Ecstatic Engagement:

The Joys and Challenges of

Enthusiastic Consent
Luna Celeste

As the adage goes: “Consent is the presence of a ‘yes,’

not the absence of a ‘no.’” In a culture rife with gendered dou-
ble-standards, shaming of certain types of bodies or desires,
a de-emphasis on healthy communication, and some highly-
problematic ideas with regards to sexual entitlement over other
people’s bodies (particularly the bodies of those not identified
as “male”), it’s no wonder why conveying a genuine, emphatic
“yes” or “no” can be particularly trying! We are taught, implic-
itly or explicitly, that silence constitutes consent (it doesn’t),
and that badgering, begging, or threatening an “okay” out of
the objects of our desire is “good enough” consent (it isn’t).
Unfortunately, the subcultures we create, refine, feel drawn
to, or take refuge in often mirror many of these absurd val-
ues of the dominant culture. In the practice of good consent,
we endeavour to better respect one another’s boundaries, to
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