Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The "age of consent" ... when two consenting and rational people can legally engage in sexual activity - what age should it be?
I honestly don't know. Can you give me your opinion, and perhaps give your reasons?
Everyone has heard of William Shakespeare's play "Romeo And Juliet" but not everyone is aware that Juliet's age was mentioned: she was 13. We are not sure exactly how old Romeo, but most scholars believe he was probably 16 to 18, maybe younger or maybe a little older.
Comedian Charlie Chaplin had a relationship with a 15 year old girl.
There was a scandal involving a auto body repair shop owner, Joey Buttafuoco, and the "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher. Joey was in his late thirties at the time and Amy was 16. Joey served 4 months in prison for "Statutory Rape."
I've heard the argument concerning the infamous world-wide scandal involving Roman Catholic priests that it wasn't fair to label all of them "pedophiles" and child molesters because in some cases the victims were teenagers past puberty and therefore some of these priests should be more properly called "ephebophiles."
The "age of consent" ... when two consenting and rational people can legally engage in sexual activity - what age should it be?
I honestly don't know. Can you give me your opinion, and perhaps give your reasons?
Everyone has heard of William Shakespeare's play "Romeo And Juliet" but not everyone is aware that Juliet's age was mentioned: she was 13. We are not sure exactly how old Romeo, but most scholars believe he was probably 16 to 18, maybe younger or maybe a little older.
Comedian Charlie Chaplin had a relationship with a 15 year old girl.
There was a scandal involving a auto body repair shop owner, Joey Buttafuoco, and the "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher. Joey was in his late thirties at the time and Amy was 16. Joey served 4 months in prison for "Statutory Rape."
I've heard the argument concerning the infamous world-wide scandal involving Roman Catholic priests that it wasn't fair to label all of them "pedophiles" and child molesters because in some cases the victims were teenagers past puberty and therefore some of these priests should be more properly called "ephebophiles."
What's your opinion?
I honestly don't know either. But I do believe the practice of using these terms as a universal approach to the subject does nothing but create unnecessary problems. I think instead, certain factors should be taken into consideration, such as:
- the age difference between the two people
- what kind of relationship they have in general
- whether one individual has a role of authority
As examples: there's a huge difference between a boyfriend/girlfriend who are a few years apart in age and situations like was in the news awhile back where a 12-year-old got pregnant by a 26-year-old.
I also believe if one individual is in a role of authority (teachers, etc.), intimate relationships are across-the-board wrong simply because of that role and regardless of the other person's age.
I voted 17 for a very practical reason. If a pregnancy occurs, a baby will be, at most, only a few months old by the parent's (mom or dad's) 18th birthday. That way, the teenaged parent can be responsible for caring for that baby for themselves, since they will be legally an adult.
What strikes me as unfair is that when there is a pregnancy with an underage person, the parents of the kid (usually the daughter) end up footing the bill for the care of the baby. That means the parents of the underage kid do have some stake in when (what age) their kid has sex, because sex can lead to pregnancy, and pregnancy leads to a baby, which the parents (grandparents of the baby) end up paying for (usually).
So for that reason, the age of consent should be directly tied to the person being able to support any child that results from sex. If they're 13, 14, 15, they are way too young and have have several years before they're an adult and can make adult decisions. So their parents must "pay" for their decision to have sex (by supporting the baby that may result from sex).
Before you even got to the part about Romeo & Juliet, I had thought ahead real quickly, remembered my own childhood, and when I first started craving sex. It was age 13. (Due to social stigma I abstained til age 20 however.) And when I was 13, one of my more emotionally mature classmates was in a relationship with a 17-year old.
Humans are sexual creatures and the law interferes with our natural desires to express that.
Some sort of line will always need to be drawn however to make sure that mature people do not prey on people who are too young or not emotionally mature enough or not ready or not even interested.
For that reason there is an age of consent law. That age varies from place to place. Some places is 16, others 18, etc. I don't agree with those ages, but I understand they had to draw the line somewhere.
------------------------
Then of course this crosses into another topic...that society frowns upon people having children until their 20's or 30's. For education and financial reasons. I have opinions on that too, but it's another topic.
Before you even got to the part about Romeo & Juliet, I had thought ahead real quickly, remembered my own childhood, and when I first started craving sex. It was age 13. (Due to social stigma I abstained til age 20 however.) And when I was 13, one of my more emotionally mature classmates was in a relationship with a 17-year old.
Humans are sexual creatures and the law interferes with our natural desires to express that.
Some sort of line will always need to be drawn however to make sure that mature people do not prey on people who are too young or not emotionally mature enough or not ready or not even interested.
For that reason there is an age of consent law. That age varies from place to place. Some places is 16, others 18, etc. I don't agree with those ages, but I understand they had to draw the line somewhere.
------------------------
Then of course this crosses into another topic...that society frowns upon people having children until their 20's or 30's. For education and financial reasons. I have opinions on that too, but it's another topic.
And it's that viewpoint that's largely responsible for everything from teen pregnancies to rape- that it's nothing but an instinct that nobody can/should be expected to control.
Human beings are generally expected to be a bit above lower forms of animals.
As others have said, humans are sexual creatures, but I think in the pre and early-teen years there still needs to be some control - they are still children in every sense of the word.
So are many 16 years olds but that's an argument for another day.
A lot of states and countries have legal distinctions between younger and older teens - penalties a lot lighter if sex happens between a 20 year old and a 16 year old than 20 and 14, for example.
I think 16 too. Let's all remember back to when we got our driver's licenses and we started going out on dates. How many of us had our first experiences at that age ? I did. Even when I was 18 I dated a lot of girls who were 16 and 17 and by today's "rules" I would be a sexual predator. When I read about some young guy who has his life ruined because he was slightly older than the girl he was having sex with, it makes me think how many young people are put in that position.
With young ladies being much more mature at 16 than their male boyfriends, I believe they are capable of making the decision to have or not have sex on their own, without society interfering.
Don
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
