The rules we’re taught are simple: Consent can be conveyed effectively by moans, gestures, movements, eye contact, and facial expressions. If things are going well, expecting people to verbalize that they want the sex to continue is absurd! Conveying a lack of consent, however, must involve desperate hollering, a good-faith attempt at martial arts, and preferably video documentation of same. Expecting people to understand more subtle messages that someone wants the sex to stop—such as “I’m not feeling it tonight” or “I really need to get to sleep” or “Please stop”—is asking too much. What, is
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