Thank you to NetGalley and Between The Lines for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I've been devouring feminist literature lately, and Fired Up about Consent immediately caught my attention - and kept it. I believe that feminism has a huge issue in that it is too often breeding ground for transphobic mentalities, and Ratchford immediately condemned such notions, which I absolutely adored about this work. It's very intersectional, inclusive, and at all times aware of the privileges one might have when navigating our society.

In this piece, Ratchford tries to take a look at what a culture of consent might look like, what is currently keeping us from reaching it and which steps we may take to get there someday. Being a survivor themselves, they have an unique position in this debate, and certainly one that is way too often spoken over rather than listened to - all the more reason this piece holds so much value. Throughout the course of the book, Ratchford consults other survivors/victims and talks to them about their experience with sexual assault and rape, the criminal justice system, and the patriarchal and colonialist society we live in that leads to the current pandemic of rape. It's a heartbreaking insight, but also a hopeful one - rather than simply condemning the individuals that commit such crimes, they take a look at how we need to change our societal perception of rape and consent altogether, and perhaps even try to rehabilitate individuals, if the particular situation allows us to.

I very much enjoyed this nuanced approach to rape culture (and how we can turn it into consent culture) and took quite some things with me. Once this is released, I'll definitely be adding it to my bookshelf so I can reference it in the future!
Again, intersectionality is something I value greatly in feminist texts, and Ratchford clearly puts a lot of emphasis on it as well.

My only critique would be that some of the points made were repeated a little too often, making some of the text seemingly redundant and causing the book to drag on for a little longer than it might have needed to.

Altogether though, I genuinely enjoyed this nuanced and inclusive take on consent and can't wait to add it to my physical shelf!

In Fired Up About Consent, Sarah Ratchford explores the history, present, and potential future of consent, rape and rape culture. Ratchford tackles so many different angles here and it was incredibly informative to read. Based on the publisher and references used, I'm fairly certain Ratchet and I are based in the same province and while she does an excellent job of extending globally, I really appreciated the amount Canada and Ontario based information and I was mindblown by the amount of information I didn't know about my own province.

My one critique would be length. A few sections of this feel a bit redundant and repetitive and while I appreciate the want to make sure no information or stories are left out, I think it's also important to keep books like this as concise as possible to make sure you don't lose any readers.

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Fired Up about Consent by Sarah Ratchford is a book for anyone passionate about sexual assault prevention, or for anyone who considers themselves a feminist. Throughout the book Ratchford writes paints a picture of what a culture of consent could look like. I would say this book is for beginners, full of definitions, explanations, and examples from Ratchford’s own life and the lives of others. This book is for survivors of “sexualized violence” (I love this updated term) and is inclusive for all identities. If you want to learn more about demystifying what a culture of consent looks like, how to have healthier communication and relationships, and how to support and advocate for survivors, and prevent more from being subjected to gender-based violence, this is the book for you.
I work in the interpersonal violence prevention field, so I was instantly drawn to the title of this book, Fired Up About Consent. However, I’m not sure if other people who aren’t passionate about sexual assault prevention will be fired up about this book. In my brief research, it seems like Fired Up about Consent is a part of a larger series of books that delve deeper into social justice issues people should care about (Fired Up about Capitalism by Tom Malleson and Fired Up about Reproductive Rights by Jane Kirby). There is not much in the way of marketing to connect the titles besides the titles themselves and the publisher. If this book wasn’t a part of a larger theme, I would love for it to be called Creating a Culture of Consent.
Because of the introductory nature of the content, I felt like the chapters were doing a bit too much at times. There was a lot of different things happening under one chapter heading, and sometimes I would forget what we were talking about. That proved difficult for me to reference back to certain sections later. Another pet peeve of mine as I was reading was the text boxes. It was frustrating to read a paragraph and a sentence would be cut off in the middle by a text box. I would either lose momentum for that section or have skip over the textbox to finish the sentence or paragraph and then come back to the text box. I personally felt like they were very disruptive in their placements.
Other than those nit-picky technically things, I found the content very informative. Ratchford makes some really good points that are very researched and concise. There were some concepts that were freshly reimagined to me, and the terminology was explained well. Ratchford really took in consideration the power of words. I almost got Cosmopolitan vibes from the voice of the writing, but in a way that describes consent culture in a way that’s not inaccessible for everyday people.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. However, I would say that I feel more informed, than fired up.

