Recently the Project Consent campaign released a series of videos about what it means to give consent. The videos are absolutely adorable! Using a squishy animated vulva, penis, breast and hand, they make talking about consent simple and easy to understand. Project Consent’s tag-line, “If it’s not yes, it’s no,” provides a clear statement that makes consent seem as uncomplicated as just saying no.

While cute, funny and direct, these videos don’t allow for “what if” scenarios. For example, what if a person demanding sex from another doesn’t care if the latter refuses and says “No”? Someone trying to sexually assault another person isn’t confused about what consent is, but rather they simply don’t care about it. They have an ultimate goal that they’ll accomplish with or without that “Yes.” And what if someone agrees to certain sexual behaviors because perhaps they want to be liked, kissed or to meet certain expectations, but they don’t want to have sexual intercourse? I appreciate the simplicity of the Project Consent videos and how straight to the point they are, but consent to me isn’t as easy as a yes or no. It’s complex and much deeper than a shallow one word response.