Page 9 - My FlipBook

THEIR BODY, THEIR RULES
In dating, it’s super important to get someone’s verbal consent before
getting up in their personal space, touching their body, or touching
them in a new way. Consent is checking in, with words, to make sure the
person you’re with is feeling
good. One simple example
of good consent comes When you have
from the 2013 Disney
film Frozen. In a cute, permission to kiss
romantic moment, hunky
ice harvester Kristoff asks someone, it’s not a
heroine Anna if he may kiss
her. She leans in and kisses blanket permission
him on the cheek, replying
that he may. to touch them
When you have
permission to kiss anyWhere you want.
someone, it’s not a blanket
permission to touch them
anywhere you want.
Instead, if you want to touch their breasts or genitalia, you need to get
consent, asking again, “Can I. . . ?” Another way to ask for consent is to
offer to do something you want to do. For example, “I’d love to take your
shirt off. Is that okay?” or “I want to do something nice for you. Can I give
you a massage?”
Then you need to closely listen to what they say. If someone seems
hesitant or uncertain, that’s not consent. Consent needs to be certain.
So take the cue and don’t push. If you’re the person giving consent, know
that it’s always okay to say no. No one is entitled to your body—not even
your boyfriend, girlfriend, or long-term partner. And it’s okay to change
your mind and say no after you already said yes if something doesn’t feel
good or you just don’t want to anymore.

YoUr BOdY, YOUR rULes 9