaches into her box, pulls out a huge dildo and Frank immediately says “stop”. The camera pans to the outside of the house where you hear Frank yell “STOP” once again. A second later we see Frank awkwardly walking down the stairs in pain.
To make things even more twisted, Frank regularly endures the sexual abuse in exchange for a place to live, food and financial support. Throughout the serious Frank looks for a way to support his alcoholism without interfering with it by say, getting a job. Because of his addiction, Frank is dependent on Sheila and views the sexual abuse as just a small inconvenience in their arrangement. Ironically, in the episode “Father’s Day”, Sheila says to Frank, “I’m sorry my daughter raped you” after her daughter Karen has sex with him while he is heavily medicated and unable to properly consent. However, consent never really seemed to be of concern to Sheila.
Later in the series, Sheila begins to date Jody, her daughter’s separated husband. She expresses her desire to introduce her “toys” to their sex life, but as a recovering sex addict, he refuses. Sheila convinces Frank to manipulate Jody into agreeing to do so. When Jody finally agrees and Frank gives him a pep talk before Sheila comes into the room. “Don’t relax. Pretend you’re scared,” Frank advises Jody. “She likes that.” “I don’t have to pretend,” replies Jody. Sheila gets off on the power and fear, which are characteristics of a rapist. Rape is not about sex, it is about power, domination and exploitation at the expense of the victim.
Despite the serious nature of both scenes, it is meant to be comedic. Because of the role reversal of a woman committing the abuse and a man being the victim, it is unexpected and intended to be funny. However, this is incredibly problematic and reinforces rape culture because it supports the myth that men cannot be raped, as it is in their nature to always desire sex. This same notion is used countlessly to defend male rapists and blame the victim. When a victim is dressed revealingly, drunk or even flirting with the rapist they are blamed for leading them on and “asking for it” because a men are so overcome with sexual urges it is nearly impossible to control. So according to rape culture, a man’s sexual nature makes it is impossible for him to be raped and excuses his for his actions of sexual abuse.
Make no mistake that Sheila is a rapist. Some fans and critics even characterize Sheila’s sexuality as feminist and empowering because she is in touch with what turns her on and takes control. However there is a line between empowerment and abuse of power, and Sheila has crossed that line. There is a misconception that a relationship automatically implies consent. However, if your partner is uncomfortable with what’s happening and tells you to stop but you continue anyway, that is rape.
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