Sonia Bradley

Callard, Garcia, and Cordelli discussing Garcia’s book The Joy of Consent.

Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.

Philosopher Manon Garcia discussed her newest book, The Joy of Consent, on October 11. The talk, moderated by political science professor Chiara Cordelli and philosophy professor Agnes Callard, was organized by the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.

Garcia is a French philosopher who taught at UChicago from 2018 to 2019 and is known for her work on feminism, political philosophy, and the patriarchy. The Joy of Consent is the English translation of La Conversation des Sexes, which received the Prix des Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco award for the best book in philosophy published in France in 2022. The English translation was published in the United States on October 3, 2023.

The 90-minute discussion covered a range of topics including how consent is used as a tool for freedom and resistance, and the implications of consent in circumstances of sexual violence and rape. The conversation was widely focused on the concept of “morally good sex” and the problem with comparing sexual consent to consenting for a hike with a friend or promising to lend someone your bike.

“In society it has…a different meaning to have sex with someone than to do sport with this person,” Garcia said. She discussed the implications of people having different ideas of consent, which can create struggles within a sexual relationship and ultimately cause “morally bad sex.”

“When you say that consent is permission…you are saying ‘you can do this thing to me that would otherwise be a rape’…This is a complete misunderstanding about what a rape is,” Garcia said.

Callard brought up the conception Garcia addresses in her book of the stigma that exists around consent. “We don’t have to think of consent as a contract, we can think of it just as an agreement or a sentiment or an expression of feeling,” Callard said.

Garcia reiterated the necessity of this conversation. “Whether we like it or not, sex is a specific realm of human activity,” she said.

Cordelli also touched on power dynamics. “A widely discussed issue on campus is sexual relationships between people with asymmetrical power, so say student and professor, employer and employees…When we think about these cases, is consent even sufficient to establish right and wrong in sexual relationships?” Cordelli said.

Garcia concluded the panel by addressing the question Cordelli posed. “These questions are very good and very complicated. I think you’re right that in certain cases, consent is just a necessary but not sufficient condition for permissibility of sex.”