Phyllis gets honorary degree

Some people are complaining that Wash. U. (St. Louis) is giving Phyllis Schlafly an honorary degree. The quote that seems to bug people the most is:

By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don’t think you can call it rape.

Until about 30 years ago, the word "rape" was used for serious crimes other than marital sexual relations. Even today, many people do not accept the notion that marital rape is comparable to stranger rape, Eg, this article says:

Today there is considerable evidence that marital rape is still perceived as a lesser crime than other forms of rape within our culture and some studies have found a significant number of participants still question whether it is possible to rape one’s wife (Whatley, 2005; Kirkwood & Cecil, 2001). In a recent study of attitudes among college students, Monson, Byrd and Langhinrichsen-Rohling (1996) found that marital rape was perceived as less serious than rape perpetuated by a stranger and only 50% of the male students thought that it was possible for a husband to rape his wife.

There are some feminists who argue that marital rape is worse than stranger rape. Most people disagree.