Insight & Beyond

07/02/2026

05/02/2026

05/02/2026

04/02/2026

📚 RESEARCH: Multi-Factor Authentication: Young Men’s Intuited Approach to Consensual Sex📚

“This study explored how young heteros*xual men understand and apply s*xual consent, especially when it is ambiguous. Through qualitative interviews, we examined their definitions of consent, views on verbal consent-seeking, and decision-making processes. Three findings emerged. First, participants consistently cited a conventional definition—free, ongoing, and explicit—but struggled to apply it in practice. Second, most found verbal requests for consent awkward, unnecessary, or disruptive. Third, all described using a process we term multi-factor authentication: an intuitive system in which consent is inferred from mutuality (reciprocated, escalating cues) combined with contextual indicators such as trust, timing, location, and occasional verbal check-ins. Alcohol use and clothing were rarely considered relevant. Instead, men emphasized emotional intimacy—trust, empathy, connection, and vulnerability—as central to consensual s*x. These findings suggest that while consent education has successfully conveyed the principle that s*x must be consensual, it offers few practical strategies for implementation. Recognizing multi-factor authentication as a key framework can inform education that addresses both normative definitions of consent and the complex realities of s*xual encounters.”



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https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0092623X.2026.2618492

04/02/2026

03/02/2026