Milica Vučković: A look at toxic relationships in her debut novel

Milica Vučković: A look at toxic relationships in her debut novel

MILICA VUčković, an emerging Serbian author, celebrated great success with her debut novel "The Deadly Out of Sports Increases" in Serbia. The writer, born in Belgrade in 1989, does not tell of sport in her book, but plays with the topic of toxic relationships. The novel will soon be published on German in ZSOLNAY Verlag and is based on personal experiences as well as discussions with those affected and psychotherapists, such as vienna.at

vučković describes the challenges to help people in manipulative relationships, and shows the healing aspects of the writing process, which played an important role for both them and for their girlfriend, which served as inspiration. The returning of traditional gender roles in society is also a central theme of the novel, which is particularly relevant in the context of the current social reflections

The #Metoo movement, which was created in autumn 2017 after the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, triggered a global outcry against sexual violence and abuse of power. It has sharpened the awareness of gender relationships and sexual assault and women empowering to raise their voices. In this context, Barbara Sichtermann in her essay analyzed the complexity of dominance gestures and its perception, which further fueled the social debate about gender relations.

The movement has also encouraged women to share their experiences with sexual assault and harassment. Prejudices that such attacks are only cavalier offenses were increasingly broken down. Simple compliments are now often interpreted as an expression of power games. Nevertheless, there are still discussions about whether sexual harassment can be clearly divided along the gender boundaries, and it is recognized that men can also be victims of harassment, such as sueddeutsche.de

psyche and power games

A study by the University of Houston has shown that men and women have similar ideas of sexual harassment, which influences the image of gender relationships in the professional environment. Over 50% of women fear that sexual harassment continues to be a problem in the workplace. At the same time, many men express concern to be wrongly accused, which imposes dangerous changes in behavior, such as avoiding meetings with women alone.

The political situation in Serbia is also tense, which also shapes Vučković's literary work. In the past few months there have been protests that were triggered by a tragic incident at a train station. These protests demand responsibility and reflect the urgency of the topic in society.

Vučković's work can therefore be understood not only as a literary contribution, but also as a social comment that illuminates the complex links between personal experiences and collective movements such as #metoo. In her opinion, it is essential to reflect the political and social structures in order to further promote the discussion about gender roles and balance of power.