I thought this was a really good book about rape culture, consent, and how to deal with sexualized violence depending on who you are in the scenario (rapist, victim/survivor, or just know either person). This book was filled with so much information and I got some great notes while reading it. I think it could have been organized a bit better though because there was so much information per chapter that sometimes I lost track of what the authour was talking about in the first place or what the point of that section was. There were also some parts that I felt were repeated multiple times throughout the book. One thing I liked was how Ratchford explained why they used certain phrases such as "womxn" and "sexualized violence." Overall this was a really interesting book and I learned a lot from it!

I really liked this book and the breakdown of any definition that someone may have heard surrounding the conversations around consent. The only thing I really noted was that the people reading this book will already know about consent because a lot of people who need to read this book don't subscribe to a lot of the words or aren't as progressive as the author on gender, sexual orientation, etc, which could turn readers away. I would definitely still recommend though and could see this being an excellent book for college students.

First a massive thank you to NetGalley and Between The Lines publishing for the ARC.
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As is obvious from the title, this book is about consent and sexualised violence. So it’s important that I include a trigger warning before continuing on with the review. There is a continuous mention of rape, and detailed accounts of the feelings or trauma exhibited from rape survivors. There is also mention of self harm and suicide. Please be cautious if these are a trigger for you, as they are prevalent throughout.

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This is such an incredibly important book for everyone in my opinion. It’s very insightful and educational, as well as truly empowering and prompts a sense of companionship and solidarity. It’s a very haunting, raw and often upsetting book which sheds light on so many prominent aspects of rape culture and how to navigate through it. It’s an incredibly poignant and indispensable book.

I found it an easy read in terms of the flow of the book. Sarah Ratchford sets out clear definitions and expands upon these to ensure the technical terms are comprehensible to all readers and further explains why she has used specific terms. As stated, it flows easily although the content is a little harder to digest.

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This novel evokes a lot of emotional responses as the book continues. I found myself incredibly angry towards the injustice exhibited to people all over the world. It rightfully emphasises the flaws systematically ingrained, not only in the judicial system but also within society as a whole. You cannot claim to be a feminist and care for the sexual abuse/rape of fellow members of society if you are still being ignorant or complicit towards the racial injustice all around you.

It’s so fundamental when we discuss rape and consent, to advocate for everyone. People of all races, abilities, genders, sexualities etc. Not just primarily focus on white, cisgender, heterosexual accounts, although still important, it enforces white supremacy, suggesting white cisgender peoples lives and sexual assaults are more important to those of different ethnic minority, abilities, genders or sexualities. This book enlightens us to the unfortunate truth that the main rape or sexualised violence pleas that see court, and offer convictions, are primarily white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied and oftentimes more well off or well known individuals. This is the devastating truth of the system and books like these which bring these unlawful practises to light are incredibly important to begin invoking change.

I’m really glad that not only are cisgender, heterosexual women acknowledged in this book but black, indigenous, transsexual/transgender, non binary and other marginalised people are also given their own space to speak up. It’s so paramount that statistics of these communities are brought to the forefront and enhance awareness. It’s staggering how little help these individuals get from the judicial system when reporting sexual assault or rape, based primarily on stereotypes of race or gender. I wish I could say it was shocking, but unfortunately, it isn’t. Unfortunately, things like rape and sexual assault tend to be ignored and dismissed by police, so it’s if anything, even less shocking with the way our system runs, that individuals outside of the police’s own race, gender or capabilities are inevitably pushed aside or mocked.


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Overall, I feel this book is an important resource for everyone to read. If you’re a survivor of rape or sexualised violence as triggering as this book can be, it’s also a wonderful source of empowerment, it makes you feel seen and heard in a society where you often feel lost and alone. There are also some excellent resources at the end of the book for anyone who has survived any kind of sexualised violence to access, if you require any extra support. Or, even if you’re happy just to acknowledge what services are available to you when you’re ready to begin you’re journey to heal. You are not alone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Elyse (ElyseReadsandSpeaks)
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Fired Up About Consent by Sarah Ratchford
Fired Up About Consent
by Sarah Ratchford
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Read in February 2021
This was good! A nonfiction book about consent and rape culture written by a nonbinary author.

I know my own feelings about rape culture, #MeToo, and how the system always seems to put the victim on trial. It didn't change any of my feelings about those things, but it did open my eyes a little wider to the plight of those around me who aren't white, cisgender women.

I also think the facts and stories presented flowed well and gave insight as to how this culture needs to be completely dismantled starting from childhood. It made me think about how I'll educate my son and I would honestly recommend a book like this being available to kids in high school.