I don’t think it’s pointless to say there are degrees of wrong.
I know someone who cheated on their spouse with a willing 16 year old, which is legal here. This situation spawned arguments about morality that went on for years. Here’s a question to help those black & white thinkers break out of their shell a bit: which was worse? The 16 year old or the cheating? Does it change anything if the marriage had become sexless (spouse’s fault)? What if the 16 year old was or was not a virgin?
I think it’s definitely wrong across the board. I honestly think 40 year olds dating 20 year olds is weird and I’m going to think differently of that 40 year old, but the laws have drawn this arbitrary line at 18, and so here we are.
It’s all fucked up, but sexually assaulting a literal child versus sexually assaulting via coercion a 15 year old feels like a distinction worth making. You can be Lost Prophets pedophile or Brand New pedophile, they are vastly different degrees of awful, despite both being awful.
To me a child is single digits. You’re right though, 15 year olds, whatever term encapsulates that age.
Ephebophilia can be used as a distinction from pedophilia. Voicing that distinction makes you sound like a pedophile though.
I don’t think it’s pointless to say there are degrees of wrong.
I know someone who cheated on their spouse with a willing 16 year old, which is legal here. This situation spawned arguments about morality that went on for years. Here’s a question to help those black & white thinkers break out of their shell a bit: which was worse? The 16 year old or the cheating? Does it change anything if the marriage had become sexless (spouse’s fault)? What if the 16 year old was or was not a virgin?
Degrees of wrong.
I think it’s definitely wrong across the board. I honestly think 40 year olds dating 20 year olds is weird and I’m going to think differently of that 40 year old, but the laws have drawn this arbitrary line at 18, and so here we are.
It’s all fucked up, but sexually assaulting a literal child versus sexually assaulting via coercion a 15 year old feels like a distinction worth making. You can be Lost Prophets pedophile or Brand New pedophile, they are vastly different degrees of awful, despite both being awful.
Unfortunately, people really hate nuance when it comes to this topic.
Just about any topic, really. I dunno, maybe they’re right too, and maybe my desire to define is totally unnecessary.