Comments Elsewhere

Micha:

Constant, there is a double standard, but there is no reason to think that, in order to fix the inconsistency, we should oppose female adults having sex with male teens, rather than not opposing male adults having sex with female teens.

Of course there’s a reason to think that. The reason is that it’s sleazy to fuck 8th graders less than half your age.

It’s also worth noting that age is not the only fact that needs to be considered in this case, anyway. Whatever their ages, it’s also wildly unethical for teachers to have sex with their students—whether or not the students consent.

(N.B.: I’m taking no stand, for the moment at least, on whether either of these should be considered a crime, or merely a vice; I’m just saying that they are wrong. If these reasons are not intuitive enough, I can talk about it some more, but really “Hey, don’t fuck 13 year olds” seems on its face like a pretty reasonable rule for adults to follow.)

Scott:

What the hell are you talking about? Of course the double standard’s acceptable. Men and women are not the same. I read it in a biology book.

I hear that blue-eyed people and brown-eyed people have discernable genetic differences, too. The question is what specific differences you think there are that would justify a double standard on this count.

And Ghertner, when I have kids, you stay the hell away from my daughters.

But you’d be just fine with him fucking your 13 year old sons?