MAP Forum

Why the hate on grooming?

"I think it's worse when adults develop an affectionate relationship with minors than when they try to meet up with them for casual sex." Seems like a brain dead take to me.

Fragment wrote: ↑Fri Sep 13, 2024 6:58 am Why the hate on grooming?

"I think it's worse when adults develop an affectionate relationship with minors than when they try to meet up with them for casual sex." Seems like a brain dead take to me.

I think it's to likely to do with trying to show the outrage at people who try to meet up with minors for sex is disproportionate. Like even if sex with minors is bad, grooming could still be worse.
Arguably it could be more traumatic. If you're just trying to have sex with someone, they won't necessarily feel pressure about it, but if someone gets emotionally attached to you that's means it's harder to get away from you or set boundaries with you.
For context, Max was sexually harassed by his own mother as teenager, even though she never actually performed any sexual act with him. He argues a single sexual act is less traumatic than having to live around someone that's sexually predatory but doesn't perform a sexual act.
Also, he thinks that social media companies are largely responsible for the so-called "grooming epidemic" (rather than individuals) because in the past it was largely unthinkable for adults and teenagers, or adults and kids to randomly be in the same spaces without parents knowing but the internet changed that.
Even if I disagree with his ethical conclusions, I think he's got some interesting ways of reframing things that we can learn from. He's a big inspiration to how I think.