Hollybaby said:
What???
Three people have replied "over 16" and not given a reason. That must be a joke.
You know what guys? We have rape laws. We have sexual harrassment laws. Those laws protect people from being harmed. The age of consent is not about protecting young people. It's about imposing morality on society.
I agree with you that using a number to represent an individual's maturity is simplistic. Quoting the criminal laws does not provide the reason.
It also seems that STDs and pregnancy are also used arguments for a higher age of consent. Given proper protection, I do not think there is any correlation between the age and the likelihood of contracting STDs or becoming pregnant.
It seems that the posters in this thread think sex always involves sexual intercourse. Sex, however, does not neccesary include sexual intercourse.
Sexual outercourse can provide just as much pleasure (of course this is subjective), with zero risk of becoming pregnant and ill (when performed responsibly).
Why is it that when sexual activities take place in a commercial setting, the age of consent is different? Who is to say that an 18-year-old SP is more mature than an SP who is 17 years and 11 months old? Is the younger SP expected to gain significant wisdom and revelations in the next month?
On another note, why is incest not legal? With the availability of contraceptives, the concern for the slightly higher chance of producing genetically defective offspring is non-existent. If the participants involved in incestial activities are willing and use protection, what is wrong with it? Who is being harmed?
With all that said, if you can be sure no one will ever find out, you can pretty much do anything you wish. For instance, speeding is not legal and has the potential to actually kill people, but many people frequently do it when they think they will not be caught.
The list goes on. Movie ratings, legal ages of drinking/smoking/gambling, etc. I don't think laws are intended to be fair—they somtimes have the tendency to over-protect the smart people and under-protect the stupid ones. However, smart people adapt and don't get themselves into trouble, so that they have more free time to do whatever their brilliant minds are set out to do.