Volume 50, Issue 2, April 2024
Adrià Moret
Pages 307-333
An Inclusive Account of the Permissibility of Sex
Considering Children, Non-Human Animals, and People with Intellectual Disabilities
A complete theory of the permissibility of sex must not only determine the permissibility of sex between typical adult humans. In addition, it must also adequately take into consideration sex acts involving non-human animals, children, and humans with intellectual disabilities. However, when trying to develop a non-discriminatory account that includes these beings, two worrying problems of animal sex arise. To surpass them, I argue for a reformulation of the standard theory. To produce a truly inclusive account our theory should be focused on assent, dissent, the significance of sex, and the similarity of the beings engaging in the sex act.