The title of this post is taken from a new report by Julius Kairey of the Cornell Daily Sun which you should read.

THROWDOWN THURSDAY: Should California Redefine Campus Sexual Assault?

When is a kiss considered to be sexual assault?

According to the U.S. Justice Department’s website, almost always. It defines sexual assault as any sexual contact that occurs without “explicit consent.” Under this definition, simply giving your sexual partner a spontaneous kiss constitutes a sex crime. Instead, you should always ask, “May I kiss you?” and receive a clear “yes” before proceeding.

Currently, nothing resembling this extreme definition of sexual assault is actually in place in any legal jurisdiction in the United States. But that may be about to change.

The California legislature recently considered a bill that would have effectively required explicit verbal consent to all occurrences of sex on campus. After complaints that the measure would have criminalized most instances of campus sex and classified most sexually active students as rapists, the policy was adjusted to simply require “affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement” (or the “yes means yes” standard) to all sexual contact between students on campus. The revised legislation now awaits Governor Brown’s signature.

Supporters of the new standards are confident that this policy change will do more than grant students additional protection against sexual violence. Apparently, it also has the potential to improve your sex life.