Below is a very British, very important metaphor for consent, as shared by The Independent, via rockstardinosaurpirateprincess – I couldn’t not repost this.On consent:
“You say “hey, would you like a cup of tea?” and they go “omg f–k yes, I would f–king LOVE a cup of tea! Thank you!” then you know they want a cup of tea.
“If you say “hey, would you like a cup of tea?” and they um and ahh and say, “I’m not really sure…” then you can make them a cup of tea or not, but be aware that they might not drink it, and if they don’t drink it then – this is the important bit – don’t make them drink it. You can’t blame them for you going to the effort of making the tea on the off-chance they wanted it; you just have to deal with them not drinking it. Just because you made it doesn’t mean you are entitled to watch them drink it.
“If they say “No thank you” then don’t make them tea. At all. Don’t make them tea, don’t make them drink tea, don’t get annoyed at them for not wanting tea. They just don’t want tea, ok?
“They might say “Yes please, that’s kind of you” and then when the tea arrives they actually don’t want the tea at all. Sure, that’s kind of annoying as you’ve gone to the effort of making the tea, but they remain under no obligation to drink the tea. They did want tea, now they don’t. Sometimes people change their mind in the time it takes to boil that kettle, brew the tea and add the milk. And it’s ok for people to change their mind, and you are still not entitled to watch them drink it even though you went to the trouble of making it.
“Unconscious people don’t want tea and can’t answer the question “do you want tea” because they are unconscious.”
I’ll pop the kettle on, shall I?
Image: Jean Shrimpton, looking like a total babe.
On occasion, I will come across a story that allows me the hope that true 