Anika Kingsley 1

The Legitimacy of Sexual Consent

Sexual assault is defined as “any type of sexual activity or contact that [one does] not

consent to.”1 But what defines consent? And when is consent considered legitimate? In this

paper, I will describe sexual consent, examine the barriers to valid consent, and discuss a

California bill that I believe needs further elaboration. The purpose of this paper is to create an

extensive and clear definition to legitimate consent and to show how coercion, alcohol, and lack

of competency intervene with the validity of consent, and shift the responsibility away from the

person who provided invalid consent.

To begin, I would like to explain why the discussion of this topic is so crucial, especially

for college-aged students. For context, it is important to understand the prevalence of sexual

assault on college campuses. One in five women and one in sixteen men are sexually assaulted

while attending a university.2 When compared to the number of students enrolled in a university

in the United States this past fall, these statistics mean that approximately 2.3 million women and

560 thousand men will add being sexually assaulted to their college experience. As shocking as

these estimates are, it is possible that these estimates are lower than the actual number of cases

because approximately sixty-four percent of sexual assault and rape cases are not reported to the

police.3 Many factors can explain the amount of sexual assault cases, but one of the most

important ones is the lack of understanding of consent by both parties engaging in sexual

activity. In a poll conducted by The Washington Post, eighteen percent of college students

believed that sufficient consent can be defined as the absence of saying ‘no,’ while forty-seven

percent of these same students said that taking off clothes was sufficient consent to going

1 "1 in 3 American Women Has Experienced Some Type of Sexual Violence." Womenshealth.gov. March 14, 2018. Accessed
May 23, 2018. https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/sexual-assault-and-rape/sexual-assault.
2 "National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)." National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). Last accessed

May 23, 2018. https://www.nsvrc.org/.

3 IBID
Anika Kingsley 2

forward with any sexual activity.4 As I will explain later, both of these conditions should not be

considered full consent to any kind of sexual activity and certainly not every sexual activity.

The absence of thorough education on the subject of sexual consent and the sheer number

of college students affected makes this topic significant to the discussion of every students’ well-

being. While college campuses are home to many sexual assault cases, and this will be the focus

of my paper, it is important to remember that this issue impacts many other people everywhere

including in work places, streets, bars, homes, and more.

In order for the engagement in sexual relations to be considered morally and legally

permissible, both parties must consent to everything they are performing. This statement seems

uncontroversial and is commonly agreed upon, but the confusion arises when it comes down to

defining what constitutes valid consent. Sexual consent, in itself, is defined as an intentional and

“freely given behavior that indicates a person’s willingness to engage in a sexual act with

another person.”5 In August of 2014, the California state legislature amended and passed Senate

Bill (SB) 967, which was concerned with sexual assaults on college campuses. The bill outlines a

way for colleges to define when consent is given and considered valid in order to make reporting

assaults and punishing perpetrators clearer and easier. SB 967 states: “An affirmative consent

standard [is] in the determination of whether consent was given by both parties to sexual

activity.”6 This means that when reviewing cases of sexual intercourse, the consent must be

4 Weiss, Suzannah. "4 Reasons We Need To Teach Consent." Bustle. April 25, 2018. Last accessed
May 23, 2018. https://www.bustle.com/articles/118139-4-statistics-that-prove-we-need-to-teach-people-about-
consent.
5
Hullenaar, K. L. (2016). Girls give the sign, guys make the move: The sexual consent process on
a college campus (Order No. 10125353). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1808254285).
(Chapters 3 and 5). Retrieved from https://login.libproxy.scu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy.scu.edu/docview/1808254285?accountid=13679
6
Le, De. "SB 967 Senate Bill - AMENDED." ABX2 15 Assembly Bill. 2nd Ext. Session – CHAPTERED. August
04, 2014. Last accessed June 10, 2018. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0951-
1000/sb_967_bill_20140804_amended_asm_v95.html.
Anika Kingsley 3

affirmative, conscious, and voluntary. In this case, affirmative consent can be related to the ‘yes

means yes’ evaluation where valid consent can only be defined by a voluntary and uninfluenced

presence of a ‘yes.’7 The bill elaborates by saying that if the accused person reasonably should

have known that their sexual partner was incapacitated from alcohol or drugs then any ‘yes’ that

was given cannot be valid because the person’s understanding of the activity could not be full or

complete. The bill also includes various ways in which universities are required to provide

resources to potential victims and procedures for dealing with a potential assaulter. The

definition and protocol for sexual consent and assault provided in this bill is two dimensional in

an attempt to make the situations black and white and easy to identify. I believe that defining

sexual consent is more nuanced and, therefore, requires a more extensive and thorough

definition. It remains difficult for a multi-dimensional concept to be successfully codified by a

two-dimensional government standard.

