The Boys/Gen V have a massive problem when it comes to handling male sexual assault

It honestly kind of annoyed me that it took Hughie being assaulted in season 4 for people to finally notice the very bizarre way this show handles men getting sexually assaulted because it was something I immediately noticed in season 1 when the Deep gets sexually assaulted and berated by a fan and then his mental breakdown in the shower(?) is played off as more of a joke.

I say this as someone who formerly identified as a woman but I find it kind of insulting when a show goes out of its way to take female sexual assault/abuse seriously and tries to avoid putting it on screen, and then male sexual assault is either portrayed as comedic or... deserved?? I think the reason it took so long for people to notice is that it often happened to villains. The Deep getting assaulted was seen as deserved karma for being a rapist, that random guard being forced to simulate fellatio is seen as deserved karma for being power hungry and abusive. But when it happened to Hughie? Damn, why did it have to happen to him and why (according to one of the writers) was it meant to be seen as funny?

There's also that scene where Homelander demands for two male co-workers to have sex but its hard to say if we're meant to see it as comedic or not since it was an incredibly uncomfortable watch, so I guess the comments can decide on that one.

It's also just disappointing because when it comes to everything else, male trauma is taken pretty seriously. the male heroes and villains losing family or dealing with child abuse is taken just as seriously as it is with the women. but suddenly male sexual assault is just a gag to them.