Wearing Consent: The belief that there is no greater way to embody or express one’s personal message about consent than to physically wear it on our bodies for others to see and respond to.

Wearing Consent Narrative
In 2014-2015, SexEd (Norene Leddy & Liz Slagus) completed a full year as Artists-in-Residence at the 422 Health Center, a school-based health center that serves six NYC public high schools at Washington Irving High School Campus (WIHSC). SexEd was able to produce a 3-pronged Wearing Consent art + sex ed campaign that reached the community of WIHSC via a classroom curriculum adjusted for non-native English speakers at the International High School, a robust after-school program for all six schools, and the SexEd Salon. An installation/showcase at the 422 Health Fair, the SexEd Salon explored consent via wearable art engagements, including temporary tattoos, manicures, live audio remixes and a runway. After speaking with students, staff, and educators throughout WIHSC about what they felt were pressing sexual health issues at the schools, SexEd chose “consent” as the theme for this work. Each arm of the project worked through the issues around consent by defining it both collectively and personally, and by creating safe spaces to discuss and analyze consent and rape culture. We then brought these concepts into physical projects, including buttons, t-shirts, wearable electronics, manicures, temporary tattoos, and sound pieces. Through speaking and embodying these ideas (experiential learning) instead of the traditional lecture format, students gained a deeper awareness and understanding of consent that they were then able to articulate for themselves through art projects intended to be shared with friends and family.

SexEd sees the Wearing Consent project as a sum of experiences of a large body of students, teachers, staff and principals impacted directly and indirectly which will ultimately morph into a toolbox for making projects and instigating incredibly important dialogue about consent for multiple publics. SexEd has compiled and synthesized the materials and documentation into a Wearing Consent downloadable curriculum which launched on Valentine’s Day 2016. The project was funded by A Blade of Grass, who also provided assessment and documentation assistance.

• Wearing Consent Art + Sex Ed Curricula and Classroom Sessions at the International High School: SexEd developed and facilitated a consent, art and activism driven curriculum in collaboration with the SexEd Advisory Board, sex educator Bryana Williams and health teacher, Sheryl Estafanous. In 4 sessions embedded into the 422 Health Center’s standard eight-session comprehensive sex ed curriculum, the concept of consent was raised, expanded on, translated into over 7 different languages and ultimately made into t-shirt designs for printing and distribution at the SexEd Salon and beyond. Students were introduced to contemporary artists who have tackled similar sexual health issues and distributed their work and messages in innovative and effective ways (including LaToya Ruby Frasier, Gran Fury, and Barbara Kruger). The acts of speaking and wearing one’s own messages about consent were a primary focus, and the audio definitions and t-shirt designs were created by the students. SexEd now has one Wearing Consent curriculum for non-native English speakers and one for native English speakers. 
• See our t-shirt designs and printed shirts
• See more images from the classroom sessions
• Listen to some students’ consent definitions in Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, French, Creole, Mandarin, and Spanish (with English translations)

• Wearing Consent Edition of the 422 After-School Discussion Group: SexEd planned and co-facilitated info/exploratory sessions with the Health Center staff (Bryana Williams and Nora Langknecht), which became the Wearing Consent Edition of the 422 Health Center’s After-School Discussion Group. We designed and facilitated a making component for each session, which produced wearable consent-based messaging in the form of buttons, temporary tattoo and nail designs, t-shirts and electronic wearables (with Deren Guler and Kate Sicchio).
• See more images from the after-school program

• SexEd Salon: SexEd produced a final event/installation to share the work produced by the Wearing Consent classroom and after-school sessions, and to engage students from all six schools in a conversation about consent. It was a showcase – a nod to the art historical definition of art Salons, as well as a place to have the intimate experiences and conversations of our community beauty salons where so many important life lessons are shared and explored. The Salon included consent-themed t-shirts, temporary tattoos, live remixing of students’ consent definitions with DJ SpazeCraft One, manicures, and a runway to model the Wearing Consent projects. Integral to students’ experiences at each station was a discussion about the complexities of consent and the messages they were now wearing. Staff at the Salon were chosen and prepped by SexEd to engage students and have these consent conversations.
• See more images from the SexEd Salon
• Listen to the Living Remix: SexEd Edition (DJ SpazeCraft One with students at WIHSC)
• Download our students’ temporary tattoo designs
• Hear about the SexEd Salon from WIHSC students and staff