Consent: A history of coercion and free will and everything in between
'No means no', we say. But does yes always mean yes? Consent seems obvious, but remains a difficult concept to grasp. Eleven historians from Belgium and the Netherlands are now looking at the history of consent to enrich our current understanding of the subject.
When #MeToo erupted, the world suddenly seemed inundated with stories of abuse and inappropriate behaviour. But the questions that arose then are not new. This book shows that discussions about consent are thousands of years old – and that the tension between coercion and free will is constantly shifting.
What did freedom of choice mean for slaves in Greco-Roman antiquity? Could people in the Middle Ages choose their own marriage partner? In the 19th century, who decided on a caesarean section: the doctor or the woman? How “voluntary” was it when women gave up their children for adoption? And how can we talk about consent in a colonial context?
Anyone who reads these stories will discover how deeply these themes are embedded in our history and society. At the same time, they help us understand why there is a grey area between coercion and consent that still causes social friction today.
Chanelle Delameillieure teaches medieval history at KU Leuven. Jolien Gijbels is a lecturer in contemporary history at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. They wrote this book together with historians Christian Laes, Dagmar Vandebosch, Jonas Roelens, Corrie Tijsseling, Margot Luyckfasseel, Gerlov van Engelenhoven, Chiara Candaele, Laurens de Rooy and Lisa Vanderheyden.