Posted:
This is a highly sensitive topic. However, a similar subject was touched in another forum I frequent and I felt it was duly thought provoking and quite relevant in the structure of our modern society.
Technically Ephebophilia is sexual attraction towards adolescents. It is important to note, that the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual for mental disorders does not classify it as paraphilia or sexually deviant behavior like pedophilia. However, most nations have age of consent laws protecting teenagers. Many countries have extremely stringent laws dealing with age disparate relationships. There have been contrasting views presented and the subject of teenage/adult relationships have become the subject of moral and ethical debate.
In ancient society such a debate would not arise as people would be married off and expected to fulfill roles of husband or wife as soon as they were sexually mature. Study of history shows teenage/adult relationships and marriages to be extremely common, extending for centuries in some regions. Then society underwent a social and moral evolution where we started being more protective about our women and children.
Modern global society has reached at a point where the issue of teenage sexuality arises again and is a topic of heated debate.
Countries like the United States, India, Egypt tend to have age of consent set at eighteen. The Soviet Bloc once notorious for its absurd age of consent has set it at sixteen. Most of Europe and even Canada still hover around fourteen or fifteen with the Spain getting a lot of flak with its age of consent set at thirteen. Age of consent laws usually deem an adult having a sexual relationship with people below the age of consent as statutory rape.
Eastern Europe receives a lot of criticism because their low age of consent allows teenage prostitution drawing sex tourists from around the world. Countries like the United States have been urging countries to enforce stringent age of consent laws. United States can be so stringent that even sexually explicit conversations real time or online are deemed as criminal offenses even if there is no interest in a relationship.
Protecting teenagers is a valid purpose. Teenagers are young and not emotionally mature enough to handle relationships especially sexual ones.
At the same time are teenagers that naive or innocent to require so much protection. Many of them tend to be much more aware of their sexuality. Many teenagers dress and act provocatively, act like adults and often wanted to be perceived as sexually attractive by older men and women. Often with some teenagers it is impossible to distinguish them from adults because of the way they carry themselves and behave.
On the internet teenagers are getting more and more provocative. MySpace and other networking sites contain provocative images and content. Teenagers will themselves initiate provocative conversations in chat rooms. I apologize that I do not have a source to cite but I read a while back that a majority of explicit slash fiction was written by teenage girls. A lot of fan fiction sites tend to have explicit content, with a significantly larger proportion of teenagers compared to adults. Acid paring is common with more and more adult/teen relationships portrayed.
Clearly teenagers are not as naive and innocent as we believe (or hope?) them to be.
Ironically despite United States being the most stringent in age of consent laws. Teenage sexuality as well as drug/alcohol use is prominent in their mainstream media culture. And we all know how influential mainstream culture can be.
The questions to be asked and answered
Is attraction to teenagers natural or is it unnatural and deviant?
Are teenager/adult relationships acceptable from a moral and ethical standpoint?
Where do we draw the moral lines (right/wrong etc) and where do we draw legal lines (age of consent/marriage/rape)?
When a situation of adult/teen relationship takes place, where do we place the burden? It takes two to tango, but is only the adult responsible or both equally?
What is more important age of consent laws or more responsibility and involvement of parents in healthy social/sexual development of teenagers?
Technically Ephebophilia is sexual attraction towards adolescents. It is important to note, that the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual for mental disorders does not classify it as paraphilia or sexually deviant behavior like pedophilia. However, most nations have age of consent laws protecting teenagers. Many countries have extremely stringent laws dealing with age disparate relationships. There have been contrasting views presented and the subject of teenage/adult relationships have become the subject of moral and ethical debate.
In ancient society such a debate would not arise as people would be married off and expected to fulfill roles of husband or wife as soon as they were sexually mature. Study of history shows teenage/adult relationships and marriages to be extremely common, extending for centuries in some regions. Then society underwent a social and moral evolution where we started being more protective about our women and children.
Modern global society has reached at a point where the issue of teenage sexuality arises again and is a topic of heated debate.
Countries like the United States, India, Egypt tend to have age of consent set at eighteen. The Soviet Bloc once notorious for its absurd age of consent has set it at sixteen. Most of Europe and even Canada still hover around fourteen or fifteen with the Spain getting a lot of flak with its age of consent set at thirteen. Age of consent laws usually deem an adult having a sexual relationship with people below the age of consent as statutory rape.
Eastern Europe receives a lot of criticism because their low age of consent allows teenage prostitution drawing sex tourists from around the world. Countries like the United States have been urging countries to enforce stringent age of consent laws. United States can be so stringent that even sexually explicit conversations real time or online are deemed as criminal offenses even if there is no interest in a relationship.
Protecting teenagers is a valid purpose. Teenagers are young and not emotionally mature enough to handle relationships especially sexual ones.
At the same time are teenagers that naive or innocent to require so much protection. Many of them tend to be much more aware of their sexuality. Many teenagers dress and act provocatively, act like adults and often wanted to be perceived as sexually attractive by older men and women. Often with some teenagers it is impossible to distinguish them from adults because of the way they carry themselves and behave.
On the internet teenagers are getting more and more provocative. MySpace and other networking sites contain provocative images and content. Teenagers will themselves initiate provocative conversations in chat rooms. I apologize that I do not have a source to cite but I read a while back that a majority of explicit slash fiction was written by teenage girls. A lot of fan fiction sites tend to have explicit content, with a significantly larger proportion of teenagers compared to adults. Acid paring is common with more and more adult/teen relationships portrayed.
Clearly teenagers are not as naive and innocent as we believe (or hope?) them to be.
Ironically despite United States being the most stringent in age of consent laws. Teenage sexuality as well as drug/alcohol use is prominent in their mainstream media culture. And we all know how influential mainstream culture can be.
The questions to be asked and answered
Is attraction to teenagers natural or is it unnatural and deviant?
Are teenager/adult relationships acceptable from a moral and ethical standpoint?
Where do we draw the moral lines (right/wrong etc) and where do we draw legal lines (age of consent/marriage/rape)?
When a situation of adult/teen relationship takes place, where do we place the burden? It takes two to tango, but is only the adult responsible or both equally?
What is more important age of consent laws or more responsibility and involvement of parents in healthy social/sexual development of teenagers?
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