4 ms·

There’s a difference between a controversial opinion and one of the strongest taboos in American culture.

mardifoufs 3y ago
Pedophilia isn't exactly an American only issue. I'm not American but if thinking that pedophilia harms children is an American "taboo"... Then consider me thoroughly americanized lol.
- kayodelycaon 3y ago
  It's far from exclusive, but I don't know enough about other cultures to definitively say universally strong in all existing ones. (It hasn't been historically.)
  - deleted 3y ago
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  - lflflspaasdd 3y ago
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- elif 3y ago
  It is certainly not exclusive to the USA and no one is trying to deny or diminish victims in other countries, but statistically, it is an endemic US problem. According to US HHS "over the course of their lifetime, 28% of young people in the US, aged 14 to 17, had been sexually victimized." Compare that to 4.8% for the UK, also a country with a severe child SA problem. The US is thusly quite anomalous, and is only really comparable to undeveloped nations in terms of CSA rates. So when an American goes out of his way to defend forms of CSA on his personal webpage, unprompted, it can certainly be seen as symptomatic of this larger US cultural issue.
Clubber 3y ago
It's a fairly modern taboo, historically speaking. While the unrestricted age of consent is between 16 and 18 in all U.S. states, the laws have widely varied across the country in the past. In 1880, the ages of consent were set at 10 or 12 in most states, with the exception of Delaware where it was 7.[104] The ages of consent were raised across the U.S. during the late 19th century and the early 20th century.[105][106] By 1920, 26 states had an age of consent at 16, 21 states had an age of consent at 18, and one state (Georgia) had an age of consent at 14.[104] Small adjustments to these laws occurred after 1920. Damn Deleware, 7?!
- deleted 3y ago
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- belorn 3y ago
  If I remember right, the median age of people who have sex before the age of 20 is 15 years. (where I live) It is one of those slight odd statistics, especially if it is similar in places where the age of consent is 18. It does however explain why there are so many different age of consent, and why it is hard for law makers to fix it to a number that make people happy.
- dls2016 3y ago
  I live in one of four US states where you must be 18 to get married. Most other states have "parental consent" laws that allow you to get married at age 16. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/01/child-marriage-is-rare-in-the-u-s-though-this-varies-by-state/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/01/child-mar... Not to mention like every big rocker had a teenage girlfriend in the 1970s.

Pedophilia isn't exactly an American only issue. I'm not American but if thinking that pedophilia harms children is an American "taboo"... Then consider me thoroughly americanized lol.

kayodelycaon 3y ago
It's far from exclusive, but I don't know enough about other cultures to definitively say universally strong in all existing ones. (It hasn't been historically.)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- lflflspaasdd 3y ago
  [dead]
elif 3y ago
It is certainly not exclusive to the USA and no one is trying to deny or diminish victims in other countries, but statistically, it is an endemic US problem. According to US HHS "over the course of their lifetime, 28% of young people in the US, aged 14 to 17, had been sexually victimized." Compare that to 4.8% for the UK, also a country with a severe child SA problem. The US is thusly quite anomalous, and is only really comparable to undeveloped nations in terms of CSA rates. So when an American goes out of his way to defend forms of CSA on his personal webpage, unprompted, it can certainly be seen as symptomatic of this larger US cultural issue.

Clubber 3y ago

It's a fairly modern taboo, historically speaking. While the unrestricted age of consent is between 16 and 18 in all U.S. states, the laws have widely varied across the country in the past. In 1880, the ages of consent were set at 10 or 12 in most states, with the exception of Delaware where it was 7.[104] The ages of consent were raised across the U.S. during the late 19th century and the early 20th century.[105][106] By 1920, 26 states had an age of consent at 16, 21 states had an age of consent at 18, and one state (Georgia) had an age of consent at 14.[104] Small adjustments to these laws occurred after 1920. Damn Deleware, 7?!

deleted 3y ago
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belorn 3y ago
If I remember right, the median age of people who have sex before the age of 20 is 15 years. (where I live) It is one of those slight odd statistics, especially if it is similar in places where the age of consent is 18. It does however explain why there are so many different age of consent, and why it is hard for law makers to fix it to a number that make people happy.
dls2016 3y ago
I live in one of four US states where you must be 18 to get married. Most other states have "parental consent" laws that allow you to get married at age 16. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/01/child-marriage-is-rare-in-the-u-s-though-this-varies-by-state/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/01/child-mar... Not to mention like every big rocker had a teenage girlfriend in the 1970s.