Posted: September 9th, 2022

Consent and Rejection

Consent and Rejection
Consent is a common term whenever discussions on sexual violence, rejection, and boundaries arise. Understanding the nature of consent and rejection is very important. Consent culture requires a higher level of emotional maturity, especially when people take consent the wrong way or avoid consent for their sanity. Having consent means holding a conversation with someone concerning sexual interest and romance by considering what both parties want and need for space (Afloarei, Martínez, 2019. However, consent means developing boundaries and respecting someone else decision without using force or making the person change their mind. Providing room for a No answer is as important as accepting it and believing that a No is still an answer. Understanding that No is an answer and respecting another person’s boundary is the first step of dealing with rejection. Because human beings biologically need to belong, rejection may be painful and difficult to deal with.
According to Kim et al. (2020), couples experience sexual conflict in long-term relationships, especially when one partner rejects sexual contact with the other partner. The sexual conflict arises mostly after the partner applies hostility and assertiveness in declining sexual advances, which leads to conflicts. Additionally, the rejected partner in marriage takes the No answer negatively, especially when the answer is characterized with hostility, hence suffering the rejection, which may lead to low self-esteem. However, the rejected partner may respond with hostility, which is associated with low levels of satisfaction.
Shumlich and Fisher (2020) discuss factors that have influenced the enactment of affirmative consent behaviors in their article. The need for affirmative consent is driven by the current sexual consent behaviors, where people negotiate for sexual interactions. The article promotes an understanding of how lack of affirmative sexual consent and rejection leads to sexual violence. According to the article, consent should be free-flowing, although influenced by the parties’ personal and social relationships. Also, affirmative sexual consent may seem awkward, although asking for consent can be good because the consenting person has the courage and emotional maturity to handle a No answer (Shumlich and Fisher, 2020).
Afloarei and Martínez (2019) explore the legislation on affirmative, which is an approach that prevents and reduces gender violence, the influence of masculinity, and social transformation on gender, sexual violence. According to the study, consent is essential for sexual matters and criminalizing sexual crimes based on consent. The article focuses on the offender’s intentions and how sexual freedom leads to sexual violence (Shumlich and Fisher, 2020). The article discusses sexual justices based on consent and rejection, mainly when the violence is triggered by rejection, hence committing a crime against sexual freedom. However, the articles can be harmful to children below eighteen, especially on the need to develop affirmative sexual consent.
The topic of consent and rejection matters a lot because consent enables people to interact and promote interpersonal moral relationships. The topic is also important in providing knowledge and understanding on what triggers sexual violence and how to apply the law in cases of sexual violence. This issue is critical in understanding how people respond to rejection and how rejection can trigger past rejection, childhood trauma, and other mental health issues. The topic promotes health, equity, and liberation, especially in reducing sexual violence and assault, and how affirmative sexual consent promotes the liberation of minds and enhances sexual and emotional maturity. Affirmative consent promotes equity, especially where both women and men have the same sexual power, in affirmative sexual consent (Shumlich and Fisher, 2020). However, equity prevents sexual superiority, which is critical in preventing sexual violence, promotes respect, boundaries, and assists in perceiving rejection positively without applying force.
My sex education goals include understanding how sexual choices affect individual well-being and how they can protect their rights and freedom throughout their lives after making a particular sexual decision (Shumlich and Fisher, 2020). I would want people to learn that consent is a way of respecting a person’s rights, and provides a safe space for a No answer, hence consciously responding to rejection. Also, I would want people to learn that sexuality is a mutual agreement that does not need the application of force or pressure, resulting in sexual violence. As Shumlich and Fisher (2020) suggest, people should understand that sex is not a matter of life and death. Therefore, human beings are more than their sexual experiences. It is essential for people, especially in preventing the application of force, and understanding that no one has control over what another person feels; hence rejection is not personal but a way of expressing personal boundaries.
In conclusion, people should have a more profound and broader interaction with materials, such as downloading articles, researching similar research work, and sharing the articles for others to learn and understand the topic. I would suggest learners use blogs, going live, archival, and sharing social media, which are some of the methods people use to disseminate information. Innovative ways of information dissemination play a significant role in creating awareness and reaching a wider audience.

References
Afloarei, A. V., & Martínez, G. T. (2019). The affirmative “yes”. Sexual offense based on consent. Masculinities & Social Change, 8(1), 91-112.
Kim, J. J., Muise, A., Sakaluk, J. K., Rosen, N. O., & Impett, E. A. (2020). When Tonight Is Not the Night: Sexual Rejection Behaviors and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(10), 1476-1490.
Shumlich, E. J., & Fisher, W. A. (2020). An exploration of factors that influence enactment of affirmative consent behaviors. The Journal of Sex Research, 57(9), 1108-1121.