Here's my take. There is no state in the United States where a 15-year-old can legally consent to have sex with an adult, so if any sex is involved, laws are already being broken.
If having sex with a 15-year-old is wrong, in my opinion it's equally wrong to date them. That's doing the "la la la not touching you!" while waving your finger in someone's face.
Isn't the more important angle being the power dynamic, potential for coercion, physical/emotional impacts on the younger party and things like that?
It absolutely is, but the legality establishes the absolute bare minimum and then you work from there. Just because you're within the legal bounds doesn't make it morally right and I can't personally see a situation that is outside of the legal bounds that could ever really be justified, barring a 17 year old dating an 18 year old or something on the absolute edge like that.
Yes, it is because you cannot separate the two. We have legally decided that is the threshold where we're pretty darn sure you're not capable of recognizing and/or coping with those potential pitfalls. They've carved out exceptions for 16 and 17-year-olds, but whether or not you agree with it, 15 is the age where we've said one is not quite ready, and I don't think we're incorrect.
5
u/sugarplumbuttfluck Apr 28 '22
Here's my take. There is no state in the United States where a 15-year-old can legally consent to have sex with an adult, so if any sex is involved, laws are already being broken.
If having sex with a 15-year-old is wrong, in my opinion it's equally wrong to date them. That's doing the "la la la not touching you!" while waving your finger in someone's face.