What should it be?
What should it be?
I'm going to sound like an old boring record, but what should the age of consent be where you live? Here in the UK it's 16, but I think it should be 11
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RoosterDance
- Posts: 358
- Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2024 3:27 am
Re: What should it be?
The Age of Consent itself is a deeply flawed concept. Readiness for intimacy cannot be determined by age alone. It is far too inaccurate. There are many other factors at play. Furthermore, we don't need the government to decide this for the people. A need for intervention should be handled on a case by case basis and be determined by the people actually involved, not anyone else.
Re: What should it be?
My opinion is that there shouldn't be one. I think the ability to consent should be on a case by case basis. Even then, for sex, the idea of 'informed consent' is too arbitrary; undefined, purposely so. Ask someone what they think informed consent entails, show them a minor that meets their requirements, and watch them change their definition.
Liberate youth
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Not Forever
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2025 8:36 pm
Re: What should it be?
I'm of the opinion that consent is simply something that is either shown or not, and there shouldn't be such a thing as "the age of consent". In fact, I believe even the term itself is incorrect; what we actually have is "the age of ignored consent", where it doesn't matter what you express—it holds no value. I find this to be quite a violent attitude, as if minors are treated worse than dogs, akin to animated objects.
I find it offensive towards the minor themselves, as if they were incapable of understanding or making decisions. At this point, I’m surprised that the minor themselves isn’t punished for expressing their consent, like a slave doing something without their master’s knowledge. But of course, this happens for paternalistic reasons and, if you will, like an object, the blame falls on the minor's master instead.
Where I’m from, the age of consent is at the end of early adolescence, so it’s enough to make jokes about Americans who think that someone interested in 14-year-olds is a pedophile. But even in my country, we're becoming somewhat influenced; we are full of rhetoric about power dynamics spread by feminist circles, and the right-wing is looking for foolish solutions to non-existent problems. A powder keg that only needs a spark to raise the age of consent, even though I don't think the general population would agree with it. However, it doesn't seem like the population has much say in the matter, and pressing the right buttons is enough to provoke their outrage.
I'm going a bit off-topic here, but personally, I'm interested in IT and the controversies surrounding it. I couldn't stop laughing when I read a tweet from someone at Firefox claiming they had enabled by default an option related to data collection for advertising, using the excuse that, according to them, users didn't have the tools to express their consent.
Same thing.
A paternalistic attitude, just an excuse to impose their own "default choice" on other people, considering their users (or their children) too stupid to decide for themselves. But choice is important, choice is a right, even when we don't have the tools to choose, the choice should still be ours. If this is considered a "problem," then the tools should be made available, the opacity removed entirely, and the process of making an informed choice should be made easier—rather than imposing one's own choice on others.
I find it offensive towards the minor themselves, as if they were incapable of understanding or making decisions. At this point, I’m surprised that the minor themselves isn’t punished for expressing their consent, like a slave doing something without their master’s knowledge. But of course, this happens for paternalistic reasons and, if you will, like an object, the blame falls on the minor's master instead.
Where I’m from, the age of consent is at the end of early adolescence, so it’s enough to make jokes about Americans who think that someone interested in 14-year-olds is a pedophile. But even in my country, we're becoming somewhat influenced; we are full of rhetoric about power dynamics spread by feminist circles, and the right-wing is looking for foolish solutions to non-existent problems. A powder keg that only needs a spark to raise the age of consent, even though I don't think the general population would agree with it. However, it doesn't seem like the population has much say in the matter, and pressing the right buttons is enough to provoke their outrage.
I'm going a bit off-topic here, but personally, I'm interested in IT and the controversies surrounding it. I couldn't stop laughing when I read a tweet from someone at Firefox claiming they had enabled by default an option related to data collection for advertising, using the excuse that, according to them, users didn't have the tools to express their consent.
Same thing.
A paternalistic attitude, just an excuse to impose their own "default choice" on other people, considering their users (or their children) too stupid to decide for themselves. But choice is important, choice is a right, even when we don't have the tools to choose, the choice should still be ours. If this is considered a "problem," then the tools should be made available, the opacity removed entirely, and the process of making an informed choice should be made easier—rather than imposing one's own choice on others.