From a feminist approach that draws on critical legal theory and poststructuralist insights, this sociolegal research questions the legal reform carried out in 2022 by the Spanish government that reconfigured sex crimes locating sexual consent as the central axis. For this, I conduct a theoretical analysis revisiting pivotal feminist works of twentieth century that began to expose concealed relations between the patriarchal sexual order and the legal system, including the concept of sexual consent. I put them in dialogue with current legal feminist approaches. Furthermore, the paper includes an empirical study of the political and legal construction of sexual consent in the Spanish criminal policy discourse underlying the legislative amendment. Through Bacchi’s Critical Policy Analysis, this is examined in terms of the political representation of the problem, legitimation strategies, taken-for-granted truths, silences, contradictions and subjectification effects. Sexual consent appears coherently articulated within the illusion of legal truth, is functional to neoliberal democracy and thus enjoys a high level of acceptance.