--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Saying \"yes\" [to sexual activity] is a…" description: "\"Saying \"yes\" [to sexual activity] is a pretty low baseline for sexual experience and I wanted to write about what was happening to girls after \"yes.\"\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg" --- # Saying "yes" \[to sexual activity\] is a pretty low baseline… ![“Saying "yes" [to sexual activity] is a pretty low baseline for sexual experience and I wanted to write about what was happening to girls after "yes."” quote by Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg) > “Saying "yes" \[to sexual activity\] is a pretty low baseline for sexual experience and I wanted to write about what was happening to girls after "yes."” [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Examines how a simple affirmative answer can mask deeper power dynamics and lasting impacts on young women. **In simple terms:** Consent is complex, not just a word. Key Takeaway Listen to women's experiences beyond a "yes". Themes gender sexuality power dynamics consent youth culture Mood reflective empathetic Type social educational When to use this quote - education curricula - sexual health programs - parental guidance - media representation Key Concepts feminist theory psychology of consent social norms Questions to Reflect On - What does true consent look like in practice? - How can we support survivors of coercive encounters? A Different Perspective Societal attitudes may downplay the seriousness of post‑consent experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Baseline Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseline-sexual-3375479/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Saying yes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-yes/) [Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual/) [Sexual Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-experience-526800/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Yes Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yes-sexual-3375480/) ## Related quotes > [I had a very sexual experience onstage once. But I won't go there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-brooks/i-had-a-very-sexual-experience-onstage-once-but-i-won-t-go-there/) [Meredith Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-brooks/) > [“Have you ever had an experience with God as wild as your most incredible sexual experience?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-elrod/have-you-ever-had-an-experience-with-god-as-wild-as-your-most/) [Randy Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-elrod/) > [People will begin to explore all the sidestreets of sexual experience, but they will do it intellectually. . . . Sex won't take place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/people-will-begin-to-explore-all-the-sidestreets-of-sexual-experience/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [My kind of nightmare quote is from Deborah Tolman, who does research on girls and desire and is, I think, brilliant. She told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/my-kind-of-nightmare-quote-is-from-deborah-tolman-who-does-research/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [One of the challenges is to create an equally positive, satisfying sense of femininity and feminine identity in a different way so that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/one-of-the-challenges-is-to-create-an-equally-positive-satisfying/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“The anthropologist Margaret Mead concluded in 1948, after observing seven different ethnic groups in the Pacific Islands, that different cultures made different forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-anthropologist-margaret-mead-concluded-in-1948-after-observing/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [The first sexual experience is a significant imprinting of attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-first-sexual-experience-is-a-significant-imprinting-of-attention/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [All men look at Dr. Ruth and wonder how she has gained all that sexual experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/all-men-look-at-dr-ruth-and-wonder-how-she-has-gained-all-that-sexual/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [“... he couldn't, as a respectable master in an English public school, have taken us to a brothel. Yet how I wish he had!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/he-couldn-t-as-a-respectable-master-in-an-english-public-school-have/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Sometimes its hard to move on when you can't forget that one person you ever loved and had your first sexual experience with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-its-hard-to-move-on-when-you-can-t-forget-that-one-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where is the direction of influence going to run? It's going to run - and the research confirms this again and again - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-coulson/where-is-the-direction-of-influence-going-to-run-it-s-going-to-run/) [William Coulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-coulson/) > [As in the sexual experience, there are never more than two persons present in the act of reading-the writer, who is the impregnator, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/as-in-the-sexual-experience-there-are-never-more-than-two-persons/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Everyone should study at least enough philosophy and belles-lettres to make his sexual experience more delectable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/everyone-should-study-at-least-enough-philosophy-and-belles-lettres/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Some guy told me that girls like a guy with some sexual experience. So I sucked a bunch of dicks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/some-guy-told-me-that-girls-like-a-guy-with-some-sexual-experience-so/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“This is not right, and we must recondition the brain so that each sexual experience is unique, just as each loving experience is unique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/this-is-not-right-and-we-must-recondition-the-brain-so-that-each/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Peggy Orenstein > [A lot of what happens in consensual encounters and in the way we talk to both girls and boys about sex creates a medium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/a-lot-of-what-happens-in-consensual-encounters-and-in-the-way-we-talk/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [Parents tend to name all of baby boys' body parts, but with girls they go from belly button to knees with this void in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/parents-tend-to-name-all-of-baby-boys-body-parts-but-with-girls-they/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [Mothers are doing a better job talking about risk, danger, reproduction, consent, unwanted pregnancy. We're not talking about how to balance the risks and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/mothers-are-doing-a-better-job-talking-about-risk-danger-reproduction/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [There is only one princess in the Disney tales, one girl who gets to be exalted. Princesses may confide in a sympathetic mouse or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/there-is-only-one-princess-in-the-disney-tales-one-girl-who-gets-to/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [All girls over age 14 remove pubic hair. The only touching is to remove hair. That's grim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/all-girls-over-age-14-remove-pubic-hair-the-only-touching-is-to/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [But it is Bella, not the supernaturals she falls in with, who is the true horror show here, at least as a female role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/but-it-is-bella-not-the-supernaturals-she-falls-in-with-who-is-the/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [Sex-ed courses look at girl's internal parts: for boys it's about ejaculation, erection and wet dreams; for girls, it's periods and unwanted pregnancy. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/sex-ed-courses-look-at-girl-s-internal-parts-for-boys-it-s-about/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [For years we've used the bases analogy - with intercourse being the "ultimate sex" even though that's probably not going to feel good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/for-years-we-ve-used-the-bases-analogy-with-intercourse-being-the/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“Identify, I've learned, can be sliced many ways and there is gain with every loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/identify-i-ve-learned-can-be-sliced-many-ways-and-there-is-gain-with/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“The beauty was just mind-boggling for this English girl...It was like being in your own national park, but without the signs telling you what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/the-beauty-was-just-mind-boggling-for-this-english-girl-it-was-like/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“That said, pointing out inaccurate or unrealistic portrayals of women to younger grade school children-ages five to eight-does seem to be effective, when done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/that-said-pointing-out-inaccurate-or-unrealistic-portrayals-of-women/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [American Psychological Association, the girlie-girl culture’s emphasis on beauty and play-sexiness can increase girls’ vulnerability to the pitfalls that most concern parents: depression, eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/american-psychological-association-the-girlie-girl-culture-s-emphasis/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“To bring home the point, she compared New Years resolutions of girls at the end of the nineteenth centyry with those at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/to-bring-home-the-point-she-compared-new-years-resolutions-of-girls/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“Maybe it was just one of those days when you hear an old question a new way, that quite suddenly shifts your perspective.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/maybe-it-was-just-one-of-those-days-when-you-hear-an-old-question-a/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [The anesthetizing against caring really threw me for a loop. I was seeing it with 15-year-olds. It was how they were starting their intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/the-anesthetizing-against-caring-really-threw-me-for-a-loop-i-was/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) [Explore all 59 Peggy Orenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Saying \"yes\" [to sexual activity] is a pretty low baseline for sexual experience and I wanted to write about what was happening to girls after \"yes.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peggy Orenstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-pretty-low-baseline-for-sexual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-pretty-low-baseline-for-sexual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/peggy-orenstein-11585_activity_saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-prett_369759.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Saying \"yes\" [to sexual activity] is a pretty low baseline for sexual experience and I wanted to write about…” — Peggy Orenstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peggy Orenstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Saying \"yes\" [to sexual activity] is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-pretty-low-baseline-for-sexual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/saying-yes-to-sexual-activity-is-a-pretty-low-baseline-for-sexual/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```