Exploring Manifestations of Consent in the 19th Century American South

Since the introduction of Affirmative Consent in the early 1990s, the conversation around consent has focused on empowering sexual agency. However, despite the advancements institutions have made in teaching affirmative consent, a culture of sexualised violence persists across most American institutions. This dissonance can be traced to the nineteenth century, when many contemporary notions about sexuality and gender originated. This paper explores the synthesis of modern sexuality to conceptualise the act of consent in an age where it was all but impossible. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and Awakening by Kate Chopin both explore the experiences of women grappling for control of their lives. One, an enslaved woman, attempts to save herself and her family from slavery, while the other, a wealthy wife, struggles with the rigid expectations of white womanhood . Comparing these narratives reveals that 19th century consent was an act of rebellion and a negation of men’s ownership over women’s bodies. The contrasting narratives also highlight the relative inaccessibility of rebellion to Black women, who were marginalised at the intersection of race and gender. Understanding the subversive origins of contemporary sexual agency helps contextualise the contemporary cultural response to consent. Expressions of women’s agency through the act of consent undermine men’s unimpeded sexuality, which places consent in tension with heteronormative sexual practices.