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Sexual Culture and Consent

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Reclaiming the Night-Time Economy

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Abstract

Licensed venues are often highly sexual spaces. That is, they are places where sexual interaction can be normative and actively sought out by young people. What role might sexual venue cultures play in facilitating the occurrence of unwanted sexual attention? How do we distinguish between the wanted and the unwanted in the context of a night out? This chapter considers the norms of sexual interaction and consent in venues and they ways in which these can form part of the cultural scaffolding—to draw on Nicola Gavey’s terminology—of unwanted sexual attention. Young people’s experiences and perceptions of unwanted sexual attention are informed by sexual culture and the ways in which they relate to venue culture. Thus, the concepts of community and belonging are again central to understanding participants’ experiences.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This research was undertaken prior to the introduction, and explosion in popularity, of dating apps such as Grindr. The dating landscape, and the importance placed on pubs and clubs as a place to meet potential partners, has likely shifted dramatically in the meantime.

  2. 2.

    And this was in fact a direct experience I had when undertaking observational activity as part of this study. On a cold, rainy Melbourne night a friend (who was also heavily pregnant at the time) and I joined the long queue to enter a commercial nightclub. Dressed in sensible winter coats and holding umbrellas, we clearly stood out from the other hopeful patrons in line, with the women dressed in short, tight dresses and impossibly high heels, the men in jeans and collared shirts. As we approached the front of the line, the bouncer looked us up and down and informed us we were not getting in.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. La Trobe University, Australia, Melbourne, Australia

    Bianca Fileborn

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  1. Bianca Fileborn
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Fileborn, B. (2016). Sexual Culture and Consent. In: Reclaiming the Night-Time Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58791-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58791-6_4

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58790-9

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