I would like to begin to define sexual consent in what I believe to be a more thorough and

reasonable way when compared to SB 967. Consent begins as a mental act, when a person

decides that they are willing to engage in this sexual activity. The decision of whether or not they

want to engage in any sexual conduct is a form of personal autonomy. Every person must make

the individual decision to engage or refrain from engaging in sexual acts. Hickman and

Muelenhard, although they believe that consent should be an autonomous decision, criticize

defining consent as purely a mental act because there is no way for someone’s partner to know

what they are thinking.8 In order for a partner to understand what decision has been made by the

7 Young, Cathy. "Affirmative Consent in California: The Problem With 'Yes Means Yes'." Time. August 29, 2014.
Accessed June 10, 2018. http://time.com/3222176/campus-rape-the-problem-with-yes-means-yes/.
8
Hickman, Susan E. and Charlene L. Muehlenhard. ""by the Semi-Mystical Appearance of a
Condom": How Young Women and Men Communicate Sexual Consent in Heterosexual Situations." The Journal of
Sex Research 36, no. 3 (08, 1999): 258-272, https://login.libproxy.scu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy.scu.edu/docview/215281205?accountid=13679 (accessed May 20, 2018).
Anika Kingsley 4

person they are attempting to engage in intercourse with, the person must give some indication of

consent. Philosopher Alan Wertheimer refers to this indication as a token of consent: “I readily

grant that tokens of consent are morally significant precisely because they are reliable indications

of desires […] It is the mental state that largely defines what the tokens of consent are meant to

convey.”9 Wertheimer suggests that after an autonomous mental decision has been made, consent

must be indicated with a token. In his analysis, a token of consent can be either verbal or

nonverbal. Verbal tokens can range from being very direct as in saying ‘I want to have sex with

you’ to an indirect question ‘do you have a condom?’ Within the spectrum of tokens, a presence

of ‘yes’ is categorized as direct verbal consent. In a study performed by E.S. Byers, the most

important nonverbal consent token for a woman to perform was caressing the male’s genitals.10

Other nonverbal consent tokens include beginning sexual intercourse and smiling. The presence

and mutual understanding of the meaning behind these tokens helps us begin to define valid

sexual consent.

It is complicated and also important to note that these tokens, especially the nonverbal,

can be misinterpreted and do not always signal consent. A research respondent noted: “A smile

does not mean consent in a bar to a guy I hardly know, but it does with my boyfriend.”11 In order

to make a distinction, I think it’s important to recognize different circumstances have different

rules and, therefore, I am going to separate my evaluation into three different categories. I

believe that it is crucial to divide these scenarios because they entail different expectations and

are often overlooked.

9
Wertheimer, Alan. Consent to Sexual Relations (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law).
Cambridge University Press, 2003. Chapters 1, 7-11.
10
Hickman, Susan E. and Charlene L. Muehlenhard. ""by the Semi-Mystical Appearance of a
Condom": How Young Women and Men Communicate Sexual Consent in Heterosexual Situations." The Journal of
Sex Research 36, no. 3 (08, 1999): 258-272, https://login.libproxy.scu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy.scu.edu/docview/215281205?accountid=13679 (accessed May 20, 2018).
11
IBID
Anika Kingsley 5

The scenarios are as follows: (1) the first encounter and engagement in intercourse, (2)

after having intercourse a couple of times on different occasions, (3) having intercourse within a

long-term relationship. I believe there is a way to define clear sexual consent for each of these

cases. To begin with the first scenario, the first time two people are sexually active with each

other, I believe that both parties should seek very clear consent. This includes both verbal and

nonverbal tokens. It is within this scenario that the most cases of sexual assault resulting from

miscommunication occur,12 which I believe can be blamed on the misinterpretation of signals

because these people most likely do not know each other’s mannerisms or intentions very well.

In order to avoid misinterpretation, both partners should verbally state what sexual activity they

are comfortable engaging in and demonstrate the same in their physical actions. This might be

uncomfortable for some people, but the alternative could result in falling into either the twenty-

eight percent of sexual assaults committed by strangers or the forty-five percent committed by

acquaintances by having non-consensual sexual relations.13

The second scenario involves people who are relatively new to engaging in intercourse

with each other, but have done so already a few times. In this case, I believe that clear consent

should still be present, but since the partners have a better understanding of each other, it would

not have to be as extensive. In other words, the consent could be either verbal or non-verbal

tokens consistent with what was acceptable in previous encounters assuming the previous

encounters involved clear, unambiguous, and non-influenced consent.

The third scenario involves a couple in a long-term relationship who we assume have a

good understanding of each other’s comfort levels when it comes to sexual activity. In this case,

12 "Perpetrators of Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN." Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse | RAINN.
Accessed May 28, 2018. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/perpetrators-sexual-violence.
13
IBID
Anika Kingsley 6

consent tokens would still have to be present when engaging in intercourse, but they would most

likely be nonverbal recognition that the action is happening. It might be assumed that sexual

assault rarely happens in scenarios two and three, but one must consider that even though there is

a presence of understood attraction and previous consent, neither partner owes sexual activity to

the other and still has the right to refuse sex at any time. In fact, twenty-five percent of sexual

assault perpetrators are either current or former intimate partners.14

SB 967 states: “The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or

the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an

indicator of consent.”15 I partially disagree with this section of the bill. As I said before, I think it

is important to make a clear distinction between the three different relationship scenarios for

sexual partners. The importance behind this distinction becomes clear when considering that

most cases of rape or sexual assault would occur between couples or during repeated sexual

encounters, if the affirmative consent definition provided in the bill is used. If a couple does not

continuously say ‘yes’ in agreement to everything happening, should this be considered rape? I

do not believe so, but an interpreter of this bill would say yes.

I do believe that dating relationships assume and pre-suppose consent to some extent. I

believe that uninfluenced and autonomous mental consent should be portrayed through physical

consent tokens, but valid consent for relationships cannot be reasonably defined in the same

category as first encounters. It is unrealistic and problematic to define rape as an absence of a

‘yes’ when, as I have pointed out, verbal tokens are not the only way to signal consent. But it is

important to note that I do not believe that this understood consent in relationships implies the

14
IBID
15
Le, De. "SB 967 Senate Bill - AMENDED." ABX2 15 Assembly Bill. 2nd Ext. Session – CHAPTERED. August
04, 2014. Accessed June 10, 2018. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0951-
1000/sb_967_bill_20140804_amended_asm_v95.html.
Anika Kingsley 7

necessity to engage in sexual intercourse with a partner whenever they please. A person within

this dating partnership still has the right to refuse or revoke consent from any sexual activity, but

it remains incumbent upon partners in a relationship to communicate.

The idea of refusal, even after previous consent, leads me to my final portion of the

definition of legitimate consent. Consent is a continuous paradigm as opposed to a one-time

agreement. Again, I would like to consider two different scenarios: (a) partner 1 agreed to have

sex with partner 2 a few days ago, but now decides they no longer want to; (b) partner 1 and

partner 2 are having sex that they both consented to, partner 1 is experiencing a lot of pain and

tells partner 2 that they no longer want to continue. Although partner 1 previously agreed to

sexual interactions, the moment they decide they do not want to participate is when their mental

consent changes or is revoked. At that time, if partner 2 does not stop then the consensual

activity becomes an assault. As mentioned before, the mental portion of consent does not

transmit to the other person. Therefore, in order to express the revocation of consent to partner 2,

partner 1 must use verbal and physical tools. In a court case with a scenario similar to (b), the

state argued in favor of prosecuting partner 2 for continuing with the intercourse by saying: “rape

implies violation of the woman’s person; and it occurs at any time during the carnal intercourse

when the woman withdraws her consent.”16 Consent must be continuous, at any point in time

either partner is permitted to revoke their consent if they no longer feel comfortable or if they

simply do not want to continue. This part of my definition is consistent with SB 967.

Rape and sexual assaults are typically understood to happen when there is an absence of

consent tokens, but I would like to address circumstances where the consent tokens were present,

but not valid, meaning that the consenter would not be responsible for providing consent. The

16
Wertheimer, Alan. Consent to Sexual Relations (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law).
Cambridge University Press, 2003. Chapters 1, 7-11.
Anika Kingsley 8

first circumstance is sexual coercion. Harry Frankfurt discusses coercion as it relates to moral

responsibilities for one’s decisions: “he can hardly be said to be morally responsible for his

action. For he performed the action simply as a result of the coercion to which he was

subjected.”17 Frankfurt agrees that being coerced into choosing to do something strips one of

their personal autonomy of choice and, therefore, the moral responsibility for that action. In other

words, being coerced into consenting invalidates one’s consent because their decision to provide

consent was not autonomous. Wertheimer defines sexual coercion by creating two conditions.

The first says that partner 1 is sexually coerced if partner 2 threatens to make partner 1 worse off

if she does not comply and “it is reasonable for [partner 1] to succumb to [partner 2’s] proposal

rather than suffer the consequences.”18 The second condition states that partner 2 should

understand that partner 1 is not reasonably consenting due to an offer made by partner 2 that

won’t necessarily put partner 1 in a worse condition. To further explain this second condition, I

will use a theoretical situation described within Alan Wertheimer’s Consent to Sexual Relations:

Higher Grade: A professor says ‘Have sexual relations with me and I will give you a

grade two grades higher than you deserve. Otherwise you’ll get just what you deserve. 19

The professor in this situation did not threaten to make his student worse off, but it is

reasonable to assume that he was aware that his proposition could lead to consent to sexual

relations that the student would not have agreed to prior to the proposition. It is because the lack

of autonomy within the student’s decision that we would consider the student to have been

sexually coerced into providing consent.

17
Frankfurt, H. G. (1969). "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility." Journal of
Philosophy 66(23): 829-839.
18
Wertheimer, Alan. Consent to Sexual Relations (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law).
Cambridge University Press, 2003. Chapters 1, 7-11.
19
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Anika Kingsley 9

Another way for the consent to be invalid would be the lack of full competency. The

simplest way to think about this is to consider consent as a written agreement. When signing this

agreement, one would assume that everything they would be agreeing to would be laid out for

them and that the signatories are in a competent mental status. In the context of sexual relations,

this would include but not be limited to sexually transmitted diseases, use of birth control, and

extent of the specific activities to be performed. If partner 1 were to deceive the other by limiting

the amount of information they give, or lying about any part of it, partner 2’s consent would not

be valid because they were not provided with the full information. For example, partner 2 asks

partner 1 if she was on some sort of contraception; partner 1 lies and said that she was; partner 2

resumed sexual conduct because he believed he would not be at risk of becoming a father. We

assume that if partner 1 had been honest about not using a contraceptive, partner 2 would not

have continued with the sexual intercourse. Although partner 2 consented, he was not fully aware

of the circumstances into which he was entering, and since this information was withheld from

him, his consent was not valid.

The final way for consent to become invalid that I will discuss relates to alcoholic

intoxication. One might also research the possibility that impaired emotional and mental

capacities, which can also invalidate consent, but because of the depth and complexity of the

issue, it is outside the scope of what I can accomplish in this paper. Before beginning the

discussion on alcohol, I would like to clarify that I am focusing on cases in which some type of

consent token was given and neither partner was passed out or unresponsive, which would be

rape by definition of the absence of consent. Partying, drinking obsessively, and hooking up

while drunk are common expectations that students have for their social life in college. The short

film Spin the Bottle suggests that many of these expectations come from the media. When they
Anika Kingsley 10

see people returning to a dorm room to have sex in movies, college kids tend to believe that is

how their night should end. Spin the Bottle criticizes this portrayal of drunk sexual contact and

drinking in general because the films rarely show the negative effects of alcohol or engaging in

sexual activity while under the influence.20 Alcohol lowers inhibitions and may increase one’s

sex drive, but also affects internal and external methods for consenting. It is often debated how

much alcohol can invalidate and affect one’s ability to consent.

California’s SB 967 says that a person’s consent cannot be accepted as valid if they have

been incapacitated by alcohol. This bill does not provide a definition for what would be

considered incapacitated. It also says that the accused or perpetrator “should have known that the

complainant was unable to consent” under the circumstance of alcoholic incapacitation.21 The

law assumes that someone can be intoxicated and still have the capacity to consent. Again,

within the document, definitions for these terms are not listed, leaving room for misinterpretation

or inconsistency. Aside from the bill, some people believe that the presence of any alcohol

invalidates someone’s consent.

It is believed that some people use alcohol as a ‘liquid confidence’ making the substance

a catalyst to sexual connection.22 If the case becomes that people voluntarily intoxicate

themselves for the sole purpose of engaging in sexual activity, then the argument cannot be that

all alcoholic consumption renders someone’s consent to be invalid. I would like to argue that it is

important that a guideline to when someone becomes too intoxicated to provide valid consent be

established. Alcohol effects everyone to a different extent because of varying tolerances, sex, and

20
Spin the Bottle. Directed by Kelly Garner, Loretta Alper, Rodit Ridberg, Sut Jhally. Media
Education Foundation, 2004. Accessed May 21, 2018.
21
Le, De. "SB 967 Senate Bill - AMENDED." ABX2 15 Assembly Bill. 2nd Ext. Session – CHAPTERED. August
04, 2014. Accessed June 10, 2018. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0951-
1000/sb_967_bill_20140804_amended_asm_v95.html.
22
Spin the Bottle. Directed by Kelly Garner, Loretta Alper, Rodit Ridberg, Sut Jhally. Media
Education Foundation, 2004. Accessed May 21, 2018.
Anika Kingsley 11

body mass. I would like to suggest that although effects vary, the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)

of a person giving consent cannot be above the legal driving level of .0823 or have had more than

4-6 drinks within the time span of two hours, depending on the person, in order to give valid

consent. It is at this point that many people’s decision-making autonomy is compromised by the

alcohol; and the same could be said for other drugs. Although some people will have normal

cognitive abilities at and above these levels, it is important that we create a guideline for the

majority of people and I think this guideline can fix a major flaw within the bill. I will keep this

guideline consistent for the rest of my discussion on alcohol and sexual consent.

I will now demonstrate a few cases where I believe intoxicated consent was present and

explain whether or not it should be considered valid. First, consider that partner 1 mentally plans

to engage in sexual contact with partner 2, but first wants to consume a couple drinks so she can

feel more come confident. Later that night, partner 1 and partner 2 engage in sexual intercourse

where both parties demonstrated consent tokens despite both being intoxicated. Because consent

begins with a mental state and assuming that this mental state did not change as the night

progressed, partner 1 would have truly wanted to have intercourse that night and, therefore, her

consent while intoxicated would be considered valid. The amount of alcohol consumed by

partner 1 should not be considered a factor to the validity of her consent as long as she was

responsive for the entirety of the sexual interaction.

Now consider a different scenario where partner 1 had no mental plans to engage in

sexual contact with partner 2 when she begins drinking with friends. As the night progresses,

partner 1 becomes more attracted to partner 2. Later that night, partner 1 and partner 2 engage in

sexual intercourse where both parties demonstrated consent tokens despite both being

23
"DUI & DWI Laws & Enforcement." DMV.ORG. Accessed May 28, 2018. https://www.dmv.org/automotive-
law/dui.php.
Anika Kingsley 12

intoxicated. Since the attraction and decision to have sexual relations with partner 2 came about

with the assistance and the influence of alcohol, I would consider this consent to be invalid if

either partner had more than 4-6 drinks or had a BAC over .08 even if neither partner were to

regret the decision in the morning. Just as a coerced consent cannot be considered valid, a

consent influenced by substance, even if it was voluntarily consumed, will also affect one’s

autonomy and can be considered invalid and leave the consenter irresponsible for the consent

they have given. If neither partner was above the guideline, then I believe that they still

maintained their own judgement and their consent can be considered valid. One might argue that

partner 2 would have no way to know if partner 1 had intentions to have intercourse prior to

drinking, as seen in the first scenario, because partner 1’s sober consent was mental. In order to

ensure that this issue is avoided, partner 2 should seek verbal consent prior to intoxication, but I

understand this is often uncomfortable or not possible. For this reason, I would like to address

the risk that comes with intoxicated sexual intercourse for anyone in partner 2’s situation.

Because approximately sixty-six percent of sexual assaults on college campuses occur

with the presence of alcohol,24 both partners, but especially anyone in the initiator or partner 2’s

shoes, should take necessary precautions if they truly want to avoid being in an unwanted

situation. The blame for partner 1’s mental state falls partially on her in the second scenario

because she should understand that alcohol increases sex drive and impairs judgement.

Therefore, if she drank over the guideline voluntarily, then she must take partial responsibility.

This is not to say that because she is partially responsible that partner 2 is any less responsible

because they should be aware of the state that they themselves and their partner are in because of

the consumption of alcohol.

24
Spin the Bottle. Directed by Kelly Garner, Loretta Alper, Rodit Ridberg, Sut Jhally. Media
Education Foundation, 2004. Accessed May 21, 2018.
Anika Kingsley 13

I find it difficult to accept SB 967’s definition of consent with the presence of alcohol

because of the statement about how the person in partner 2’s case should have reasonably known

that the person they were engaging with was incapacitated. I think this definition creates many

issues surrounding responsibility and victim blaming. Alcohol affects people in very distinct

ways and often times if their partner wasn’t with them the entire night, their partner would have

no idea how much alcohol they consumed. But even if partner 2, or any partner for that matter,

were to be unaware of the level of intoxication that their partner currently resided, they should

still be responsible if the consent they were given was not valid. Awareness of your other

partners internal being does not change the validity of consent tokens they give you because the

base of consent is mental. This topic is very complicated and could be discussed and researched

in its own paper but I would like to finish by reiterating that engaging in sexual intercourse when

alcohol is involved is its own risk separate from normal intercourse and there are many

precautions that one can take to ensure they do not get stuck in a lawsuit or prosecution.

