rdfs:comment
| - The line between acceptable and unacceptable is often drawn at consent. However, consent can sometimes be questionable. How consensual was it, really? There are two basic ways of portraying this, although they often blend into each other.
* Type A: Sure, there was consent... but how free was it, really?
* Type B, popularly known as Dub Con (dubious consent): The plot would have you think consent was granted -- but was it, really? The Sliding Scale Of Consent Versus Exploitation doesn't have to be about money. It can be about social status, intimacy, drugs, or any kind of MacGuffin.
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abstract
| - The line between acceptable and unacceptable is often drawn at consent. However, consent can sometimes be questionable. How consensual was it, really? There are two basic ways of portraying this, although they often blend into each other.
* Type A: Sure, there was consent... but how free was it, really?
* Type B, popularly known as Dub Con (dubious consent): The plot would have you think consent was granted -- but was it, really? Type A applies to all kinds of situations, including sexual ones. However, many sexual examples of Type A fall under the subtrope Sexual Extortion. Type B is normally restricted to sexual situations. Questionable Consent can be complicated. Lets say that Alice is very rich, while Bob is very poor with starving kids. Alice wants something from Bob. Something that he really doesn't want to give her. Maybe a kidney. Or maybe unprotected intercourse with no fatherhood rights for the resulting child. Bob very reluctantly agrees, because he is desperate for money for food and medicine for his kids. But how free was his choice, really? The Sliding Scale Of Consent Versus Exploitation doesn't have to be about money. It can be about social status, intimacy, drugs, or any kind of MacGuffin. It can also be a discussion about whether or not a certain character is able to consent to a certain thing in the first place. The character might be too young or inexperienced, drugged down, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or similar. See also the Useful Notes page on Consent. This trope is not to be confused with the webcomic that's only one letter away, Questionable Content. Examples, Type A and mixed.
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