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Minors cannot consent because they, in general, have a mental deficiency called "being young". They also, in general, are in the lowest power position of any po
by Qworg 7y ago
Minors cannot consent because they, in general, have a mental deficiency called "being young". They also, in general, are in the lowest power position of any potential relationship.
It isn't that minors are non-beings - it is that they're not fully developed yet, so they need protections. Where we draw that line is up to the law and culture of any location, but it exists.
- jelliclesfarm 7y agoIt sucks to be the female of this species, let me tell you. When we are minors, we are mentally deficient to be sexual beings. When we are adults, we are also told that we have no control or reproductive choice over what we do with bodies. I hate to sound like this..because I don’t think of myself as a vocal feminist..I have always considered myself a rational being. With that hat on, it seems to me that the female human being has no choice or agency and their physical bodies are mere vessels for the male of the species to fornicate, procreate and to be generally unobtrusively abiding by the rules made by the opposite gender. That’s very upsetting to me.
- anigbrowl 7y agoI take your point but the issues of consent and agency apply equally well if gender roles are reversed or mixed up any old how.
- drblast 7y agoThe power and experience imbalance on average is the problem. Minors can't consent not because there aren't intelligent, mature minors, but because on average they are less mature and experienced than an adult. I could tell a five year old that if they do something Santa will bring them gifts. That could be something completely reprehensible but they have no sense of right and wrong besides what I might tell them at that age. At age ten, they are more capable of deciding that on their own. As you get older you become better at that and more autonomous. But at a young age the only things you know are what adults tell you is true. That's an extreme amount of power the adult has. At some point we call people adults because we expect them to now have this responsibility and decide for themselves what they think is best for them because at a certain age we believe a majority of those young people should be autonomous. But that age is a guess and fairly arbitrary. Is it 17? 18? Probably somewhere around there. Is it 5? Nope. So you have to draw the line somewhere. It sucks if you're an incredibly mature 16 year old, but if you are, then waiting two years to have sex with someone much older than you shouldn't be an overwhelming burden if the social benefit is greater for those less mature or in potentially abusive situations.
- asveikau 7y agoWhy do you feel being a vocal feminist is at odds with being rational? I see no problem at all with a rational, vocal feminist. Many people enter the latter category after considering the issue with rationality. It would be insulting towards those people to assume they didn't enter into it rationally.
- jelliclesfarm 7y agoI don’t know what to say. Anything I say will likely offend someone. So no reasons, just my opinion. That’s all.
- asveikau 7y agoSomething being insulting to someone is not the same as them being offended. I am saying, you are insulting those people, disrespecting them, because they are not irrational. Have a good day and hopefully improve your awareness of other people's faculties.
- lacampbell 7y agoMinors cannot consent because they, in general, have a mental deficiency called "being young". Being young is not a mental deficiency. There are 17 year olds smarter than a legion of 70 year olds will ever be. Saying all young people have a mental deficiency has no bearing on reality. I don't event want to weigh in on the age of consent debate here, I've just always hated the constant shitting on young people and their intellect just because their young. I hated it when I was young and grown adults who weren't that smart were clearly threatened by me, and I still hate it now that I'm older.
- asveikau 7y agoAs a layperson I know no better than what I get in popular articles, however, my understanding is that the state of the art in neurology now says you are actually not fully formed mentally until your mid twenties. See: prefrontal cortex. So you can say that 17 year old exceeds some adults and it may be true, but current neurological science suggests that 17 year old has not yet reached their full mental capacity.
- lacampbell 7y agoI'm not saying some is fully developed mentally as a teenager. But people constantly dismiss ideas or suggestions from people younger than them... because they are younger. I really wish I hadn't let 'grown ups'(family, public school teachers... people who were neither very smart nor successful) brow beat me into thinking I was stupider than I actually was.
- asveikau 7y agoYou are right. I guess the ideal is a bit of a balancing act. To embrace the advantages of youth - you are not so solidified, you can try things your elders might not dare or consider - but to remain humble and know that you have a lot of growth ahead, admitting that you haven't yet reached the peak. Suddenly I remember why teenage years were so hard.
- 007435throwaway 7y agoThis is why charging minors as adults for murder is so troubling.
- trophycase 7y agoNearly all of human history people were having sex, getting married, and having children while still being considered minors in the US today. Please let's not be ridiculous here.