I want to say a word about sex and children

[cali]

Children are sexual creatures. That folks, is just a fact. Our sexuality and sexual feelings are a part of us from childhood. They don't magically appear at puberty. And pretending that children aren't sexual while exploiting them sexually is endemic in our culture. So how do we sort this all out?

Is a 15 year old old enough to consent to sex? Is it OK if he/she has sex with a 16 year old but not a nineteen year old?

Do we, in this culture, want to punish kids for their sexuality? Do we infantalize teenagers?

A really interesting book on the subject is "Harmful to Minors" which challenges the conventional thinking on the subject.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmful_to_Minors

I don't know what the answers are or how we go about protecting them with persecuting them for their sexuality but I do know that, for instance, you can't avoid all power imbalances within sexual relationships or protects young people from making mistakes or experimenting.

[seabeyond]

1. i dont know what this is about. but the adult can stay out of the kids exploration of sexuality

allowing them a small time to gain some experience and maturity before throwing them out amongst the predators. surely, the adult in his/her maturity can be given thta expectation.

i am all for allowing kids to walk their own journey. repercussions with irresponsibility is adult size though. so i think there has to be rules and guidelines to help children not make an huge adult like mistake. like aids, babies. pretty profound for the teen mind

i really dont know where you are coming from though, in this discussion

[cali]

3. who is an adult? who is a kid?

is a 20 year old having sex with a sixteen year old, invariably an adult abusing a child?

[seabeyond]

5. society has to draw a line. we know that all people (kids included) mature at different rates

innate character, nurturing all is conducive in that growth. all individual. so as a society we chose a number

some 21 yrs olds mature enough to drink. some not. so some will fall along the wayside. we hope the majority make it. just a guess on a number

the number is 18 adult. my oldest will step in well. he has been practicing a lot of years. i can put him up at 16 to a lot of adults. still.... he is not an adult until 18 and i tell him that frequently, with adult respect and appreciation of course.

[FreakinDJ]

10. 16 yr olds being prosecuted for doinking 15 yr olds is WRONG

but I'm sure it is ALL the Male child's fault

[seabeyond]

12. i agree with your subject. your snarky comment silly. nt

[Drale]

2. We need to focus on teaching safe sex

and finding cures to STD's.

[Poll_Blind]

4. Recommended. It's a very delicate topic, especially in America.

In European cinema, for instance, these realities can often times wind up as incidental aspects of an otherwise-unrelated storyline. It's just not that big a deal. But America is America and that means pretending that some uncomfortable realities don't exist in hopes of them "just going away".

I don't have any answers, I don't think there are really any easy answers, but sometimes just asking the questions is a good start.

PB

[DainBramaged]

6. Is the answer you have to have sex to have children for $100 Alex?

:evilgrin:

[MineralMan]

7. For me, it's pretty easy to answer.

Adolescents under the age of consent sometimes have sex. If they have it with each other, I don't give a damn. I did it, and they'll do it if they want to.

Adulthood starts at 18 by law. Adults should not have sex with people under the age of consent, whatever that age is where they live. In some places it's 16 in the US. In other places, it's 17 or 18. Adults must obey the laws. It is that simple.

In my opinion, no adult should have sex with anyone they have power over in the workplace or anywhere else unless they are married to that person. People in positions of trust, such as doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, and others should not have sex with anyone with whom they have an official relationship, unless they're married to that person.

Teachers in secondary schools should not have sex with anyone at their schools, whatever the student's age. College teachers should not have sex with students in their classes or with any student who is likely to take a class with them unless they are married to that student. That means that the English professor should put all English majors off limits unless he or she is married to that student.

[howard112211]

8. I recently found an audio tape that me and a couple of friends recorded when we were children.

Like eight or nine years old at the time. As I listened to it I thought to myself "Holy shit, this sounds much worse than a South Park episode."

Of course we only talked like that when there were no adults listening.

When we were about ten years old we also managed to "acquire" a pornographic video tape.

I should add that I managed to become a productive member of society.

[closeupready]

9. Interestingly, when I raise the ?? of the propriety of Spain's age of consent of 13, nobody comments

In what way are Spain's 13-year-old's prepared for consensual sexual activity whereas American 13-year-olds are not?

That is a serious question, since I think in attempting to answer it, you need to grapple with the role of culture in the development of people.

[bemildred]

11. It's a difficult subject, all right.

I do know that getting emotionally upset doesn't help you to figure out how to do the least harm when it comes up.

[justiceischeap]

13. Oak Harbor man, 63, blames girl, 4, for rape

That line of thinking makes the above headline even more sickening...

"Tice then said, 'I play around. I'll be truthful,' but blamed (the 4-year-old girl) on initiating sexual contact," Gardner wrote.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Oak-Harbor-man-63-blames-girl-4-for-rape-1379803.php#ixzz1MijkYvKz

Yes, kids are sexual beings, as are all homosapiens but when you start talking about the age of consent and then you look at the above headline, it makes you wonder if this is something we want to really take on as a nation. It's that damn slippery slope bigots like to slide on when talking about homosexuality... you know, if you left "them" marry each other, next people will want to marry animals or more than one person at a time. If we talk about kids being sexual beings and the lower age of consent in other countries then we're on the slippery slope where adults who get sexually excited by adolescent bodies get more leeway to wreck havoc on the minds of kids that may indeed be sexual in nature but not ready for sex.

[zbdent]

14. I remember a few years back, the Republicans were making sure to call

a 22 year old intern a "young girl", but a 13-year-old raped by the military in front of her family before they were shot to death a "young woman" (because it made U.S. troops look bad) ...

Plus, I remember an incident with a first grader daughter of a friend of our family ... she told me that had a boyfriend and she had, um, performed a sex act on him ... (this was years ago, before the day-care scares of the 80s ...)