I mean, I made a decision about how to respond to what was happening. And like the author, I could have just left the apartment, but I didn’t. I decided to do a sexual act rather than leave even though I didn’t particularly want to do it.

Yes. Reading this made me think the exact same thing: almost everyone I know has a story like this. I agree, the answer is to teach women and men how to navigate active consent. Even more, teach women from an early age it’s okay to be assertive, it’s okay to say no. Even as a woman in my early 30's, I am very much…

Well, she does have some right to frame her own experiences, no? I hope you didn’t break off the relationship based on this story alone.

If there is a woman alive who has not had this experience, I’d like to meet her, because she is a rare, rare creature. I’m so grateful to you for sharing your story and elaborating on the complexity of consent. So many people want to make it a black-and-white, yes-or-no issue, and the more people who stand up and say…