The Cornell 7 case proves we’re still trapped in a rape culture déjà vu

Three years ago, I wrote an article for The Conversation Canada about rape culture when actor Danny Masterson went to jail for sexual assault .

His friends from That ’70s Show , Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, had written letters of support for him because he was a such a great friend and they wanted the judge to be lenient in sentencing.

I argued this episode illustrated several elements of what is called rape culture — so-called good guys don’t rape, women are to blame for sexual assault and victims probably consented and shouldn’t be believed.

Two years ago, five former Major Junior hockey players went on trial for sexual assault after a consensual sexual encounter with one player and one woman became a group sex activity after the player in question texted his buddies to “be in a three-way quick. ” Multiple players took him up on it and joined in.

Read more: Hockey Canada sex assault verdict: Sports culture should have also been on trial I believed at the time that regardless of the outcome — the five players were acquitted and several are now back in the NHL — there was at least a fair bit of condemnation of the behaviour of the men in this one-woman, five-man scenario.

If it didn’t rise to the legal definition of assault, perhaps it would provide a cautionary tale for men thinking they could invite other men into their room to have sex with the woman they just had sex with.

It was, at least, a moral failure.

Maybe it would lead to culture change in these elite male environments, and with it their sense of entitlement to women’s bodies.

The Cornell 7 case Apparently not.

Cornell University has found itself in a crisis of its own making after a former student launched a civil suit alleging she was gang-raped at a fraternity over several hours by up to seven men.

One of those men texted his buddies that there was “free pussy” to be had, and one allegedly hit her so hard during the attack that it left bruises on her buttocks .

The Cornell case illustrates several aspects of rape culture that still prevail.

The campus police didn’t record her statement that she had been raped.

The district attorney failed to prosecute because she was “voluntarily intoxicated.” Some of the men in the frat played on the rugby team and were considered good guys; one of the alleged assailants was her friend.