Fired Up About Consent by Sarah Ratchford

According to the World Health Organization, one in three women will be sexually or physically assaulted in her lifetime. These rates are very similar for non-binary people and other feminized people, too. This is rape culture, and young adults are living through it here and now. Fired Up about Consent is a practical, survivor-informed primer for young people who want to learn how to build joyful, mutually satisfying sex lives and relationships.

In these pages, author Sarah Ratchford defines rape and sexual assault, busts the myths behind toothless messaging and outdated advice, and provides sex-positive scripts on how to ask for and offer a clear, enthusiastic, and freely given “Yes!” Along the way, Ratchford touches on topics such as #MeToo, gender identity, masturbation, virginity, porn, sex work, reporting assault, and more, all through a radically inclusive and intersectional lens.

The message is loud and clear: not only is consent sexy, it’s mandatory—and everyone deserves frank and empowering literacy around it. Only with empathy, compassion, and resistance can we move forward into a new culture of consent.

Ontario Library Association's Best Bets Selection, 2021 (Joint winner)
Independent Publisher Book Award Bronze Medalist, Juvenile-Young Adult Non-fiction, 2023 (Winner)

"In Fired Up about Consent, Sarah Ratchford puts forward a roadmap to dismantling what they astutely describe as an epidemic of sexualized violence against women, femmes, and feminized people, especially Black, Indigenous, and people of colour. An invaluable resource for young people of all genders, their book should also be committed to memory by every parent, every teacher, every doctor and every cop—because until those in positions of power and influence clearly understand rape and consent, the ‘grey areas’ where womxn are abused and rapists bypass consequences will continue to exist." — Charlotte Herrold, editor-in-chief, FLARE

About the Author:

Sarah Ratchford is a feminist journalist with a focus on social justice. They cover sexual health and consent, reproductive justice, trans health, and feminist activism. Their essays, features and news stories have appeared in The Walrus, The Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Flare, Elle, Refinery29, and Cosmopolitan. They've hosted and produced a number of VICE documentaries on sex work law, trans health, and abortion access. Fired Up about Consent is their first book.