Dynamics of Sexual Consent Sex, Rape and the Grey Area In-Between
How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in the mood for? And how come it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line between sex and assault? Dynamics of Sexual Consent addresses these...
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|---|---|
| Format | eBook Book |
| Language | English |
| Published |
Oxford
Routledge
2025
Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group |
| Edition | 1 |
| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Abstract | How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in the mood for? And how come it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line between sex and assault? Dynamics of Sexual Consent addresses these questions based on deeply personal interviews with 20 Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In doing so, it contributes to understandings of sexual consent and sexual grey areas through its combination of conceptual rigour, analytical detail and empirical richness. While starting in the legal definition of consent as voluntary participation, the book broadens the discussion to a wider sociological and philosophical sphere where gendered power dynamics and relational dependencies challenge simplistic understandings of voluntariness. Contesting tendencies to see miscommunication as the key problem related to consent, it shows that emotional aspects are often the main factor standing in the way of genuinely consensual interactions. While the analysis is informed by a gender perspective emphasizing the gendered power asymmetries of heterosexuality, it also foregrounds men’s vulnerability and the power dynamics of samesex interactions. A key argument of the book is that, given the contextual and ambiguous nature of sexual interactions, it is impossible to delineate unequivocal and concretely applicable guidelines for what counts as consent. To compensate for the lack of universal, fail-safe rules, what is needed is an intensified collective reflection on consent and sexual grey areas, which can make individuals better equipped to identify and respect their own and others’ boundaries. An empirically rich and conceptually sophisticated contribution to understanding of sexual consent and sexual grey areas, Dynamics of Sexual Consent will be of interest to scholars and students of gender studies, sociology and criminology. |
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| AbstractList | How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in the mood for? And how come it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line between sex and assault? Dynamics of Sexual Consent addresses these questions based on deeply personal interviews with 20 Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In doing so, it contributes to understandings of sexual consent and sexual grey areas through its combination of conceptual rigour, analytical detail and empirical richness. While starting in the legal definition of consent as voluntary participation, the book broadens the discussion to a wider sociological and philosophical sphere where gendered power dynamics and relational dependencies challenge simplistic understandings of voluntariness. Contesting tendencies to see miscommunication as the key problem related to consent, it shows that emotional aspects are often the main factor standing in the way of genuinely consensual interactions. While the analysis is informed by a gender perspective emphasizing the gendered power asymmetries of heterosexuality, it also foregrounds men’s vulnerability and the power dynamics of samesex interactions. A key argument of the book is that, given the contextual and ambiguous nature of sexual interactions, it is impossible to delineate unequivocal and concretely applicable guidelines for what counts as consent. To compensate for the lack of universal, fail-safe rules, what is needed is an intensified collective reflection on consent and sexual grey areas, which can make individuals better equipped to identify and respect their own and others’ boundaries. An empirically rich and conceptually sophisticated contribution to understanding of sexual consent and sexual grey areas, Dynamics of Sexual Consent will be of interest to scholars and students of gender studies, sociology and criminology. How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in the mood for? And how come it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line between sex and assault? Dynamics of Sexual Consent addresses these questions based on deeply personal interviews with 20 Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In doing so, it contributes to understandings of sexual consent and sexual grey areas through its combination of conceptual rigour, analytical detail and empirical richness. While starting in the legal definition of consent as voluntary participation, the book broadens the discussion to a wider sociological and philosophical sphere where gendered power dynamics and relational dependencies challenge simplistic understandings of voluntariness. Contesting tendencies to see miscommunication as the key problem related to consent, it shows that emotional aspects are often the main factor standing in the way of genuinely consensual interactions. While the analysis is informed by a gender perspective emphasizing the gendered power asymmetries of heterosexuality, it also foregrounds men's vulnerability and the power dynamics of same-sex interactions. A key argument of the book is that, given the contextual and ambiguous nature of sexual interactions, it is impossible to delineate unequivocal and concretely applicable guidelines for what counts as consent. To compensate for the lack of universal, fail-safe rules, what is needed is an intensified collective reflection on consent and sexual grey areas, which can make individuals better equipped to identify and respect their own and others' boundaries. An empirically rich and conceptually sophisticated contribution to understanding of sexual consent and sexual grey areas, Dynamics of Sexual Consent will be of interest to scholars and students of gender studies, sociology and criminology. This book addresses questions of sexual consent using deeply personal interviews with twenty Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In doing so, it contributes to understandings of sexual consent and sexual grey areas through its combination of conceptual rigour, analytical detail and empirical richness. How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in the mood for? And how come it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line between sex and assault? Dynamics of Sexual Consent addresses these questions based on deeply personal interviews with 20 Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In doing so, it contributes to understandings of sexual consent and sexual grey areas through its combination of conceptual rigour, analytical detail and empirical richness. While starting in the legal definition of consent as voluntary participation, the book broadens the discussion to a wider sociological and philosophical sphere