The failed promise of consent in women's experiences of coercive and unwanted anal sex with men

Bibliographic Data

ID12259537
AuthorsMaria João Faustino (0000-0003-2715-9145, Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland, New Zealand), N Gavey (0000-0002-4184-589X, University of Auckland, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume34
Issue3
Pages424-442
Publication date2024-03-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminism & Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-3535 • E-ISSN: 1461-7161
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09593535241234429
OpenAlexW4393390224
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited44

In this article, we critically interrogate the concept of consent in relation to women's experiences of coerced and unwanted heterosexual anal sex. Among the 18 women we interviewed (all living in New Zealand), some clearly labelled their experiences of unwanted anal sex with men as nonconsensual. Many others, however, suggested that they had, in some way, consented. We identified two main discursive patterns in the ways that women discussed consent in these contexts: one that equated it with resignation, mostly associated with experiences of verbal pressure, and another that reduced consent to a lack of resistance to unwanted and unexpected anal penetration. Through these women's accounts, it was clear that consent and coercion are not mutually exclusive. Overall, consent in these cases was scripted within a gendered dynamic that was premised on men's sexual entitlement and women's traditional roles as sexual caretakers and gatekeepers. We argue that women's accounts and reflections on consent in this context illuminate structural fragilities in the very concept of sexual consent as a marker of ethical sex. Consent was substantively distinct from sexual enthusiasm and mutuality. We conclude that it fails in its promise to protect women against sex that is coercive and hurtful

Alternative medicine · Informed consent · Sociology · Clinical Psychology · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology