• Unbecredible@lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    It can’t exist? As an exaggeration, is there no way for a woman to meaningfully consent to an offer from her male boss to swap packed lunches? After all, he might take offense and pass her over for the promotion if she declines.

    And if consent is possible in that scenario, what makes it immediately impossible in the scenario where sex or romance is involved?

    It seems obvious that consent has to exist on some kind of spectrum like almost everything else. But it’s spoken about and thought about in a very binary way. That seems problematic given how big a topic consent is lately.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Funny you should bring up food. In the military leaders are trained to eat after their troops, to never gamble with them, and in general never ask anything from them that isn’t related to doing the job.

      Because consent cannot exist in a power imbalance. So yes the lunch swap has the exact same problem. Just with less trauma counseling.

      • Unbecredible@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        Don’t you think taking that hard-line stance kind of corners you into taking some nonsensical positions?

        For example a physical power imbalance will always exist between two men of different sizes. Because the imbalance is there, you have to answer with a hard no when someone asks: “is it possible for two men of different sizes to consent to sex with one another?” But if someone asks “is it okay for two guys of different sizes to have sex?” you would presumably say yes.

        Now you have been forced to say it is okay for sex to happen despite the impossibility of any consent having being given.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Obviously the line gets drawn somewhere yes. Why 18 and not 19? Etc… I just had a good laugh because you stepped right in one.