Men who achieve a certain level of celebrity have long been rumored to carry a particular type of prophylactic in their wallets. Not the foil-wrapped kind that prevents an unwanted pregnancy, but the consent-form kind—to which a woman signs her name before she leaves, lest she become regretful, or resentful, and hence tempted to make certain accusations of the life-ruining variety.
Reports of this practice surface periodically, usually in connection with a news story that conveniently illustrates its usefulness. In 2004, a Colorado-based condom manufacturer claimed to have sold more than 4,000 condoms pre-packaged with a “pre-sexual agreement” form (cost: $7.99)—a product inspired by the case of NBA star Kobe Bryant, who stood trial that year for felony sexual assault over an encounter he claimed was consensual. Last year, after a series of high-profile sexual misconduct allegations against Spanish footballers, coach and activist Miguel Galan posted an image on X of a consent form, which he claimed multiple players were using as a safeguard in casual encounters.
The credibility of these reports is debatable, but they persist for one obvious reason: It is easy to believe that for certain types of men, this is a going concern. Musicians. Actors. Athletes. Guys who spend a lot of time on the road and in hotel rooms, and who are surely aware of the potential for catastrophe should a casual encounter go sideways—a particular hazard in places governed by the notion of “affirmative consent,” which is official policy on many American college campuses, and a national policy in Canada. Affirmative consent requires continuous, voluntary, enthusiastic agreement to each sexual act at the moment it happens; it is a paradigm in which sexual assault becomes a question not of ignoring a no, but of failing to get exactly the right kind of yes.
Which brings us to a video that played in a courtroom in London, Ontario, earlier this month.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Kat Rosenfield
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://bariweiss.substack.com feed and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
