What Bill Cosby and the University of Virginia Can Teach Us
What Bill Cosby and the University of Virginia Can Teach Us
As accusations of sexual assault against Bill Cosby mount, students, faculty and staff of the University of Virginia, meanwhile, are adding their names to a petition addressed to the college’s president, demanding that campus organizations be held accountable for sexual violence. Both cases have gained a significant amount of media attention recently for allegations that have persisted for decades. A joke reignited accusations against Cosby that span from the mid 1960s to 2004. A campus investigation by Rolling Stone exposes a culture of silence and inaction around sexual assaults on UVA’s campus that date back at least 30 years. From Hollywood green rooms to frat house bedrooms, sexual violence is widespread and normalized in American culture. These high profile cases reveal how power, privilege and patriarchy work in tandem to uphold rape culture, which is defined as “a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women.”
While UVA is not part of the “Ivy League,” the elite institution commands a comparable endowment and attracts prestigious students. “Prestige is at the core of UVA’s identity,” Sabrina Erdely observes in her Rolling Stone piece. “Although a public school, its grounds of red-brick, white-columned buildings designed by founder Thomas Jefferson radiate old-money privilege, footnoted by the graffiti of UVA’s many secret societies, whose insignias are neatly painted everywhere.” For students and alumni alike, UVA holds the status of a sacred American institution. To expose the university’s rape culture, for some, is tantamount to treason.
Bill Cosby is an institution in his own right. He has been regarded as “America’s dad.” He has also wielded enough power and influence to make or break careers. Most of the women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault recall being young and hopeful protégés of the seasoned actor and writer. Having Cosby as a mentor would jumpstart their stardom, they thought. As a recent piece in The Washington Post puts it, “They didn’t see a comedian. They saw the ‘king of the world.’” It is that same power, Cosby’s accusers allege, that kept many of them silent. “I was convinced no one would listen to me,” Barbara Bowman admits. “That feeling of futility is what ultimately kept me from going to the police.”
“No one would believe me” is far too common a refrain in sexual assault cases. Because the burden of proof rests on alleged rape victims, every word they speak and action they take after their assault—and their entire history leading up to it—is subject to scrutiny. We expect women who speak out about rape to be perfect victims and unassailable witnesses. Cosby’s legal team, friends and supporters question his accusers’ reluctance to speak out sooner or, in some cases, their decisions to accept money from him. They weigh the credibility of former models, actresses and a Playboy bunny against a man who popularized chunky sweaters and Jell-O pudding pops. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of these women have been reluctant to make their stories public.
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http://msmagazine.com/blog/2014/11/24/what-bill-cosby-and-the-university-of-virginia-can-teach-us/