Consent Week: Life Is Not A Fairy Tale

This week is Sexual Health Week 2018 and this year’s theme is around Consent. Here at Meic we’re having a weeklong campaign looking at the subject. We’ll be sharing our specially created videos, looking in depth at the subject in our articles and sharing information and links. So, come back every day, visit at our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, use the hashtag MeicConsent, and comment, like and share to help us get the message out.

(I ddarllen yr erthygl yma yn Gymraeg clicia yma)

We have another treat for you today with our second Life Is Not A Fairy Tale animation. On Monday we shared the Sleeping Beauty parody, and today have a different take on another classic fairy tale, The Princess and the Frog, but there isn’t such a happy ending in our tale.

The Princess and the Frog in a nutshell

There are lots of variations to this story but one of them is that a Princess finds a frog and has to kiss him to break a spell and turn him back into a Prince. She kisses him, he does indeed turn into a handsome prince, and they marry and live happily ever after. Classic fairy tale ending… bleurgh!

Our modern take

So here we are in 2018, going around carelessly kissing random frogs surely can’t end well! Our protagonist is a Prince instead of a Princess, and one that isn’t too happy having a pushy frog trying it on with him.

In our video the ‘fairy tale’ ends after the Prince kisses the frog and the frog suggests going back to his pad, it’s obvious he wants to take things to the next level. The ‘Prince’, although happy to kiss him at first, is not interested in taking it further. He’s had enough and says no. But the ‘frog prince’ isn’t that keen to take no for an answer.

Can you see the problem?

Maybe you went out on a date with someone, you appreciated that they were really beautiful and fun to be around. You were attracted to them, and you kissed. Maybe you wanted to take things slowly, maybe you didn’t feel that spark, or maybe you felt a little awkward. You were in a good mood; you were enjoying each others company and having fun but then things changed. They wanted to take it further. You didn’t. You said ‘no’ but did they listen to that no straight away?

In 2018 consent isn’t just a lack of a ‘no’. It’s an enthusiastic ‘yes’. Maybe you want to kiss someone, maybe you want it to go further. But if only one of you wants to take it to that next step, then it is not consent.

No means no

Being rejected can be tough, especially if things have started to become intimate with a kiss and you thought that things were going to go further. But just because you expected it to go further doesn’t mean that the other person felt the same, and it doesn’t mean they should feel obliged to take things further just because you expected it. No means no, and the absence of a no does not mean a yes. Consent is everything!

It doesn’t matter how far things have gone, people can still say no, and at this point you have to listen, and you have to stop. Our aim with today’s video is to send a strong message about sexual consent by pointing out that life is not perfect, it’s not a fairy tale, you have to think, you have to listen, and you have to get consent.

Do you have an opinion on this? Why not get involved in the chat over on Facebook or Twitter by using the hashtag #MeicConsent?

Check out our other articles for Sexual Health Week – Consent:

• Consent Week: No Means No (Life is Not a Fairytale video)
• What’s All This Talk About Consent?
• Consent Week: Inappropriate Song Lyrics
• Consent: How Do People Get It So Wrong?

Need more information?

If you are unsure about consent and want to discuss this then get in touch with us here at Meic. We are here everyday 8am-midnight to offer support with further advice and information. If you feel that you may have been a victim of sexual assault we would always encourage you to speak to a trusted adult such as a parent, doctor, teacher or social worker who may encourage and support you to report this to the police.

Meic is an information and advocacy helpline for children and young people aged 0-25 in Wales. We are open 8am to midnight, 7 days a week. You can contact us free on the phone (080880 23456), text message (84001) or online chat.