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I have a theory that these kinds of proposals are driven by an unbalanced view of the nature of human sexuality. In other words, if you are someone who works w

by skohan 6y ago

I have a theory that these kinds of proposals are driven by an unbalanced view of the nature of human sexuality. In other words, if you are someone who works with victims of sexual assault and sexual violence, you would have so much exposure to all the ways in which sex can go wrong that it would be easy to lose perspective on the fact that probably a vast, vast majority of sexual interactions between adults are probably perfectly fine and healthy. Im not saying consent is not an issue which should not be taken seriously, but I think the effort to bring formalized tracking and regulation into sex - one of the most natural base and human behaviors besides eating and sleeping - seems like something you would do if you want to treat all sexuality on the terms of the worst examples of sexuality.

throwawayhehe 6y ago
On college campuses in the US, approximately 1 out 4 young women report being "sexually assaulted" during their undergraduate years. In which case, your claim "that probably a vast, vast majority of sexual interactions between adults are probably perfectly fine and healthy" may be understating the risk here. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_sexual_assault#:~:text=The%20victims%20of%20such%20assaults,during%20their%20time%20in%20college https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_sexual_assault#:~:text=....
- skohan 6y ago
  There is some debate[1] around how this statistic is interpreted, but I am not an expert on the matter so I would not challenge it. Still I believe even if we do take it as true that 1/4 of young women will experience sexual assault during their undergraduate years, this would not disprove my assertion. 1. It could be the case that many of these young women have many, many healthy sexual encounters during university, and one incident would still put them in that statistic, but it could still hold true that a vast majority of overall sexual encounters are unproblematic. 2. Undergraduates in their late teens and early 20's who are still learning how to navigate lives as sexual beings - in a permissive social environment lubricated by alcohol - are likely at an outsized risk of encountering grey areas of consent, or finding themselves in bad situations they haven't learned how to avoid or extricate themselves from. I don't know that this statistic should be generalized to the population as a whole. Now please understand that I am not trivializing this statistic. I can believe that sexual assault on campuses is a prevalent and serious issue, and causes serious harm to the people who fall victim to it. In this environment, I believe it is warranted to take these matters seriously, and put a strong emphasis on explicit, verbal, enthusiastic consent. However, I think it is probably not warranted for a happily married couple, or two people in their thirties meeting for a date to operate under the same set of assumptions as a couple 19 year olds at a frat party. [1] https://time.com/2934500/1-in-5%E2%80%82campus-sexual-assault-statistic/ https://time.com/2934500/1-in-5%E2%80%82campus-sexual-assaul...

by skohan 6y ago

throwawayhehe 6y ago

On college campuses in the US, approximately 1 out 4 young women report being "sexually assaulted" during their undergraduate years. In which case, your claim "that probably a vast, vast majority of sexual interactions between adults are probably perfectly fine and healthy" may be understating the risk here. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_sexual_assault#:~:text=The%20victims%20of%20such%20assaults,during%20their%20time%20in%20college https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_sexual_assault#:~:text=....

skohan 6y ago
There is some debate[1] around how this statistic is interpreted, but I am not an expert on the matter so I would not challenge it. Still I believe even if we do take it as true that 1/4 of young women will experience sexual assault during their undergraduate years, this would not disprove my assertion. 1. It could be the case that many of these young women have many, many healthy sexual encounters during university, and one incident would still put them in that statistic, but it could still hold true that a vast majority of overall sexual encounters are unproblematic. 2. Undergraduates in their late teens and early 20's who are still learning how to navigate lives as sexual beings - in a permissive social environment lubricated by alcohol - are likely at an outsized risk of encountering grey areas of consent, or finding themselves in bad situations they haven't learned how to avoid or extricate themselves from. I don't know that this statistic should be generalized to the population as a whole. Now please understand that I am not trivializing this statistic. I can believe that sexual assault on campuses is a prevalent and serious issue, and causes serious harm to the people who fall victim to it. In this environment, I believe it is warranted to take these matters seriously, and put a strong emphasis on explicit, verbal, enthusiastic consent. However, I think it is probably not warranted for a happily married couple, or two people in their thirties meeting for a date to operate under the same set of assumptions as a couple 19 year olds at a frat party. [1] https://time.com/2934500/1-in-5%E2%80%82campus-sexual-assault-statistic/ https://time.com/2934500/1-in-5%E2%80%82campus-sexual-assaul...