Of course a woman’s identity should have to be revealed for us to take her story seriously. Ford’s allegations are taken seriously precisely because it is believable that she and Kavanaugh could have been at the same party at the time she alleges the attack happened. We treat Ford’s allegations much more seriously than we would treat the same allegation from someone else.

Evidence may yet be presented that incriminates Kavanaugh, and it may shift this conversation away from people generalizing from their own experiences. But until then, it is a dangerous thing to proceed toward a judgment, even a political judgment, based on prejudices such as “this thing happens all the time” and “it’s consistent with stories we know.” The sensation of finding archetypal victimizers and victims is what made false stories about Duke’s lacrosse players and the University of Virginia’s fraternity brothers go viral across the culture.

And this “he’s the type” style of accusation will not be used only on privileged men like Kavanaugh. It can, it has, and it will be used on anyone. Of course they’ll deny it. They always do.