This Clever Video Perfectly Explains What 'Yes Means Yes' Actually Means

Impact

The news: California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the "Yes Means Yes" bill into law Sunday, which means that the legal definition consent in the Golden State now means a strong "yes" instead of the absence of "no."

To make this easier for everyone to understand — because some people still can't seem to grasp the concept — the pro-gender equality organization UltraViolet released this racy "instructional" video. With pizza, a laundromat and a whole lot of soft lighting, the video takes a page from 1970s pornos — and it is hilarious: 

The video incorporates both heterosexual and homosexual couples, and it analogizes consent with, among other things, taking someone's laundry out of the dryer without asking: "Did you move my shit?"  Kevin asks. "That's why I was waiting for you," his friend replies. "I'm sorry, I thought you moved took my clothes out without asking," Kevin says, only to be told that that "would be wrong to do without asking."

"There are a lot of things that are wrong to do without asking," the video suggests.

It accompanies UltraViolet's new website, End Campus Rape, which aims to highlight the importance of consent and the seriousness of college sexual assault. Attn reports that the ad will "air online" (whatever that means) at universities under investigation for allegedly mishandling sexual assault cases, including Harvard, Florida State, Brown and Arizona State.

Why is this important? "Affirmative consent really just means ensuring that both parties are mutually into whatever sexy times are going down, which, when you think about it, should be the bare minimum when it comes to sexual activity," Mic's Julianne Ross wrote.

It takes the onus off one party for not saying no, and instead transfers responsibility equally between both partners. Attn put it best: "By giving zero leeway to potential sex offenders, this law lends a voice to sexual assault victims who have kept silent due to fear that their experiences wouldn't 'qualify' as rape.'"

UltraViolet's latest video takes this idea and puts a clever, creative spin on it — because, after all, who doesn't understand something better when there's pizza involved?

h/t Attn