age_of_consent stork daddy there was recently a situation in sacramento where a 30 year old teacher was caught having sex in a car with her 16 year old student while her two-year old child sat in the back seat. the sexual relationship was a continuing one which was mutually approved by the parties involved (i don't say consensual because consent is a legal term which did not exist in this case). in analyzing what the law should be in this area, it is interesting to note that in many societies throughout history, including our own, the age of consent was as young as twelve. older men regularly married young teenage girls as little as 100 years ago. this is only evidence that human sexual attraction, which developed by evolution naturally and unbounded by any platonic ethical ideals, did not make any arbitrary distinctions between a sexually attractive youth and a sexually attractive adult (at least to the degree that one was completely inappropriate. on the contrary, it would appear that much of sexual attractiveness especially that of a female to a male was predicated on the youthful features she possessed (which, correlated to fertility and health, would provide a selective advantage to those attracted to them). those age limits that were enforced in selecting a sexual partner, were largely social and were based on social concerns and specific circumstances and took the form of religion, law, or custom. the appropriate question to ask then is does our society in all of its circumstances benefit from recognizing an age limit to sexualization. using modern psychology along with our society's overriding theme of protecting the rights of an individual to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we can make some headway in deciding whether the rule is archaic or currently viable and just. the question is what effect, outside of the shame engendered in the victim and the purpurtrator by the very fact that sexual activity with a minor is illegal, sexual activity with a minor has on the minor and society as a whole. these aren't easy answers per se, and for sure there is a great variability in any given group, teenagers being no exception. that said, the law seeks to protect the average citizen, the hypothetical citizen whose protections and rights we all agree to as a compromise in entering the social contract. we meet each other in the middle and so this can lead to injustice in specific cases but on the whole lead mostly to justice. so the question becomes, is the average 16 year old ready for sex with an experienced partner? 050223 ... Mister Brightside when i was seventeen and just getting into my assorted debaucheries, two of my favorites were a 19 year old and (unbeknownst to her - not as a matter of fidelity, which was totally irrelevant with that crowd, but because the thought of it might have weirded her out some) her 39-year-old mother. I'd say i learned plenty from the times they made use of me, and hell knows, if it wasn't for those two and the two that introduced me to them and the bits of whsipering that they did, i wouldn't have nearly the volume of pornographioc memories that i have, since manners and talent and good PR always got me further than my looks ever could have 050223 ... jane he sure thought so 050223 ... jane but that depends on what you mean by "experienced." 050223 what's it to you? who go blather from