by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake
Hello, dear readers! How lovely to be with you again on this journey through the wild and wonderful world of consent.
We’re continuing to build our model for good consent: a structure that will happily house our consent agreements and be welcoming to others. Let’s take a minute (or six) to ponder the kind of structure we want to create.
We’ve already considered some key features of the building: it’ll be built on the solid ground of respect; it’ll have a strong foundation of personal autonomy; it’ll have supporting columns of capacity, information, and agreement; and its roof will be others’ autonomy. But what kind of building will it be?
The good news is that since it’s imaginary, we don’t have to concern ourselves at all with building codes or materials or costs. The better news is that it can look like anything your heart desires, so go ahead and dream big!
We suggest that your image of the structure be as detailed as possible, knowing that it can change at any time for any reason. Picture in your mind’s eye its location--are you near water or mountains or a busy metropolis? Picture the building itself--is it a welcoming place? What will the pillars be made of--do you see stone columns as in ancient ruins, or is there lots of glass? Are there comfortable seating/playing areas? Where will you keep all of your wonderful toys? Will there be a media space to keep up with Consent Corner and what your CSPC friends are doing?
Your structure will be a safe place, even as it’s under construction. It will support you always, regardless of any storm or other unpleasantness that may arrive. And it will welcome others whenever and however you choose.
Your building can be a place to go when you want to ponder some aspect of consent. When you picture yourself there, you’re surrounded by love and light--a perfect environment for making good choices. Or not--but then you get to go back to this safe place and reflect on what a friend of ours lovingly refers to as “another f*$&ing opportunity for growth.” We know those far too well!
Homework: create a picture of the consent building you’re constructing in your imagination, making it as detailed as you can. Extra Credit: make a sketch of it and send a copy of it to us at: info@thecspc.org.
“Be excellent to each other” - Bill and Ted
“Be sexcellent to each other” - Emma and Rachel