Adding a 'Consent' Tag and/or 'Dubious Consent'

While there is a 'Rape' Tag and a 'Rape to Lovers' Tag, there is no 'Consent' tag or 'Dubious Consent' Tag.

Argument For 'Consent' Tag:
While some stories might have rape in them that does not mean that there are not other scenes where consent is give. Here is an example: Protagonist A is raped in the Prologue but in Chapter 15 gives consent to Protagonist B to have sex. A good explanation of sexual consent is from RAINN:
"Consent is an agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent should be clearly and freely communicated. A verbal and affirmative expression of consent can help both you and your partner to understand and respect each other’s boundaries."

Argument For 'Dubious Consent' Tag:
It is not unheard to come across a series on this website where the protagonist is drugged with an aphrodisiac. Or, where a character is forced by circumstance to have sex with someone. This is a good tag to have when the 'Rape' tag does not entirely fit.

TLDR: stories with rape can have other scenes where consent is given; use dubious consent to identify stories that have drugged characters

 

If it's not agreed on, then it's rape. But your example of both characters being drugged, if it happens, how many times will it happen? In an entire book, probably only once.
I don't think it worth the trouble implementing this consent/non-consent. It's either rape, or not, and if it's a gray area, it'll probably only happen once.

 

noncon and dubcon are common tags in more hentai'ish sites.
I have had an argument over a similar topic on here where they tagged rape on a 'romance' smut story where there's no forcing, no aggression or discomfort for either party but it made people avoid that novel because of the whole rape stigma.

 

I can understand what you are saying but it is a tag that is really helpful to those that enjoy smut. It is sad to say but consent in a book that has smut in it is a rare thing. Also, dubious consent is a good tag to include as a way to avoid triggering readers.

 

A consent tag seems pretty redundant, I mean consent is the default value, so you only really need a tag for when it isn't there It's like how there is a tag for a blind protagonist, but you wouldn't add a tag for the protagonist being able to see perfectly fine.

 

i'm not sure a consent tag would be worthwhile as it would be redundant (just like there is no 'het' tag but there are for yuri and yaoi and their associated subplot tags).

a dubcon tag? now that might have a bit of use as a lot of CN F!Protag novels quite often tend to have dubcon situations between the FL and the ML. same with F!protag smut novels where the standard seems to be dubcon.

 

Consent is assumed by default. A tag for it is unnecessary.

Dubious consent has a bit more of a case, but I'd say that it's a bit too subjective and too prone to be misused to be worth a tag.

 

There's already good reason why tags shouldn't exist in general, more dubious tags like this is really muddying the playing field.

 

I would like to add that the example you gave here doesn't actually qualify as dubious consent, assuming my own definition of dubious consent is correct, it has been quite a few years since I first learned the term, and definition can change overtime.

What I was told though is dubious consent is when the person feigns reluctant, and even openly rebukes the other parties advances, while secretly, or subconsciously desiring them. Here is a metaphor; r*pe is like forcing someone to eat a moldy old bagel. Dubcon is like convincing someone to eat a delicious donut, even though they're on a diet.

 

i don`t agree to this addition of tag cause yeah no reason to add at all

 

... Have any of you actually read a smut novel. (Especially a CN with smut.... they are all dubious consent.)

Fine, if someone can provide me with five examples of consent where one of the people does not say "No" and the other does not stop ... I will be pleasantly surprised and drop this entire subject. If you can do that then I see no reason to add the tag.

And if not 'consent' or 'dubious consent' then how about 'healthy relationship' or 'realistic relationship' or 'relationship goals' (that last one was a joke)?

Or 'communicative relationship'.

 

Healthy relationship is assumed by default, so this is unnecessary.

Too subjective to be worth tagging. Will lead to misstagging.

Also assumed by default.

Also assumed by default.

 

i dont recall that ever being the meaning of dubcon, even years ago. whoever told you that was just wrong lol. OP's example is right. of course there are multiple types of dubcon like sex under intoxication (which is still a debate in the real world on whether it is dubcon or rape). or just coercion/manipulation in general

 

Most smuts (pure smut books or the likes) all have more of a dubcon feel than a rape.
One does not enjoy rape in any point of it happening. It's violence. Although I personally think dubcon is still rape /noncon.
Dubcon is sexual act where the person is enjoying it but the circumstances are shady. In real life it's definitely rape. But because the idea of sexual offense is so Grey and authors don't really have an idea of how it feels like to be in those situations dubcon became a thing.
And now it's extremely popular. There rarely is a CN where it's not dubcon.

 

Slightly related, can we add another tag for "Rape (Offscreen)" or something? There are so many stories that have the rape tag that only end up discussing or mentioning it as character backstory. I think it's a little bit much to slap that tag on a story where its only real significance amounts to "XYZ side character is a concubine" or "we need to make this villain look as awful as possible and here's a reason why".
Don't know if anyone else agrees with me, and I may be less sensitive/bothered by these things in a novel. I simply noticed people tend to see that tag and immediately nope out, even on the rare occasions it's handled well.

 

Rape is viewed as a warning tag to tell readers what they can expect when reading the novel.

It being done offscreen or on a backstory doesn't make it any less troublesome for the people that are seriously bothered by this kind of thing.

You can also have people starting to enter discussions on how much of the rape needs to be shown before it is considered "real rape" and not "offscreen rape", so... That's not happening.

 

Okay, that makes sense. Don't want to start any unnecessary forum drama...

 

rape is rape is rape. the context doesn't matter
Also how low have we gotten that we even need to add 'consent' in tags. Shouldn't that be the norm

 

That is the problem. Consent in smut is in the minority. It is rare to find a scene where characters either ask for verbal consent or wait for verbal consent.

But, unfortunately, reality is not so kind. The norm is to often find a character (often female) say "No" during a sexual act and the other party ignores it and proceeds with sexual acts. This norm is why I ask for the 'consent' or 'dubious consent' tag.

While I can see how there is a need to keep a minimum of tags and keep them practical. However, for functionality there is an information need that is missing without the use of some kind of tag that indicates a positive relationship.
Then why not 'lovey-dovey relationship' or 'positive relationship' (because there are romantic relationships that are negative/destructive).