by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake
Dearest Readers,
You’ve asked for it. You’ve waited patiently for it. And, as promised, here it is: Version 2 of your favorite corner, Consent Corner, begins today!
Our goal is to help you make consent a fun part of all of your interactions. We’ll be answering your questions and suggesting approaches to building strong consensual bonds with your loved ones (and soon-to-be-loved ones, too!).
First, let’s review the model we use to consider consent. We summarized our model briefly in the last column but we want to expand it and give you a visual of the framework. We invite you to think about consent as a building structure with Respect as the solid ground, and on it sits the foundation of your Autonomy with the Pillars of Consent: Capacity, Information, and Agreement holding up the roof which represents the Autonomy of others.
As you consider what consent means for you, remember that it’s all based on the solid ground of Respect. Any builder worth their salt will tell you that a strong foundation and framework must be built on solid ground.
What do we mean by respect? It’s so important that Aretha Franklin even spelled it out for us in song: R E S P E C T. It’s well worth your time to find out what it means to you.
Respect goes far beyond mere tolerance, and continues on past the notion of acceptance. It’s about recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, including yourself.
Here’s the sign we’d like to see prominently displayed at our new location:
RESPECT
Yourself
Each Other
The CSPC
Everything Else
When you take time to negotiate consent, you’re acknowledging that you care about yourself and your partner(s). The good news is that we’ll be helping you learn more about how to do it in this column, so keep checking us out. The better news is that it will make encounters with your partner(s) even more amazing than before! What’s not to love about that?
Homework: get your questions ready and send them to: info@thecspc.org.
“Be excellent to each other” - Bill and Ted
“Be sexcellent to each other” - Emma and Rachel