ABSTRACT
From an historical perspective so generalized it is nearly wrong, “consent” saved rape law by modernizing it, facilitated the cultural acceptance and legal equality of gay people and other sexual minorities, and politically anchored comprehensive sexual education and other modes of sex-positive activism. In this history, consent is the hero of sexuality (e.g., as the basis for decriminalizing sodomy), sexual violence (e.g., as a substitute for force and resistance requirements as proof of rape), and sex (e.g., as performance of mutual enthusiasm). If such a generalized history is not altogether wrong, it is certainly attractive from a liberal perspective: our cultural valorization of, and renovated legal emphasis upon, consent in matters of sex signals expanding appreciation for individual freedom and tracks inevitable but incremental progress, progress toward better sex laws and better sex.