where gendered power dynamics and relational dependencies challenge simplistic understandings of voluntariness. Contesting tendencies to see miscommunication as the key problem related to consent, it shows that emotional aspects are often the main factor standing in the way of genuinely consensual interactions. While the analysis is informed by a gender perspective emphasizing the gendered power asymmetries of heterosexuality, it also foregrounds men’s vulnerability and the power dynamics of samesex interactions. A key argument of the book is that, given the contextual and ambiguous nature of sexual interactions, it is impossible to delineate unequivocal and concretely applicable guidelines for what counts as consent. To compensate for the lack of universal, fail-safe rules, what is needed is an intensified collective reflection on consent and sexual grey areas, which can make individuals better equipped to identify and respect their own and others’ boundaries. An empirically rich and conceptually sophisticated contribution to understanding of sexual consent and sexual grey areas, Dynamics of Sexual Consent will be of interest to scholars and students of gender studies, sociology and criminology. |
| Author | Gunnarsson, Lena |
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| Contributor | Woodstein, B.J. |
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| Copyright | 2025 Lena Gunnarsson |
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| Keywords | love seduction power dynamics assault domination gender studies sociology voluntary participation consent philosophy gendered power interviews relational dependencies grey areas sexual consent dominance power |
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| Snippet | How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in... This book addresses questions of sexual consent using deeply personal interviews with twenty Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In... |
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| SubjectTerms | assault BDSM consent dominance domination feminist theory gay men and consent gender Gender Studies Gender studies, gender groups gendered power Genusvetenskap grey areas grey-area heterosexuality Interdisciplinary studies interviews JBSF2 Gender studies: men and boys Jurisprudence and general issues Law Law and society, gender issues Law and society, sociology of law Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law LGBTQ love philosophy power power dynamics rape Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects Regional / International studies relational dependencies seduction sex Sexual consent sexual scripts sexual violence Social groups, communities and identities Social law and Medical law Society and culture: general Society and Social Sciences Sociology Sociology and anthropology voluntary participation |
| Subtitle | Sex, Rape and the Grey Area In-Between |
| TableOfContents | Gunnar: "She wanted to do it for my sake" -- Mariam: "You have to say yes sometimes" -- Thomas: "It was a little unfair that I did it for him while he refused" -- Stella: "I really worry that she wanted it because I wanted it" -- Rikard: "Sex was a way of overcoming our problems" -- Anders: The gender asymmetries of give-and-take sex -- The larger context of "maintenance sex" -- 6. Sexual templates -- Men's burden of taking the initiative -- Sexual liberation as imperative -- Women who are too much -- When there is no template -- The tyranny of reciprocity? -- The roles of the gay male scene -- Five dicks as threat or treat? -- Templates versus individuals -- 7. Knowing what you want -- Cecilia: "I've always been bad at knowing what I want" -- Stina: "I didn't even reflect on whether I wanted to" -- Wanting to want -- Michael: "Horniness goes past fear and common sense" -- Having no will -- The boundary between me and you -- 8. Dominance and submission -- Taking patriarchal degradation to its limit -- Escaping the burden of wanting -- Dominance and submission as a dynamic of validation -- Where does the responsibility of the dominant start and end? -- Norm-transgression versus self-harm -- 9. Beyond consent -- When consent is not what is most important -- Not being "sensed" -- "Mentally raped" -- Participating in one's own violation -- What happens afterwards -- Our need for respect and care -- 10. Sexually invulnerable men? -- Nils: "Like doing the dishes when you don't want to" -- Rikard: "Like when my favourite comedian isn't funny" -- Elias: "As if someone had been in my home against my will" -- Turning away from one's own vulnerability -- The gay scene's hypermasculine ideals -- "Just fuck" -- The paradox of (in)vulnerability -- 11. We must - still - talk more about sex -- In favour of a collective reflection on the grey area Cover -- Half Title -- Endorsements -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction -- Consent as voluntary participation -- The relational, affectable human -- Sexual consent in the law -- Consent in research -- How is consent communicated? -- The complexity of wanting -- Perspectives from legal philosophy -- Gender and power -- The relationship between normative heterosex and violence -- Sex wars -- BDSM and consent -- Men's consent -- The gender of sexual vulnerability -- Beyond heterosexuality -- Boundaries and grey areas -- This book's contribution -- 2. How does consent work? -- Lennart: "It's ridiculously simple signs" -- Stella: "If you didn't want to, you pushed the other person away" -- Nils: "In that case, I could choose to hug her instead" -- Elias: "It's really tricky" -- Oskar: "It's, like, you feel it in the air" -- The transgressive pub milieu -- Can a partner "grope"? -- Will I get elbowed or will she pull down her pants? -- The failed morning gift -- Consent: simple and utterly complex -- 3. Seduction or assault? -- Julia: "Then you've persuaded them until they actually want to" -- Stina: "I thought he probably wanted to anyway" -- Nils: "Even if your head doesn't want to, your body gets going" -- Oskar: "I manipulated her into sex by exciting her" -- Pernilla: "I let her take the step instead of me suggesting sex" -- Gunnar: "I'm very restrained about what signals I send" -- Human affectability, for good and bad -- 4. Giving in -- Stina: "I thought that then he'd love me" -- Anas: "I don't want to make anyone unhappy" -- Kristina: "You don't have any reason to say no" -- Nils: "As a guy, it's hard to say no" -- Oskar: "Saying no has always been connected to me feeling bad" -- Gunnar: "She agreed so I'd be satisfied" -- The agency of the victimized -- 5. Giving in - because you want to Consent can be emotionally difficult -- Committed relationships do not protect people from assault and unwanted sex -- The need for respect and care -- People do not always know what they want -- The participation of the victimized party -- Same-sex dynamics of consent -- The ambiguous significance of gender -- Do we really need to talk more about sex in an overly sexualized world? -- Appendix: Methodological approach -- The participants -- The interviews -- Index |
| Title | Dynamics of Sexual Consent |
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