Sexual assault effects millions of college students in the United States every year. One in

five female college students or one in sixteen male college students will be victims of sexual

assault and many of those situations can be avoided with a proper understanding of what it

means to consent to sexual activity.25 Throughout my paper I have pointed out the importance of

understanding tokens of consent, verbal and non-verbal, and the situations where one or the other

is considered acceptable as valid consent. I have shown that coerced and intoxicated consent

cannot be taken as valid and neither can consent without full information. Sadly, not all sexual

assaults are avoidable due to criminal activities seen with the use of force and intentional

drugging, but I believe that if everyone were educated about the tokens of consent and their

25
"National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)." National Sexual Violence Resource
Center (NSVRC). Accessed May 23, 2018. https://www.nsvrc.org/.
Anika Kingsley 14

applicability to certain situations, the role alcohol plays in individual’s ability to consent and the

fact that consent must be continuous and can be rescinded at any time, we can reduce the number

of victims. I hope that my research can spark some conversations and potentially change the way

someone might view entering into sexual relations and searching for consent.

Annotated Bibliography
Anika Kingsley 15

Bennett, Jessica, and Daniel Jones. "45 Stories of Sex and Consent on Campus." The New York
Times. May 10, 2018. Accessed May 18, 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/10/style/sexual-consent-college-
campus.html.

In light of the #MeToo movement on social media which showed the world the gravity of
the sexual assault issue in this world, this article provides 45 stories from real life college
students. These stories discuss the students’ personal encounters with ‘the gray-area’ of
consensual sex. The stories are grouped in categories of events leading up to the action, the
feelings during, the aftermath, and finally “What I Wish I Could Tell My 15-Year-Old Self.” The
purpose of this article is
This article was reliable because it was published in The New York Times, a worldwide
influencer for scholarly and important works of literature. This resource was useful in
understanding the empirical side to the discussion on consent. It is important to note that this
source is a newspaper piece and the stories are not cited other than the name and state of the
person who submitted it.
This source will be useful in shaping my argument because it differs in perspective when
compared to my other sources. Instead of focusing on requirements for consent, the stories
describe, from the voices of people who have experienced the ‘gray-area’ first-hand, the
difficulties of consenting and refusing sexual encounters.

Frankfurt, H. G. (1969). "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility." Journal of

Philosophy 66(23): 829-839.

The purpose of this article is to propose that the Principle of Alternative Possibilities is
false. Under this original understanding it is believed that in cases of coercion, inner compulsion,
and any sort of hypnotic over-powerment of someone’s decision making process, one would
have a represented choice to act another way but cannot be held morally responsible. Frankfurt
states that if there is a presence of a threat to perform an action, one can still be morally
responsible if they perform that action because they originally were going to before being
threatened. Coercion does not exclude morally responsibility 100% of the time. Frankfurt revises
the Principle of Alternative Possibilities to say: “a person is not morally responsible for what he
has done if he did it only because he could not have done otherwise.”

This article is reliable because it is sourced from a much larger philosophical work. This
work was written and peer reviewed by famous and extremely intelligent philosophers who
devoted a large portion of their lives to formulate and write these arguments. Compared to other
sources in my bibliography, this source is one of the most reliable because of Frankfurt’s
devotion to and knowledge of this topic as well as his credibility.

This source is very important because it lays out the philosophical framework to my
paper. Its arguments have helped me shape my arguments in relation to a specific topic of
coercion. I can use this source in addition to other sources that specifically relate to my topic to
gain a more general understanding of the effects of coercion to one’s moral responsibility for
their actions.
Anika Kingsley 16

Hickman, Susan E. and Charlene L. Muehlenhard. ""by the Semi-Mystical Appearance of a

Condom": How Young Women and Men Communicate Sexual Consent in Heterosexual
Situations." The Journal of Sex Research 36, no. 3 (08, 1999): 258-272,
https://login.libproxy.scu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy.scu.edu/docview/215281205?accountid=13679 (accessed May 20, 2018).

This source discusses many previous studies on the differences between definitions of
consent and sexual drive. Then it continues to describe the authors’ own experiment. Consent is
defined in this paper as various signals to communicate agreement to perform a sexual activity.
The results of the study showed that most of these consent signals fall into categories of “direct
and indirect verbal and nonverbal” ways of signifying consent. The study also found that the
consent signals used by men and women did not differ as much as one might expect, making the
assumption that your partner might consent in a similar way you would be plausible. The study
did note that there is a gender-based sexual miscommunication because men’s consent signals
were considered greater than consent given by women.
The authors contributed to a larger journal of philosophical work which makes it more
reliable. These journals are often peer reviewed. The goal of this source is to determine if there is
a difference between the perceptions and actions behind sexual activity between the genders and
it is reached by the use of a long list of sources, extensive research, and presentation of results.
This source positively added to my research by adding a unique evaluation of how males
and females define and perform consent. I think that this information can be very helpful for my
paper because it eliminates any assumptions that all events and guidelines apply to everyone in
the same manner.

