Um, it’s exactly what we have now (or close too it) in most states. 18 as a strict age of consent is not the norm. 18 is the age for models in pornography. Since enough adults get exploited in that industry I can’t see it as beneficial to allow juveniles to do it.
I agree with this. If I knew someone who exculsively or near exclusively got in sexual relationships with fifteen year olds and lost interest in women once the hit eighteen or so, I would consider that seriously creepy. No point in comparing it to being attracted to pre teens, but the behavior would be creepy enough that I would avoid the person pretty absolutely.
This is nothing at all like sometimes thinking a given sixteen year old is hot, and it’s as silly to lump these things as it is to lump being attracted to children and teens.
The problem with sex involving young people is ONLY, EXCLUSIVELY that they are in a position of such severely limited power compared to that of older people (especially adults but not limited to adults) that consent isn’t something that can be reasonably spoken of and ascertained.
It is NOT a problem because “they are too young to have sexual feelings”. Or are “not old enough to have a sex drive”. Yeesh, weren’t you folks ever kids? Are you seriously going to claim that you didn’t have sexual feelings when you were a young kid?
Lusting after, by itself, isn’t bad. Acting on it is.
People do not necessarily choose their cravings. Have some sympathy for people who can’t help but crave that which is prohibited. Have no sympathy for those who would act on it.
That seems like a weird definition, because it conflates people who are above the age of consent and can legally date/sleep with whoever they like (18-19 year olds) with people who aren’t (15-17 year olds). Someone could be a sexually active ephebophile and never break American laws if they confined themselves to the high end of the range.
If you’re referring to the Infancy Gospel of James, I’m looking at it right now and it says Mary was 16 at the time. As you point out, the Infancy Gospel (while it’s certainly been influential among Christians) isn’t scripture and isn’t held to be inerrant. I think Orthodox have a higher view of it than Roman Catholics, but they don’t hold it to be scripture either.
Belowjob 2.0 this is pretty interesting, from your link (it’s from the Venezuelan legal code):
“The sexual acts performed upon a woman older than sixteen (16) years and younger than twenty-one (21), with her consent, are punishable if there was seduction with the promise of marriage and the women was known to be honest, in such case the penalty is six months to one year in prison.”
Venezuela also apparently punishes statutory rape more severely if the victim was previously a virgin.
Y’know, thinking about it, one didn’t need to be an anything"-phile" to get aroused by 1984-era Traci Lords. Just a heterosexual male with a pulse and a taste for porn. I say that having been a lawful customer at the video rental places at the time TL’s complete ouvre was on the shelves. That was no “child” and her presentation or casting did not seek to project her as juvenile other than the usual “schoolgirl/cheerleader” scenarios that all porn girls 18 to 30 would do at one point or another.
Exactly – there is no need to try and create a pathology-based equivalency-of-horror all the way down to the level of thoughts and feelings, when you can legislate certain restrictions against *actual behavior *on a rational sociological-impact and ethical basis.
So, hot 15-year-old is hot? Fine. Right on, hell yeah. Just stand back, admire from a safe distance and think happy dirty thoughts, and everyone else shut up if that’s all the person does. Otherwise, yes, take steps to deter the parties from doing something stupid, if necessary pass laws saying “hands off the under-16s if more that 4 years age gap”.
Yes, that is another part that gets confused. AoC for regular, private sex is 16 for a majority of states of the US. The base age for sex work – porn performers, legalized prostitution where it exists – has been 18 for decades. A divergence in ages of allowed responsibility is not abnormal, after all you can work for wages (with parental consent) at 14, be licensed to drive at 16, join the Army with parental permission at 17, marry/buy property/work/enlist *without *parental consent at 18, drink alcohol at 21.
Nope. That is one very important reason. Probably the single most important reason. It is an act that they do not have the necessary power to resist and reject. It is predatory. But it isn’t the only, exclusive reason.
Disagree. That young children aren’t physically and psychologically prepared for sexuality is also a reason it shouldn’t happen. To dismiss it as “not a problem” is wrong-headed.
There can be more than one good reason for something.
That makes it a perfectly fine definition, actually. The definition isn’t tailored to American laws. It concerns sexual attraction, not whether that is good or bad, legal or not.
Someone could certainly be a sexually active ephebophile and never break American laws. No problem there. (Other than “ew”, but there you go.)
But there are some important non-arbitrary ways in which 15-year olds are very different from 19-year olds. For one thing, 15-year olds are at greater risk from pregnancy than 19-year olds, and thus aren’t really sexually ‘mature’ for some definitions of ‘mature’. For another, there’s a study I remember seeing (maybe from Guttmacher, not sure) that 16 is about the threshold age at which relationships with substantially older people are no longer associated with an elevated risk of some negative indicators like depression, poor school performance, etc… So I think there’s decent reason not to put ‘attraction to 15-year olds’ and ‘attraction to 19-year olds’ in the same box.
I got the impression from the title and OP that this thread was about Ephebophilia, i.e. adults lusting after teenagers. I’m not sure myself exactly what the age-of-consent laws should be, but I don’t really have a problem with 15-year-olds being off-limits to 45-year-olds.
I feel good about the way Islamic law deals with this dilemma. Firstly, age is irrelevant in this issue, because it is biologically irrelevant. Different girls mature at different ages. So, the first condition of having sex is biological maturity which is an obvious natural indication of readiness. The second condition is “parent’s consent”. It is important because it is not only biological readiness that matters. Emotional maturity is also important and who can better assess that than a parent. This condition prevents strangers from exploiting young girls who might unwisely agree at the moment but regret it the rest of their lives. Finally, of course the consent of the girl is the last condition.