The Evolution of Consent-Based Performance: A Literature Review

In lieu of an abstract, here is an excerpt: ...it is important to recognize the evolution of this field and the ways in which documentation around this field has itself created certain power imbalances. [...] Many of those whose work has gone unnamed are artists of color, women, disabled individuals, trans and nonbinary individuals whose own experiences of disempowerment in society and in the performance industry forced them to forge practices to protect themselves. These people are the pioneers of consent-based practice. As an intimacy specialist, I recognize that I may never know the names of many who forged the early path for this field, and I may never know the origin of the foundation upon which my practice continues to build. As a scholar, I want to ensure that our evolution moving forward is documented, and I want to understand whose work I should be crediting as I continue forming my own artistic consent-based praxis as an intimacy choreographer, as an educator, and as a theatre maker. I invite other artists and scholars to add to this literature review, and to document the as-of-yet unpublished history of consent-based practices used in performance, and those who created them.