When it comes to sexual consent, we advocate that "No means no" and "Yes means yes" to prevent sexual assault. Yet, the seduction stories we see and share often depict "No" as meaning "Maybe" or "Try harder." In this talk, Michele Meek shows how moments that blur consent with coercion often go by without our notice or comment, yet they are actually teaching us and our children about consent. She calls for us to pay attention to the seduction stories we share so that we can start to rewrite them.

Dr. Michele Meek is a Providence-based writer, filmmaker, and Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Bridgewater State University. Her recent scholarly publications focus on "consent puzzles," or ethically and aesthetically ambiguous depictions of sexual consent, and she recently published an edited compilation "Independent Female Filmmakers: A Chronicle through Interviews, Profiles, and Manifestos" with Routledge. She has written and directed several award-winning short films, and she is the founder of NewEnglandFilm.com.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx