
Exploiting, Enduring, and Resisting Ambiguous Sexual Consent in the Grey Area
Taking It
Rowman & Littlefield (Publisher)
Published on 30. April 2026
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-1-6669-4826-4 (ISBN)
Description
For decades, feminists have been educating young people about healthy sexual interactions, promoting the benefits of affirmative consent. College students know that "Yes means yes!" Yet rates of sexual assault on college campuses remain stable. What's going on? Despite concerted affirmative consent campaigns, coercive sexual intimacy and sexual assault persist, with some students (mostly men) still forcing sex on their partners-"taking it" from them. Facing ubiquitous sexual pressure, young people often relent to unwanted sex and "just take it." Outsiders pass judgement on victim/survivors, demanding, "It's just sex! Shut up and take it!" Survivors-despite their trauma-resist, "taking back" bodily empowerment.
In Exploiting, Enduring, and Resisting Ambiguous Sexual Consent in the Grey Area: Taking It, Kristen Myers and Patricia Wallace conduct an intersectional analysis of data provided by a diverse group of college students to explore these four meanings of "taking it." They contextualize their analysis, examining the impact of sexual education in the U.S. as well as laws and policies aimed at reducing sexual assault. Using both sociological and social psychological lenses, they seek to illuminate the grey area surrounding sexual consent. The authors' goal is to help spur changes in culture, practices, rules, and infrastructure to ultimately reduce sexual violence and increase sexual autonomy for all people.
In Exploiting, Enduring, and Resisting Ambiguous Sexual Consent in the Grey Area: Taking It, Kristen Myers and Patricia Wallace conduct an intersectional analysis of data provided by a diverse group of college students to explore these four meanings of "taking it." They contextualize their analysis, examining the impact of sexual education in the U.S. as well as laws and policies aimed at reducing sexual assault. Using both sociological and social psychological lenses, they seek to illuminate the grey area surrounding sexual consent. The authors' goal is to help spur changes in culture, practices, rules, and infrastructure to ultimately reduce sexual violence and increase sexual autonomy for all people.
Reviews / Votes
"This is a book for everyone who knows someone dating, whether in college or not, and definitely for anyone in college. Myers and Wallace spotlight the grey area between consent and sexual coercion. They highlight the causes and consequences of just and unjust sex. Best of all, they show that individual strategies are good but not enough and push us all to think about how to end the gender inequality that spawns the grey area that undercuts women's sexual autonomy. May every university give a copy to its entering class." * Barbara J. Risman, University of Illinois at Chicago *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
7 b/w
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
563 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6669-4826-4 (9781666948264)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kristen Myers | Patricia Wallace
Exploiting, Enduring, and Resisting Ambiguous Sexual Consent in the Grey Area
Taking it
E-Book
02/2026
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€98.99
Available for download

Kristen Myers | Patricia Wallace
Exploiting, Enduring, and Resisting Ambiguous Sexual Consent in the Grey Area
Taking it
E-Book
02/2026
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€98.99
Available for download
Persons
Kristen Myers is professor of sociology at East Carolina University.
Patricia Wallace (1970 - 2025) was assistant director of research compliance, integrity, and safety at Northern Illinois University where she also taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology.
Patricia Wallace (1970 - 2025) was assistant director of research compliance, integrity, and safety at Northern Illinois University where she also taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology.
Content
Artist Statement
Prologue
Chapter 1: I Didn't Mean to Make you Uncomfortable
Chapter 2: Core Concepts: The Building Blocks
Chapter 3: Sexual (Mis)education
Chapter 4: Regulating Sex
Chapter 5: Sex in the Grey Area
Chapter 6: Taking it: Exercising Power through Sexual Coercion and Assault
Chapter 7: Taking It: Enduring Unwanted Sex and Normalizing Coercion
Chapter 8: Taking It: Silencing Victim/Survivors
Chapter 9: Taking It: Reclaiming Sexual Agency and Power
Chapter 10: Illuminating/Eliminating the Grey Area
Appendix
Bibliography
About the Authors
Prologue
Chapter 1: I Didn't Mean to Make you Uncomfortable
Chapter 2: Core Concepts: The Building Blocks
Chapter 3: Sexual (Mis)education
Chapter 4: Regulating Sex
Chapter 5: Sex in the Grey Area
Chapter 6: Taking it: Exercising Power through Sexual Coercion and Assault
Chapter 7: Taking It: Enduring Unwanted Sex and Normalizing Coercion
Chapter 8: Taking It: Silencing Victim/Survivors
Chapter 9: Taking It: Reclaiming Sexual Agency and Power
Chapter 10: Illuminating/Eliminating the Grey Area
Appendix
Bibliography
About the Authors