Tweet 1a: “I said no, but he did not stop.” Tweet 1b: “True, she said no but she is a girl, her no means yes.” Tweet 2: “If I am in your bed and I said no, better believe that I mean yes.” Tweet 3: “I may say ‘no, stop’ during an intimate period. If you stop, that’s the end of our relationship.”
Those were responses to a tweet of an intimate picture of two heterosexual persons with a caption, “stop, stop. In this kind of situation, stop = continue.” Those statements indicate problematic communication styles in sexual consent and intention that could pose dire consequences in the context of rape culture and victim shaming.
Token resistance has been linked to a higher likelihood of sexual aggression in heterosexual relationships. Research indicates that females seldom say no when they mean no and this miscommunication is largely due to the traditional script of female propriety expected during sexual intimacy. An understanding of the normalization of token resistance in heterosexual relationships is essential in relation to sexual consent interventions and rape prevention plans. Since sexual scripts can be culture-specific, a study with a non-western sample can extend our understanding of these scripts. Thus, this paper will use a qualitative approach to analyze in-depth interviews with heterosexual Nigerian women and men to evaluate the normalization of token resistance in sexual relationships. The study aims to articulate the implications of ambiguous communication on understanding sexual consent, and the prevention of rape culture.
About the presenterOlushola Aromona
Shola Aromona is a doctoral student at the William Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas. Shola’s research interests are political communication, gender and sexuality, and social media for advocacy and social change. She is primarily interested in the interaction of gender in the political communication styles of political office holders on social media.