Why Don’t We Believe Women? The Internet Reacts to Bill Cosby’s Admission

It has literally been a case of He Said, She Said She Said She Said She Said She Said She Said She Said She Said She Said She Said….

— Kate Leaver (@kateileaver) July 6, 2015

[Trigger Warning for discussion of rape.]

Since last year, we’ve been talking about how over FORTY women have come forward alleging that the guy we know as the Huxtable patriarch (or as the guy who created Fat Albert), Bill Cosby, drugged them and sexually assaulted them.

With that many accusations, a sensible person might think Hey, there might be something to this! All of those women couldn’t possibly be lying. Then again, the world has rarely been sensible when it comes to women, and too often women are thought to be too emotional, conniving, unstable, or hysterical to be believed.

We’ve talked about how the way Cosby and his alleged victims are discussed in the media highlight the fact that we live in a rape culture—one in which the victim is questioned and blamed and assumed a liar until proven otherwise, even when there are OVER FORTY of them. And while there are plenty of people who are critical of Cosby’s behavior (as evidenced by how #CosbyMeme went down), there are still plenty of others willing to give Cosby the benefit of the doubt, because … he’s funny? He’s a part of our childhoods? He’s a man? He’s famous? He’s rich? Yeah, we don’t get it, either.

Well, something just happened that should make that a bit more difficult in the case of Cosby. Yesterday, our sister site, Mediaite, as well as Buzzfeed, Deadline Hollywood, and others reported on the fact that after legal action taken by the Associated Press (journalists, FTW!), a federal judge released a 2005 deposition in which Cosby admitted to having had seven prescriptions for Quaaludes in the 1970s, and that he used them to drug women and commit sexual assault. Those who’ve believed the women that have come forward from the beginning responded accordingly:

We should really give Cosby apologists a break. For a long time, it was just he said/she she she she she she she she she she she she she she — Lindsay Pavlas (@LindsayPavlas) July 7, 2015

Some even did so sarcastically, as did this woman who parodied the kind of criticism women who are “guilty” of being sexual in any way usually get:

Bill Cosby is only saying these things to get money and attention and help his career — Katie Rich (@katiemaryrich) July 6, 2015

However, not even Cosby’s own admission is enough for some people. Because too many people misunderstand what things like “consent” mean. Example:

Didn’t you hear? @LindsayPavlas @Ristolable Women took the drugs voluntarily. HOLLYWOOD in 1960/70s. Wannabe actresses wanting roles. — #TransPLANT ن (@dicentra33) July 7, 2015

Some did take the drugs voluntarily—that doesn’t mean they had sex voluntarily. Especially if they were under the influence when the sex was initiated. Also, some of them took a drug they thought was one thing when it was really something else. So, they were duped into taking a drug they never intended to take, then Cosby had sex with them under the influence. That’s not just “wannabe actresses wanting roles.” That’s rape.

@BeanTownBorn @LindsayPavlas @srhbutts Yeah. He has been tried in the court of public opinion so we don’t need to both with proof. — Steven Wade (@AudaxVictor) July 7, 2015

If words from Cosby’s own mouth aren’t “proof,” I don’t know what is. But yes, keep telling yourself that OVER FORTY women are capable of lying about being assaulted just for 15 minutes of fame. That seems way more believable than a rich man who’s admitted to using drugs to assault women over a period of decades because he could get away with it since he’s rich and powerful and a Beloved Figure in pop culture taking advantage of women. Yup. Totally. *Sigh.*

Also, the reason why this has to be tried in “the court of public opinion,” is because there’s a statute of limitations that won’t allow people to charge others with a crime after a certain amount of time has passed. Now, you might say “Why didn’t these women come forward when it happened?” Well, with the way the Internet is reacting now, is it any wonder why they didn’t? There’s a We Stand With Cosby Facebook group in which, even after this deposition has come out, insist that this is all not true:

What will it take for a woman’s word to be taken seriously without having to jump through humiliating hoops? What will it take for people to understand that the narrative of A Woman Crying Rape To Get Attention/Fame is a false one? And even if there is such a woman who would lie about assault to get something, our collective insistence that women in general shouldn’t be believed because of the possibility of that is ludicrous.

It’s like saying: This one dude I know totally lied about getting robbed to get money from his insurance company. Clearly that’s what all dudes do. Dudes, am I right? You can’t believe anything they say. Oh, your house was robbed? Lemme ask you something—did you have a security system? Did you lock your door? Did you leave a window open? Who told you to buy that big-ass TV and leave it visible in your window? You’re just asking for trouble. I bet you just want attention. You just want your fifteen minutes of fame on the news when they interview you about crime in this neighborhood. Dudes, man. Can’t believe anything they say.

Idiotic, right? Bill Cosby admitted to having had several prescriptions of Quaaludes in the 1970s specifically for the purpose of drugging women. That’s not “the court of public opinion.” That’s not anything other than Cosby admitting, from his own mouth, what he did. I’m not saying don’t ever watch The Cosby Show again. I’m saying don’t let your love of The Cosby Show blind you from the truth when it’s smacking you in the face.

(image via Penn State on Flickr)

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