436. Consent Laid Bare with Chanel Contos

How can we reshape the understanding of consent and more effectively address the widespread problem of sexual violence? 

Start by joining Jill for a conversation with award-winning activist Chanel Contos, who is bringing attention to the complexities of consent, sexual coercion, and rape culture through her book Consent Laid Bare. 

Chanel’s pioneering work in making consent education mandatory in Australia shows what’s possible and what could be achieved worldwide.

We invite you to listen in to broaden your knowledge about gender norms, the dangers of low empathy and high entitlement, practical steps to foster empathy in young people, and much more. 

This is a crucial conversation that has the potential to make a huge difference in everyone's lives.

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Listen and Learn: 

• Chanel’s personal experiences with early consent education and witnessing systemic injustice that led to the creation of Teach Us Consent?
• Why clear, affirmative consent is understood as the active seeking of an enthusiastic “yes,” rather than simply the absence of a “no” 
• Distinguishing between different categories of rape
• Does the normalization of misogyny and the lack of social consequences contribute to rape culture and make sexual assault socially acceptable within peer groups and broader society?
• How language and metaphors, like the “blueberry” analogy, reveal the hidden social dynamics where men benefit from gendered power structures
• How language shapes recognition of sexual assault and why survivors of coercion or subtle rape struggle to label their experience as “rape”
• The classification of sexual violence and shifting from focusing on the victim’s response to examining the perpetrator’s intent
• How trauma responses like fawning and hypersexuality can explain why survivors continue contact with perpetrators and challenge misconceptions about consent
• How can parents and adults support young people in navigating online sexual content and consent by having open, shame-free conversations early, rather than relying on abstinence messages
• Raising boys’ empathy to match girls’ and reduce entitlement, creating a culture where consent and respect are normalized

Resources: 

• Chanel’s Book, Consent Laid Bare: Sex, Entitlement, and the Distortion of Desire: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9780063449381 
• For More About Chanel’s Work, Visit: https://www.teachusconsent.com/
• https://www.teachusconsent.com/resources#Podcasts
• Teach Us Consent Podcast Series: https://www.teachusconsent.com/resources#Podcasts 
• Connect with Chanel on Social Media:
• https://x.com/Chanelcontos
• https://www.instagram.com/chanelc/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/chanel-contos
• https://www.tiktok.com/@chanazc 

About Chanel Contos

Chanel Contos is an international award-winning activist and the founder of Teach Us Consent, a campaign that successfully mandated consent education across Australia and led to the criminalisation of stealthing in multiple states. 

She holds a Master’s in Education, Gender, and International Development from University College London and is currentl