Gurglings of a Putrid Stream

I read true crime, so I guess over the years I've read about a great many rapes. But in fiction...not so much. It wasn't until I joined BL that I discovered how prevalent rape is in modern fiction. Hell, I had to google "non-con"!

Thanks to MrsJoseph (http://mrsjoseph.booklikes.com/) I've discovered that modern fantasy fiction is particularly rife with it.

Why? When did it start?

I don't read enough fantasy (obviously) to hazard much of a guess. But I have read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, which begins with a rape, and that series started in 1977. I haven't read any of the Gor novels of John Norman, but I think those would fit into the category -- and they began in 1966.

That would be interesting, if the trend started in the 60s. The 60s are when the empowerment of women really got rolling. The fictional rape could then be seen as backlash.

But if not that, then what? Why so much rape?