No im not a pedophile. Lets be honest men, there are many women under 18 that look so incredible you would risk jail time just to sleep with. In all honesty the physical maturity of women has to be treated on a case by case basis. There are some women in their early twenties that act and look like children. On the other hand, there are 16 year old "girls" that are so physically mature they make grown men cry in torturous anguish. The truth is that most men only claim to be against sex with a minor but in actuallity think about it all the time. Id love to hear your responses.

is it 18 in America? It's 16 here... same age as legal drinking.

This all depends on what you mean by, 'consensual sex'?

Actually, the consentual age in America is not 18 nationwide, but it varies by state and sex.

I live just on the Missouri/Arkansas border, and I remember there was a period several years ago when if I had sex with my girlfriend in Arkansas, I would be raping her - but if we just went up to Missouri she would have been raping me.

Click here for country/state breakdowns (http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm)

if it's consentual how can it be rape?

Does anyone else find this shocking:

PORTUGAL LAWS: 1. Has no sodomy laws, the age of sexual consent is 16 for homosexuals
and 14 for heterosexuals. Homosexual relations with 14 and 15 year old adolescents is punishable with up to 2 years in jail.
2. Homosexuals are prohibited from certain jobs.
3. Homosexuals are banned from the military.
4. The current housing law does not distinguish between homosexual and heterosexual couples. Hence, it would equally apply to opposite-sex and same-sex couples. In case of the death of the tenant, the lease is not automatically inherited by the bereaved partner but (s)he has preferential right to keep the lease.

jadedflower

The topic is consensual sex.

yes, I know. But:

"I live just on the Missouri/Arkansas border, and I remember there was a period several years ago when if I had sex with my girlfriend in Arkansas, I would be raping her - but if we just went up to Missouri she would have been raping me."

Which is why I asked how it could be rape?

And I think 14 is way too young. 16 sounds good, but that's what I get here anyway.

The reason for the age of consent is: that it is meant to stop pregnancies happening in relationships where the Mother and/or Father aren't mature enough yet for the responsibility of raising a child, even if they are using contraceptives.

So if anything 'sexual consent' should be test based, have some form of test to see if potential 'applicants' are mature enough and would be able to provide for a child even if pruducing offspring is not there intent in having sexual relations.

:m:

Jaded,

It's called statutory rape. The idea is that a person less than 16 (or whatever the age is for the state) has no ability to consent. Sex equals rape in this case.

It's 18 in America! Shit that really is stupid. Change it!

While lowering the age wouldn't effect me in any way, I do think our present laws are stupid, and very inconsistent. The main objection I have is that you occasionally run into a case where an 18 year old will have consensual sex with his 15 year old girlfriend, and end up in jail for it. At my highschool, this age spread was very common.

But don't expect any sanity on this issue any time soon. Certainly not with the present administration. It is up to the individual states anyway.

California has been making more attempts to enforce statuatory rape laws in the past few years. The rationale has been that enforcing these laws will help cut down on teen pregnancies, and so save the state money in welfare payments. The costs of the prosecution and jailing the men caught up in this dragnet was evidently left out of the calculations. Punitive measures such as this are usually popular because they satisfy peoples urges to cruelty and punishment.

About the 15 and the 18 year olds. If they were both consentual then why did the young girl dob on her boyfriend? She didn't have to go down to the police station and report him you know.

It isn't the girl. It's her parents, or sometimes the police if they catch them parked in a car somewhere.

There have been cases like this where the girl was professing her undying love for the guy, but he gets sent to jail anyway.

The subject of consent is interesting but that wasnt my actual aim. Actually I wanted to discuss mens attraction to younger women(16-21) and the possible reasons for this attraction, not to mention the impact that this attraction has on culture. Are you heterosexual men out there attracted to younger women? Of course you are.......


Quote for repoman

"Everyday people, f%*kin hat em".

It has been pretty well established that men world wide find women who are at their peak reproductive years most attractive. For more information, I'd suggest The Evolution of Desire, by David Buss. Great interview with Dr. Buss here. (http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/c-e/chapin/2004/chapin02064.htm)

Think of Kevin Spacey's character in American Beauty.
Of course, when I see many of the beautiful teenage college girls in this town, I imagine what their taste in music is, and I realize the fantasy is better than the reality would be.

here in new zealand the age is 16, we recently had a law change to allow prostitution aswell

Physical maturity doesn't equal mental maturity (although it might force it soon in the case of women)

Come on, Ive seen what you are talking about in girls as young as 13. Do you realize how many pregnant and std infested 13 year olds there would be if it were allowed... Studies have shown that unintended pregnancies and education are correlated right? It would be reasonable to guess that age is correlated with it as well. And if you don't lower it as low as it is possible for girls to look mature then what is the point. Just find someone your own age.

Anyways I imagine 18 was chosen because thats when people usually get out of high school and begin to realize what the real world is like.

California has been making more attempts to enforce statuatory rape laws in the past few years. The rationale has been that enforcing these laws will help cut down on teen pregnancies, and so save the state money in welfare payments.
They wouldnt be able to do anything til after the rape and by then the women could be pregnant and they'd still have to pay the mother welfare.
I think the age should be lower because a 15 year old knows the same as a 16 year old and a 15 year old is not too young to consent in my eyes.
Actually I wanted to discuss mens attraction to younger women(16-21)
Thats not a problem in most countries as the average age for consent is 15/16, as far as being attracted to girls of that age goes i dont think there can even be a debate about men and women finding younger people attractive, of course they do, personally i prefer people my own age.

it was her parents.
Oooh right I didn't think of that, you're right. Well then in that case they should have just waited till she was 16... if you're underage then what can you do? Besides, you'd be pretty stupid to get caught anyway. OR she should have told her parents she had a boyfriend... OR they should have moved to Canada which is what everyone should do in the first place. We've all seen Canada on South Park. They have square flowers and sodomising fishermen! I love them!