Jeremy Stangroom

1. Having been the victim of sexual assault/rape. 2. Body image problems (including gender dysphoria). 3. Vaginismus - look it up if you don't know what it is.

4. Recent heart attack. 5. Flattened affect (e.g., people suffering from a depressive disorder). 6. Feelings of guilt and/or disgust about sex.

7. A history of bad sexual experiences. 8. Religious conservatism, and the worry that god might be watching. 9. Feelings of guilt about sexual orientation.

10. Performance anxiety. 11. Erectile dysfunction. 12. Premature ejaculation.

13. Fear of pregnancy. 14. Fear of being caught or heard (e.g., parents of young children). 15. Stress, tiredness, illness.

All of these things might make enthusiastic consent problematic. None of them rule out the possibility of informed consent. It doesn't matter how "woke", or how American, you are - you don't get to tell people they have to be enthusiastic about the things to which they consent.

Of course, I'm entirely aware that enthusiasm is a good signal of consent - though actually not an infallible signal - but the problem arises because of the elision of signal and necessary condition.

Enthusiasm as a standard rules out encounters where consent comes from pressure, eg your boss demands sex (and maybe they'll fire you if you refuse). What do you think of this?