WAS in. I'm dealing with the aftermath. Yes, I know the relationship WAS abusive. I KNOW that. I'm in an anniversary of something ugly and I'm dealing with the minutia and I'm trying desperately to suss through it.
I'm out of it. I'm dealing with the REST. And while I'm trying to suss this out for myself, I'm opening this up so that people can talk about how messy sex can really be in the relationship setting. I started the thread to give me a second to step back from it and talk more broadly so that I can go back into my own personal hell and figure this out.
..
ok...
I am NOT siding with Cosby but I'm trying to use an example here so that I'm not tempted to use my relationship only on this thread:
Right now we have a trial going on with Cosby and another woman that says that he was guilty of abuse. COSBY keeps going back to the idea that this was a RELATIONSHIP, implying that a certain level of understanding and a certain level of intimacy had been reached between the two prior that took things to a different level than say, two folks standing on a bus.
There are records showing calls to Cosby from this woman following the night in question. He used this to imply that everything was consensual. That things, starting from a certain level then escalated as expected.
So was it?
We can't say. As someone who's been through some shit my first knee jerk reaction is to say 'f*ck yeah, he's a dick-hole and he lured her in' But what if the truth is different?
These cases are expecting someone to collaborate the stories. But these are things that take place in private. No one else was watching. He said- she said.
To go back to the question of being coerced into doing something, I'll take a page from any new mom's book:
Tired, haven't have a decent night's sleep in weeks. Finally get the baby down to feel the amorous hand of her SO on her back. THE LAST THING that woman wants to do is have sex. BUT NOT doing it will leave her with a husband who feels rejected, will act out all week (etc)
OR let's shake up the gender thing altogether...
The lady is horny. Husband is a truck driver and just got off a long 2 day shift and it's 2 am. Feels his wife's hand on his thigh... She's going to pout (he knows it from past experience) and will feel rejected. HE feels the pressure to perform to make her happy.
I don't think in either case that's rape.