It's not illegal, but it's still weird, creepy and potentially harmful and no amount of lambasting about "the problematic age gap discourse" will make it not true.

  • TawnyFroggy [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    While I agree that a 26 year old dating a 19 year old seems pretty gross, "brain development" talk is very very off-putting to me because its being used to try and deny trans people health care even after legal adulthood. I don't know what point I'm trying to make here, just feels iffy.

    • LiberalSocialist [any,they/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      I think it can be used as an argument for saying how 18 yo are different from 35 yo, but not when it comes to denying rights.

    • Kuori [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      i feel you, it's been coming up in the news in a very ugly way recently.

      idk maybe i am wildly inconsistent but i would be perfectly comfortable with a minor deciding to begin transitioning well before the "age of development" (if there is such a thing i guess?) and i don't feel that that necessarily contradicts my stance on age-gap relationships. despite what the right may claim, no one is going around grooming kids into transes, but i have seen, with my own eyes, literally dozens of dudes groom girls in their teens. it just feels like a very different circumstance to me but, again i understand how bringing it up as an argument at all may be unpalatable.