by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake

Hello again, sultry sexy readers!  We’re enjoying the special sultry weather that *is* summer in the Pacific Northwest, and hope you are as well.

We were thinking (uh oh!) about having the right and the responsibility to consider consent.  Unitarian Universalists say that we all have the right and responsibility to develop an understanding of religion/spirituality/higher power/whatever works for us.  It’s the same with consent.

You have the right to define consent in a way that works for you.  You have the right to change any aspect of consent as you grow and learn.  Something that was good before may cause you some concern now.  You might want to shake things up a bit and try something new.  It’s your life - fuck with it!  

We’d suggest as well that you have the responsibility to make consent an integral part of all you do.  Think about what’s okay for you and what’s not.  You get to decide what feels right for you.  How cool is that?!

Remember the model for consent that we laid out, with the main columns of Capacity, Information, Agreement, and Autonomy? Consider how you might use the model to make consent an even more fun part of your life.

And, it’s always a good time to practice gratitude.  We’re grateful for partners, friends, colleagues, and the many communities in which we have the privilege to participate.  We’re grateful for the careful editing of our column that makes us sound so much better than we would otherwise.  We’re grateful to you, dear reader, as well.  We couldn’t do it without you.

Homework:  Ask someone for their consent.  How do you feel?  What’s their response?  Notice when and how consent is requested and granted by people at a market or at an event.  Take a moment to stop and appreciate the consent around you.  

We’re grateful (in advance) for your fan mail at:  info@thecspc.org.

“Be excellent to each other” - Bill and Ted

“Be sexcellent to each other” - Emma and Rachel