Consent Beyond the Binary Workshop Series

Consent is not a formula. It’s not just a “yes” or “no,” a list of rules, or something we learn to do the “right” way and quickly move on from. It’s a living, evolving process.

Consent Beyond the Binary is a three-part workshop series that invites you into a deeper, more flexible, and ultimately, more human understanding of consent. Together, we’ll push beyond simplistic binaries and uncover how consent shifts, grows, and becomes more powerful when we stop trying to optimize or perfect it.

We’ll look at how binary thinking shapes the way we understand harm, responsibility, communication, and accountability—and explore the uncomfortable but transformative gray areas most conversations around consent leave out. Expect nuance, depth, practical skills, and a radically different perspective on what consent can be.

Each workshop can be taken individually. The workshops are as follows: (each is on a Sunday from 9am -11am Pacific, and all are recorded for later viewing):

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Workshop 1: Rethinking Consent by Moving Beyond Yes and No (February 22, 2026)

Consent is never just a yes or a no—it’s a personal landscape. This introductory workshop expands on Consent Academy’s Foundations of Consent by diving into the subtle places where binary thinking limits consent. Together we’ll:

• unpack where binary bias shows up in everyday interactions,

• explore the gray zones of consent and the emotional, cultural, and relational factors that shape it,

• learn why desire isn’t the only motivator (or the only thing that matters),

• practice connecting to our embodied sense of boundaries and violation.

Get ready to unlearn, re-sense, and rethink the most basic assumptions about how consent works.

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Workshop 2: Somatics, Boundaries, and Personal Sense of Harm (March 1, 2026)

We often try to think our way through consent and boundaries—but our bodies are the first place they show up. This workshop grounds us in the reality of living in a body to challenge the binary ideas that tell us harm is either real or imagined, severe or insignificant, intentional or accidental.

You’ll discover:

• how beliefs, nervous system responses, and somatics interact with consent,

• why your felt sense of safety and harm matters,

• how to build a deeper, embodied awareness of boundaries,

• practical tools for honoring your own limits and reading others’ more effectively.

This workshop connects the intellectual and the somatic, showing how both are necessary to understand consent in a more holistic way. 

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Workshop 3: Building Adaptive Consent Frameworks and Accountability (March 8, 2026)

Consent isn’t a moment—it’s a process. It changes, evolves, and requires care. In this final session, we’ll bring everything together:

• understanding intent vs. impact in a nuanced way,

• exploring your personal yes-to-no spectrum and how it shifts,

• building consent systems and frameworks that adapt over time,

• learning skills for repair, recovery, and accountability,

• moving beyond the good-person/bad-person binary.

Instead of avoiding confronting harm, we’ll explore how to move through conflict with care, clarity, and connection. This final workshop is about sustainability, resilience, and real-world consent.

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Meet your instructor, Ariana Coveney, Consent Academy Director:

Ariana has been a part of Consent Academy since 2018. She is an ordained Shingon Buddhist Monk, with a background in psychology, linguistics, and education focusing on violence prevention. She has lived and worked all over the world doing grassroots activism for LGBTQ+ rights and domestic violence prevention. Her perspectives on harm reduction and accountability are based in her Buddhism and her Choctaw cultural heritage. 

What else should I know?

• This is an online class series via Zoom. Zoom link and instructions will be emailed the day before and 30 minutes before the workshop begins.
• Each workshop will be recorded for later viewing. The slides will also be made available.
• Class time is listed in Pacific Time. Use this time zone converter to see what time the class will be for you: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
• Pay-What-You-Can tickets are open to anyone who needs them. Choose the ticket that is best for you.
• There are also a small number of discounted tickets available. If you are experiencing financial hardship, please inquire.
• If you purchase a full series ticket after the first class, please reach out to theconsentacademy@gmail.com to get access to the recordings you have missed. 
• Please let us know by email if you have any questions, access needs, or things that would aid in your learning: theconsentacademy@gmail.com

About Consent Academy:

Consent Academy is an educational collective founded in 2016 in Seattle, WA, currently with staff and volunteers all over the world. We believe consent is a part of everyday life, and its practice builds stronger, safer, and more connected communities. Our approach incorporates disciplines of psychology, sociology, public health, psychotherapy, and personal coaching to create a systemic view of how consent impacts everyone, from the bedroom to the boardroom. 

Consent Academy is a program of the Pan Eros Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. All of our profits support our educational programming. For more information, visit us at www.consent.academy.