“WHAT DO I CALL THIS?": The Role of Consent in LGBTQA+ Sexual Practices and Victimization Experiences

The ways in which sexual consent and non-consent are negotiated and practiced is central to understanding sexual violence. Research on sexual violence indicates that both gender and sexually minoritized people are overrepresented as victims of sexual assault and that sexual assault often involves elements of coercion around consent. Additionally, research on heterosexual populations indicates that coerced consent, also referred to as forced consent or unwanted but consensual sex, is common and steeped in patriarchal values. Within a larger framework of historic and structural oppression of the LGBTQA+ community, along with gendered norms and scripts that typically govern sexual negotiation, queer people are often sidelined or completely left out of the sexual consent conversation. This chapter seeks to centre queer voices on sexual consent, with particular focus on how LGBTQA+ identities understand consent, experience forced consent, and characterize sexual victimization. Utilizing qualitative data from two studies in the United States, this chapter will shift the traditional heteronormative approach to topics of sexual consent and victimization and focus on queer experiences, practices, and insights into sexual consent to better inform sexual violence prevention efforts and service provision.