So, if your boss asks you to work overtime but you feel tired yet you agree to do it anyway… is that slavery?
Lamia: Intimate communications are largely nonverbal. Because of this, there is, indeed room for misinterpretation. I had a long convoluted hypothetical situation I had pulled out of my ass, but I’ll just say this: 99.9% of the time, it’s completely crystal clear whether a girl has given consent or not. The other .1% when signals are misinterpreted (I mean a LEGITIMATE misinterpretation, not some dumbass excuse about the way she dressed), she needs to SAY SOMETHING, lest something happen that she doesn’t want to happen. If she doesn’t, too bad, so sad, have some counseling on the house, but it’s not rape.
I agree that the potential victim should say something, if only because the person that objects stands a better chance of actually avoiding being made a victim than the person who does not. However, there are several reasons why a person might actually be unable to object (ranging from alcoholic stupor to sheer terror), and if that person has not previously given consent then I don’t think it is fair to hold their inability to refuse against them.
I simply meant that, in some cases, it is legitimate to require an individual to make an objection if a charge of rape is to fly. Duty to mitigate harm, and all that. That said, of course if the chick is passed out or has cause to fear for her safety, it’s a moot point. A guy holding a gun to a girl’s head has made it abundantly clear how much he cares what her opinion on the matter is. If a reasonable person could conclude that ambiguous signals are being sent, she damn well better say something unambiguous.