Consent Culture and Teen Films

"Meek's study is revelatory in its understanding of contemporary concerns about sexual consent, ranging from adults' efforts to regulate children's sexual knowledge to teenagers' interests in exploring their sexual identities. The extensive analysis of recent films provides numerous opportunities for reconsidering how the concept of consent is evolving for youth, who are in real life revising fundamental notions of gender, power, and expression. This book may at least provoke more educators and parents to respect how the movies adolescents are watching are often confronting current conditions of youth sexuality in ways that many adult authorities are not."—Timothy Shary, author of Generation Multiplex

"This thoughtful and timely volume demonstrates that teen films have become a key site for negotiating the emergent discourse of consent and adolescent sexual agency. Through astute analyses of recent American films, Meek teases out the complexities and contradictions inherent in the ideal of affirmative consent. Consent Culture and Teen Films is an essential addition to the literature on teen films and on Hollywood's representation of adolescent sexuality."—Kristen Hatch, author of Shirley Temple and the Performance of Girlhood