"It is a culture with an abhorrence of forcing anyone into anything, a respect for the absolute necessity of bodily autonomy, a culture that believes that a person is always the best judge of their own wants and needs."
A lot of current talk about consent focuses on sex, but it's so much more than that. The Pervocracy continues:
"A consent culture is one in which mutual consent is part of social life as well. Don't want to talk to someone? You don't have to. Don't want a hug? That's okay, no hug then. Don't want to try the fish? That's fine."
Pretty straight forward. But it's harder than it sounds. In the dance community we're been told for decades that men lead and woman follow. But if we embrace this culture then we need to ask for consent before leading or following someone. Consent applies to more fundamental aspects of partner dancing as well. It's the difference between forcing a turn and inviting a turn.
The Pervocracy post talks about bring consent out of the bedroom:
"In many ways, forcing people to do things is part of our culture in general. Cut that shit out of your life. If someone doesn't want to go to a party, try a new food, get up and dance, make small talk at the lunch table--that's their right."
And finally, this is the best argument I know of for bringing consent culture to the partner dance scene:
"A "yes" brings the joy of knowing someone is really hot for you, really wants you. It means that they're going to not just go along with but be into the stuff that comes next. That's not "prerequisite checked off," that's "awesome, this is going to be so much better now.""
This applies to dancing as well. When someone says they really want to dance with you, everything is going to be so much better.
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