Hullenaar, K. L. (2016). Girls give the sign, guys make the move: The sexual consent process on
a college campus (Order No. 10125353). Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global. (1808254285). (Chapters 3 and 5). Retrieved from
https://login.libproxy.scu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy.scu.edu/docview/1808254285?accountid=13679

This portion of the student research focuses on college students and the partying and
sexual consent expectations. Hullenaar addresses and supports arguments behind the incredible
influence that social as well as cultural norms and gender expectations have on sexual
encounters, understanding of consent. ‘Sexual Scripts’ vary between culture and are used as the
expectation for how a sexual encounter should play-out in order for it to be consensually and
both legally and morally permissible. Hullenaar notes that studies have shown that alcohol
increases one’s sexual drive as well as the internal and external methods to consent. These two
points demonstrate why alcohol increases sexual assault cases.
The reliability of this sources comes from the extensive research the college educated
author put in to compose all of the information. It is important to note that this is a college thesis
paper instead of a completely published form of literature, therefore the accuracy was not
thoroughly checked.
The specific chapters from this source were very helpful to me because they focused on
relevant information and studies as related to my topic. It has a lot of information coming from
many different sources in attempt to answer prevalent questions. I used this source for quick
Anika Kingsley 17

information but also for its extensive list of other sources which turned out to be very useful for
continuing my research.

Spin the Bottle. Directed by Kelly Garner, Loretta Alper, Rodit Ridberg, Sut Jhally. Media
Education Foundation, 2004. Accessed May 21, 2018.

This film focuses on the role media plays in the sex and alcohol culture, especially on
college and sometimes high school campuses. The film included images of parties, movies
portraying parties, and alcoholic ads as well as interviews with real college students. The main
point of the film was to highlight that not so great things such as excessive consumption of
alcohol and drunken sexual encounters have been glamorized in mainstream media. This
glamorization has led to kids trying to mimic what happened in the films or commercials without
considering the consequences that are rarely shown in the media.
This source is reliable, even though it is slightly out dated because the issues that were
addressed are still prevalent, especially on college campuses. Compared to my other sources, the
information felt harder to trust because the limited knowledge about the sources and people
being interviewed who provided information. The film was useful to get an idea where the
alcohol culture stems from especially when discussing rape culture.
This source will be useful for discussing the gravity of alcohol use on college campuses.
It has changed my view on the topic slightly because it provides a reason as to why this age
range might feel pressured to have sex while drunk and ultimately end up in the gray-area
situations concerning sexual consent.

"National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)." National Sexual Violence Resource
Center (NSVRC). Accessed May 23, 2018. https://www.nsvrc.org/.
This source summarized quick facts and statistics regarding sexual assault. The statistics
were put in categories such as sexual violence in the U.S., crime reports, and campus sexual
assault. Some notable statistics are that 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do no
report their assaults, one in five women will be raped at some point in their college career, and 8
out of 10 victims knew their attacker.
Compared to other sources, this source does not contain opinions, stories, or theories. It is
simply a way to provide fast facts on the topic of rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. This
source is reliable because it comes from the NSVRC, whose mission is to promote research,
collaborating sources, and protecting victims as well as potential victims. The statistics were
supported by an extensive list of researchers and studies that were cited at the end.
This source will add to my paper by assisting me in describing the gravity of the sexual
assault issue as a whole and specifically on college campuses. I can insert a few statistics to
support my claim that attention needs to be called to the issue of sexual assault on college
campuses.

Weiss, Suzannah. "4 Reasons We Need To Teach Consent." Bustle. April 25, 2018. Accessed
May 23, 2018. https://www.bustle.com/articles/118139-4-statistics-that-prove-we-need-
to-teach-people-about-consent.
The purpose of this source is to provide quick statistics to educate its readers on the
sexual assault issue and suggest implementing more thorough ways of educating young people
Anika Kingsley 18

on the guidelines to consent. The author believes that more education on consent will help
alleviate some cases of sexual misconducts. The article states that people are less likely to rape if
they understand that what they are doing falls under the definition. It also gives statistics on the
The reliability of this source is relatively low as compared to my other sources.
Bustle.com is a magazine type of website designed for quick reads and fast facts to call people’s
attention to and provide basic information on various subjects. The use of outside sources, which
I took the time to double check, this article boosted its reliability. Unlike many sources that focus
on sexual assault cases, this article includes men and the TGQN (Transgender, Genderqueer and
Nonconforming) community in their statistics and analysis. Although women make up the
majority of victims, it is important to understand that they are not always the only ones being
targeted.
This usefulness of this source will come from its list of statistics. I can add a few statistics
to support my claim that attention needs to be called to the issue of sexual assault. In addition,
some statistics about the way students perceive the definition of consent to be will be helpful in
my explanation of the misinterpretations of the definition of consent.

