Thinking Beyond Consent: Sexual Subjectivities of Heterosexual, Same-Sex Attracted and Queer Young Adults in Australia

Consent is positioned legally as the demarcation between acceptable and unacceptable sexual conduct, yet it is not simply a legal construct. Consent has a plethora of meanings based on social norms and personal values. The implication of these multiple meanings is that what is considered sexual consent, and subsequently what is considered sexual violation, varies according to the individual. Utilising qualitative data obtained from twenty-two semi-structured interviews, this thesis explores how sexual consent is understood by heterosexual, same-sex attracted and queer young adults from across Australia.