Assessing Consent Beyond the 'Bedroom': Implications for Affirmative Approaches to Sexual Assault Prevention Education on College Campuses

Background: Consent research primarily utilizes a communicative approach which assumes that consent negotiation occurs exclusively in the moments just prior to when sexual intercourse may (or may not) take place. Previous research suggests that people numerous other cues outside of the ‘moments leading up to sex’ to assess consent. Consequently, it is important to ask: at what point during an interaction could someone realistically consider evaluating another person’s behaviors to determine consent to sex and what behaviors should one consider? The current study aimed to address such questions.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with heterosexual college students (n=30) utilizing Carspecken’s Critical Qualitative Methodology. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using inductive hierarchical content analysis.

Results: Two overarching themes describing college students’ consent negotiation tactics emerged: (1) Consent is clear and obvious; consent is ambiguous and vague; (2) Men and women have disjunctive views of consent. Three additional themes emerged: (1) Endorsement of traditional gender roles; (2) Sex as an exchange; (3) Sex as a game. These themes reinforce ongoing gender imbalances and constraints on women’s sexual decision-making which perpetuate rape culture.

Discussion: Current findings will be discussed utilizing the intersection of class and gender as a lens to describe mechanisms that perpetuate environments which disenfranchise women. Implications for reinforcing sex-positive approaches in sexuality education and sexual assault prevention will be discussed.  Recommendations for improving sexual assault prevention education through affirmative models of sexuality, highlighting the need for consensual, pleasurable sexual encounters for individuals of all genders, will be highlighted.