‘Yes Means Yes’ Is a Bad Coupling of Feminism and the State

"California’s enacting on Sunday of the “yes means yes” law is a victory for some feminist activists but an ill-conceived detour for feminism. The new law will require “an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.” In other words, if a person is not actively agreeing to a sexual exchange and doing so throughout the exchange, it is not consensual....“Yes means yes” is a great notion with which to start a sex-ed class. Asking your partner if she or he want this or that, harder or softer, slower or faster is a fine way of producing more pleasure for all parties involved. But that doesn’t make the concept good law."