Relationship Between Deception and Consent in Sexual Relations

Consider the relationship between deception and consent in sexual relations. Explain Tom Dougherty’s view. Do you agree with it? Why or why not? In answering this, set out the most serious objection to your stance. How would you reply? Finally, is there any role for deception in sexual encounters at all?

Deception, a way to manipulate appearances and convey a false reality. Deception generally depends for its success on keeping intended victims unaware that deception is taking place. Deception has been used to end wars. The trojan horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the subterfuge the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. After a fruitless 10 year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away and the people of Troy pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war. This use of deception ended a long lasting war. There are several reasons why deception is used, one being for sexual encounters. This is when the use of deception can get messy. If someone is deceiving another person for sexual intercourse, is consent properly given? Deception is considered immoral by almost all cultures and is not sanctioned by society. Thus, I believe deception in sexual relations is seriously morally wrong.

What is consent? Consent is the permission for something to happen or the agreement to do something. Consent is key in sexual encounters. Without consent the sexual encounter is rape. So what happens when someone gives consent under false pretenses? Is it rape? I would have to say it depends on the situation. However, I believe it is morally wrong to deceive someone into sexual intercourse. Rape by deception is a crime in which the perpetrator has the victim's agreement and compliance, but gains it through deception or fraudulent statements or actions. It is important to obtain informed consent when engaging in sexual activities. Informed consent means that someone who is being asked for their consent has full information about what they are being asked to consent to. In other words, we should have all the information that we consider relevant before getting into bed with someone.

Philosopher, Tom Dougherty argues that having sex with someone without their valid consent is seriously wrong and deceiving someone into sex is having sex with them without their valid consent. Thus, Dougherty believes deceiving someone into sex is morally wrong. I agree with Dougherty’s claim. I believe sexual deceit is morally wrong. Deceiving another person in order to have sex with them is morally wrong when it prevents the other person from giving fully informed consent to the act. The reason for this is that informed consent cannot be given when you don't really know what you agree to when consenting to have sex. In Dougherty’s, “Sex, Lies and Consent” article he discusses the term dealbreaker. A dealbreaker is a feature that makes the difference as to whether the person will have sex or not. For example, a dealbreaker for someone might be a convicted criminal. Therefore, they would not engage in sex with someone if they have been convicted of a crime. Almost everyone has at least one dealbreaker when it comes to who they are willing to have sex with or have a relationship with. The deal breaker view is based on the powerful idea that free and open consent is an absolute requirement for all sexual activity. But for consent to be free and open, it seems that it should also be fully informed. That's the standard we hold people to in medicine and business, why not sex?

While being sufficient informed to be in a position to give consent does not demand knowing exactly what the other person wants or expects, being informed nonetheless requires certain expectations to be fulfilled. Consenting to sex is consenting to sex with a particular person. If the person you agree to have sex with is someone other than you think he or she is, your compliance does not count as consenting. If you believe you are about to have sex with your husband but unbeknownst to you the man in your bed is his twin brother, your compliance isn’t consensual. Likewise, when consenting to an act, you consent to what you believe the act is. If you believe that you are consenting to a non-sexual act (e.g., a medical procedure) that turns out to be sex, your compliance does not count as consent.

Sexual encounters involving deception that may qualify as sexual misconduct include lying about the use of contraception, lying about your age, gender, marital status, religion or job, lying about having been tested for sexually transmitted diseases and infections, pretending to be someone’s partner, and falsely making the partner believe that the sexual act is a medical procedure and more. For example, a man named Ricardo Agnant posed as an NFL player for the Miami Dolphins and went by the name “Maserati Rick” in order to pick up women. Agnant participated in a one time NFL Regional Combine at the Dolphins' training center in 2014