ABSTRACT
Consent means understanding parameters and expectations. Some aspects of its definition are continuous, like the idea of consent as granting permission. Other aspects diverge. Conceptually, consent does not have to have legal connotations, and its absence as something articulated explicitly does not necessarily render an action immoral. It is not possible or desirable to come up with a monolithic definition of consent. Age and development, or theories about development, are obviously intertwined, but they are not the same thing. Understandings of development evolve constantly and, in any given cultural or scientific milieu, seem “true,” but they should always be historicized. Consenting to participate in an act one time does not automatically imply consent to do the same thing, for instance, the next day, or with a different person. The word “consent” comes from the Old French for “to feel with” or “to feel together.”.
