Consent
And why it’s important.
It’s almost 2021 now, and consent continues to be something that still isn’t talked about or discussed as often as it needs to be, even within sex education curriculums. If anything, this needs to be talked and discussed more now than ever!
The most common report of “Consent” is people not resisting advances or being too afraid to say no, even just staying silent. This isn’t “Consent”.
More often than not, people are coerced into having a physical relationship even if they didn’t want to. This is also not consent, but these are the two main ways people mistake consent to be.
It’s also important to know that, even if someone said “Yes” before, doesn’t mean they'll say “Yes” now. Everybody has a right to change their mind and a right of choice. If they do change their mind and yet the sexual advances continue, then it is not consent, it’s rape.
Consent is not convincing someone to do something, it is not making someone feel guilty for saying no. It is also not a “Maybe” or “I’m not sure”, it is not coercion, it is not an obligation, silence, or anything else that isn’t an explicit “YES”.
Consent means “Yes”. Consent means everyone has full knowledge about what's going on and what's going to happen, is on the same page and happy about it. Consent is enthusiasm and excitement.
There’s also a non-verbal side to consent that often gets overlooked. Sometimes consent is as simple as a nod to say “yes, I want this” and that’s okay too. Although this form of consent may be trickier to read and be taken as consent unless discussed by you and your partner beforehand.
Consent is not the absence of “No”, but rather the presence of “Yes”.
There are some situations where someone is unable to give consent, this could be due to intoxication, being under the legal age of consent or due to potential cognitive disabilities. Silence or hesitation in these circumstances is not consent.
Consent when taken morally is not only sexy but also comes across as appealing and classy.
Consent is something which is necessary, mandatory, and needs to be addressed before any sexual or physical act.
Each and every time!
