Perversion- How Not To Choose A Character Flaw

Fictional characters need flaws, from heroes who need shortcomings to balance out their strengths to villains who are mostly bad with few redeeming features. However, it's important to choose those flaws well so that they add depth to the character and meaningful conflict to the story. Perversion, however, is often passed off as a comedic quirk, downplaying potentially disturbing behavior while adding little to the characters.

There are two types of character flaws- minor or major. Minor flaws are generally quirks that are comic relief or make a seemingly perfect character seem more flawed, such as a character who's a bit clumsy. Major flaws tend to hold characters back at significant points and usually must be overcome, lest they lead to a a character's downfall; for example, a character might be racist against someone on their side. The severity of a flaw determines which category it falls into; for example, a character whose cowardice leads them to be nervous before battle has a minor flaw, but a character whose cowardice causes them to abandon their duties or betray their allies suffers from a major flaw. Not all flaws cleanly fall into one of those two categories, but most significant characters should have at least one major flaw.

Perversion, however, is a major flaw, at least in theory. Depending on the setting or one's culture,  as well as the severity of the transgression, peeping at, inappropriately touching others or making other acts of sexual harassment can result in one getting fired, expelled, sued or even arrested.  But consequences like that seldom happen in fiction, at least not when the character is supposed to be a protagonist. In many anime series, the pervert will end up being beaten up, which sounds like a harsh punishment- perhaps overly so- but the perverts tend to recover from their injuries and shrug off the pain, without learning their lesson. As such, perversion is a major flaw that ends up being treated like a minor one in that it makes the characters less likable without adding much to the story.

Because of this, most fictional perverts seldom feel the need to change for the better. Perhaps they might not act that way toward their love interests, but that's a sign of them falling in love. Perhaps they might refrain from such behavior in dire situations, but that's a sign of how bad the situation is. Perhaps they might stop, but it can be because they're afraid of being beaten up, rather than having learned their lesson.

Another problem is that perversion seldom adds much to a character. For example, Minoru Mineta from My Hero Academia is almost completely defined by being a pervert, lacking the depth that even the secondary characters of Class 1-A possess. Not all characters can be complex or well-developed, but it's next to impossible to like a character whose sole defining feature is this repulsive.

Lastly, if perverts continue doing the things they do without adequate punishment, it can give the impression that perversion is an acceptable trait, or at least one that can be laughed at rather than condemned. The subjects of the pervert's attention take revenge on their victims, but some of the laughs are at their expense for their extreme retribution. Obviously, not everyone is so impressionable as to take these messages to heart, but it's important to consider what messages a work of sends, whether intentionally or otherwise, by how it depicts and punishes bad behavior by its characters.

In the end, you should ask yourself a few questions. If you knew a pervert in real life, would you be amused or disgusted? Would you tolerate their antics, or would you want them to change? If you chose the latter options for these questions, you should be able to understand why perverted characters are often so reviled, not just as unlikable but as poorly written. It's time to stop giving fictional characters a free pass for their perversion when we would not do so in real life, and start treating their flaws with the gravity they deserve