“Yes Means Yes” Author Jaclyn Friedman to speak at Stetson

Jaclyn Friedman
Jaclyn Friedman (Photo by Martyna Starosta)

Jaclyn Friedman, author who popularized the “Yes Means Yes,” standard of sexual consent, will speak at Stetson University on “Sane, Safe, Strong: Creating a Safe and Healthy Sexual Culture for Your Community,” on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m., in Rinker Auditorium in the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand. Open to the public and free of charge, the lecture is sponsored by Stetson’s College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s Artists and Lecturers Series, the Gender Studies Program, the Department of Wellness and Recreation and the departments of Psychology and Integrative Health Sciences.

Friedman is the co-author of the acclaimed book, Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (Seal Press, 2008). In 2009, Friedman was named one of 2009’s “Top 40 Progressive Leaders Under 40” by the New Leaders Council, and she is a popular speaker on college campuses nationwide.

Friedman’s work has redefined the concept of “healthy sexuality.” The “Yes Means Yes” standard of sexual consent that she popularized is becoming part of the sexual assault policies of hundreds of colleges and universities. (Seal Press, CA, 2008)

“We live in a culture of sexual violence,” said Elisabeth Poeter, Ph.D., associate professor of World Languages and Cultures, and director of Gender Studies at Stetson. “It is important that we have a clear understanding of what ‘sexual consent’ means and how we communicate it.

“Most students have limited knowledge about what qualifies as consent, how to identify abusive behavior, how to intervene as a bystander and how to support a victim,” Poeter elaborated. “Friedman’s visit is an important addition to Stetson’s efforts to address sexual violence on campus, particularly through student organizations such as SASA (Students Against Sexual Assault), an organization that has truly done remarkable work towards educating the Stetson community about healthy, consensual sexual behavior,” Poeter said.

Friedman is also a founder and former executive director of Women, Action & the Media, where she led the successful #FBrape campaign to apply Facebook’s hate-speech ban to content that promotes gender-based violence. Friedman is a charter member of CounterQuo which is a coalition dedicated to challenging the ways we respond to sexual violence.

For more information about this event, contact Poeter at [email protected], or 386-822-7280. This is a cultural credit event for Stetson students in attendance.

By Nicole Melchionda