Now, the term “rape” or “sexual assault” is thrown around almost effortlessly, accusations easily made and lives easily ruined.And Sir Matthew Hale, Pleas of the Crown (1680):
[Rape] is an accusation easily to be made and hard to be proved, and harder to be defended by the party accused, tho never so innocent.In conclusion, that Delgado's thesis is identical to how rape was viewed in the late 17th century in no way implies that her assessment likely derives from a similar view of women and female autonomy.
See also my 2011 post On Bad Critiques of Rape Prevelance Studies (Part II). The idea that "crying rape" (that's literally the title of Delgado's article) is some sort of pervasive phenomenon, as if going through a rape investigation is the epitome of a fun girl's night out, continues to astonish me.
