Consent is not unilateral or unambiguous, so - like any other subjective state - it makes an exceptionally poor criterion. Further, it localizes 'rape' within a very constrained axis of violence (see, e.g., Zizek's Violence). At the level of ideology in actuality 'rape' occurs far more often than you seem to realize. Moreover, saying asymmetries of power are endemic to sex is like saying birds like to fly.
But I totally agree with your conclusion: We really need to rethink what we're teaching young people about sex. To that end, I would point out that sexuality is discursive and articulated via culture. Thus, if we are to 'rethink what we're teaching young people about sex' we'd need to re-articulate social formations from the ground-up.
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Date: 2010-12-22 11:00 pm (UTC)But I totally agree with your conclusion: We really need to rethink what we're teaching young people about sex. To that end, I would point out that sexuality is discursive and articulated via culture. Thus, if we are to 'rethink what we're teaching young people about sex' we'd need to re-articulate social formations from the ground-up.