What was discussed here wasn’t just bringing someone along for safety. You can bring someone along and have them sit at another table to keep an eye on you. That’s fine. But when you agree to go on a date with someone, the social expectation is that you are agreeing to meet one-on-one with someone. It’s a chance for potential romantic partners to have a close and intimate one-on-one discussion. This isn’t possible if a third person is present.
It’s perfectly fine to still have someone at the table. But you need to let all parties know in advance.
Romantic consent isn’t as serious a thing as sexual consent, but it still matters. People have a right to romantic consent. It would be wrong to force someone to go on a date against their will. And just like it’s a violation of consent for a guy to remove a condom prior to sex (changing what was agreed to,) it is a violation of romantic consent to completely change the agreed-upon form of the date.
What was discussed here wasn’t just bringing someone along for safety. You can bring someone along and have them sit at another table to keep an eye on you. That’s fine. But when you agree to go on a date with someone, the social expectation is that you are agreeing to meet one-on-one with someone. It’s a chance for potential romantic partners to have a close and intimate one-on-one discussion. This isn’t possible if a third person is present.
It’s perfectly fine to still have someone at the table. But you need to let all parties know in advance.
Romantic consent isn’t as serious a thing as sexual consent, but it still matters. People have a right to romantic consent. It would be wrong to force someone to go on a date against their will. And just like it’s a violation of consent for a guy to remove a condom prior to sex (changing what was agreed to,) it is a violation of romantic consent to completely change the agreed-upon form of the date.
Consent matters. Learn to respect it.