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.
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.
maturity? ability to handle tough situations? think clearly before acting? the parts of the brain responsible for these things are very much underdeveloped in teens, whether they're 17 to 19.
Suppose you got a brain scan, and it turned out you have the frontal lobe of a 15 year old. Would you relinquish all responsibility and become a ward of the state because you didn't believe in your own ability to decide anything?
Obviously younger people have less experience to draw on when making a decision. Most likely, they also have physically different brains. Using those two facts as a justification for denying their autonomy is wrong.
no one's denying their autonomy. people under 18 cannot consent because they're not adults. we, as a society, recognize that they need to be protected from predatory adults. that doesn't disappear because they've turned 18. they still need to be protected from predatory adults.