"1 in 3 American Women Has Experienced Some Type of Sexual Violence." Womenshealth.gov.
March 14, 2018. Accessed May 23, 2018. https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-
and-safety/sexual-assault-and-rape/sexual-assault.

Womeshealth.gov provides a very influential platform for answering questions about

sexual assault, consent, and how to seek help if you think you have been assaulted. The site
provides definitions for sexual assault and consent. I specifically focused on definitions as they
will relate best to my topic.
This source was reliable because the purpose of the site is to educate people on the topic
quickly so that they can recognize an attack and know what to do. It is interesting to see how a
health site defines consent as compared to a philosophical point of view.
I am planning on using the definitions provided on this source in my paper to compare to
philosophical work and as a basis for understood knowledge in the medical environment. I might
also consider looking at the resources available to victims.

"DUI & DWI Laws & Enforcement." DMV.ORG. Accessed May 28, 2018.
https://www.dmv.org/automotive-law/dui.php.

"Perpetrators of Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN." Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse |
RAINN. Accessed May 28, 2018. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/perpetrators-sexual-violence.

Le, De. "SB 967 Senate Bill - AMENDED." ABX2 15 Assembly Bill. 2nd Ext. Session –
CHAPTERED. August 04, 2014. Accessed June 10, 2018. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-
14/bill/sen/sb_0951-1000/sb_967_bill_20140804_amended_asm_v95.html.

Young, Cathy. "Affirmative Consent in California: The Problem With 'Yes Means Yes'." Time.
August 29, 2014. Accessed June 10, 2018. http://time.com/3222176/campus-rape-the-problem-
with-yes-means-yes/.

Wertheimer, Alan. Consent to Sexual Relations (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law).
Anika Kingsley 19

Cambridge University Press, 2003. Chapters 1, 7-11.

After submitting my assignment, I immediately thought that I needed a strong

counterargument to be arguing against to truly make my paper argumentative instead of solely
descriptive. I had a few ideas of my own that I knew I could implement but I just hadn’t done it
Anika Kingsley 20

in time for the first submission. After the peer discussion in class one of my classmates made an
amazing suggestion to use a court case that I believed was wrongfully decided as my
counterargument. I thought this was a great idea and immediately began my search so I could
introduce the idea into my paper. I soon found out that this was not an easy task. I got countless
search results about famous men being accused of sexual assault and rape cases from college
sports teams but nothing seemed to fit the description of what I was really looking for. I thought
my professor might have another idea for a counter example so I waited for his comments on my
first draft. His comments showed a similar idea, probably because it would be a very strong way
to prove my ideas. Since I could not find information on court cases I asked for assistance from
my professor whose help spiked an idea for me.
During my research, I stumbled upon a California bill to which I found some flaws so I
didn’t include it into my definition. Then I got the idea of using this bill as a sort of
counterargument to show why I believe the definition of consent was should never be vague. My
revisions then had to include implementing the ideas from the bill and what I believed about
them. This was the toughest part of my changes from the first draft but I think it helped my paper
a lot especially in making it argue for something.
During my in-class presentation, people asked many clarifying and theoretical questions
because they were interested in the topic. I used these questions to make sure I made all the
answers to theoretical cases and my definitions as a whole very clear so that the hesitations my
classmates seemed to have wouldn’t come up from my readers.
The comments from my professor were very helpful to me in knowing where my paper
lacked connection to the topic, clarity, extra argumentative strategies, and explanation. They
made my review process easier because he pin-pointed the specific areas that were problematic
or needed to be reviewed. I think by changing and adding to things that my professor noted, I
was able to really connect my paper to the original topic and clarify my arguments and
definitions. Thank you!
One thing that was mentioned in class that I did not change or note was the complexity of
discussing the decision to consent prior to the consumption of alcohol. I understood the
hesitation behind the comments but I did not have room in my paper to expand the discussion
and I didn’t want to take it out all together because it was an idea that I found in my research that
I really wanted to implement to prove that not all intoxicated sexual relations are invalid or
nonconsensual. With more room in this paper I think this topic can be more thoroughly discussed
and I think it is an important one too.
In order to get fresh eyes and uneducated, at least on the topic, points of view I asked my
parents to review my paper for grammar mistakes and to point out where I might have assumed
knowledge. This is historically the best way to review papers in my opinion because it is very
eye opening to grammar that can be easily missed after reading and rereading your own work
and it is a great way to ensure no knowledge is assumed especially since the audience for this
assignment is not expected to know anything about the topic that was researched or the ideas
discussed in class.
All in all, this revision process, although tough with the proximity of summer, was very
beneficial to my paper.