All Human Beings Have the Right to Say No to Sex

And Men, You Can Too!

All Humans Have the Right to Say No to Sex

We can all agree that consent matters. Asking for, and giving consent before engaging in any sexual activity is the gold standard. Sex positive writers, educators, ambassadors, etc. have done an exemplary job of putting information into the world that communicates how, when, and why consent is so important. And this is in large part to the brave people who shared their stories with the #MeToo movement. They started voicing and calling out the dirty underbelly of our society that had gone unheard for so long. #MeToo continues to be a flagship hashtag that sheds light on rape, harassment, and the violation of woman’s rights. And by extension, giving people the tools they need to be better sexual beings, and for the purposes of this article giving all human beings the right to choose when they want to have sex. I hope in my lifetime I will see saying yes to sex as the universal norm, regardless of culture, race, religion, orientation, or the excuse of substances in our bodies.

Empowering Woman

The evidence is growing that we are making positive strides in giving woman the strength and support to say no. We as a society are listening to women, empowering them to come forward, and watching sexual predators actually get called to task, outright cancelled, and in some cases even jailed! While there is still a long way to go (for example navigating the burden of proof waters in a fair and equitable way), this is an important step in the right direction. And something that we need to keep moving forward with, so one day we can achieve complete equity among human beings, with full body autonomy. So, what’s next?

In my mind the next thing to tackle was teaching men (or any individual for that matter) how to hear the word no, and then providing them the tools to navigate the world outside of a clear, enthusiastic yes when it comes to sex. Unfortunately, it has been brought to my attention that in fact, there is something that needs to happen first, and that is in uniting all people in the understanding that no matter your sexual orientation, gender, anything, you have the right as a human to say no to sex. Let me say that again, before we can take the conversation to the point of reception, we must first grant every human being the…