Dr. Michele Meek’s next book, Consent Puzzles: Exploring the Ambiguities of Sexual Consent in Film, Television, Media, and the Law, is forthcoming with Routledge.
Even as it is consistently upheld as an ideal framework for ethical and legal interactions, consent is anything but straightforward. Is consent articulated by what one says and does or is it understood via what one thinks and feels? Or is it some combination of both? If consent must be freely given to be valid, how can those giving and receiving consent be sure that it is indeed freely given? And how do we interpret discrepancies and contradictions regarding consent both personally and publicly?
Such questions that emerge in public discourse, legal disputes, and media representations expose the puzzling nature of consent—and the corresponding need for a more nuanced understanding moving forward. As evidenced within this volume, despite the mainstreaming of consent, consent culture has not eradicated sexual assault nor the innumerable complexities within interactions.
The edited compilation, Consent Puzzles: Exploring the Ambiguities of Sexual Consent in Narratives, Media, and Laws explores narrative representations and discursive debates since the onset of “consent culture” in the 2010s. Ultimately, this volume goes beyond “no means no” and “yes means yes” as it delves into the numerous ambiguities of consent to argue the need for a more nuanced understanding moving forward.