I recall many times growing up when I felt like my inalienable fundamental human rights were violated in unjust autocratic ways, mostly at school. There was also the time of being a year older than my partner but the potential of ridiculous arbitrary laws having major consequences.
I feel like the age of 18 as some kind of moral benchmark is ridiculous. I feel like it is just tied to the age of conscription. Basing sexual morality on the age when the state can abduct and murder without recourse is nonsense. Most of us likely exist in a duality where we might cringe at “underage” of any kind, but not think twice when a couple of teens are dating and in a physical consensual relationship that is respectful and private.
So from a distant future culture’s perspective, like if Star Trek TNG existed in hard SciFi, and there is no need for our present arbitrary policy enforcement, what should be the basis of adolescent autonomous agency?
-
Maybe it is weening, cultural pressures, and education.
-
Maybe it is full independence and self sufficiency.
For the record, this is my favored idea as it pressures society to enable a balanced financial early life and opportunities. It also adjusts to account for real world maturity levels. IMO, it is either this or number 1 as these are derived from individual human life phases.
- Maybe you think it should be something else?
Peter pan laws help with slight age gaps, beyond that, in till the frontal lobe is more developed it would be irresponsible to allow children to do as they please it would also be cruel as some adults pray on children as they are much easier to manipulate.
Also the frontal lobe often isn’t fully developed till the age of 25. Laws must be concrete hense 18 being the hard limit in some country’s otherwise all we’d hear about is how 'she/he acted so much more mature"
I personally am thankful for these laws as I come from an abusive childhood and while the law didn’t fix my problems I know that it did end those problems. Children lack a voice
BTW, I have no intention of my question causing any harm. I understand it can be a tough subject, but I think it is worth discussing.
Thanks for commenting. As someone disabled by a car on a bicycle, every time I encounter an article about something similar it has a deep impact on me in that moment. I hope I have not had a similar impact on you. I’m simply trying to daydream about a better future.
It definitely is worth discussion, most people don’t understand the neurological side of age of consent and this makes for a great platform to discuss this. In regards to the future of age of consent maybe there will be brain scans that measure the ability for decision making but that is way to eugenics for me I much rather stick with age of consent as flawed as it might be.
Sorry what are Peter Pan laws? I tried googling but I got a bunch of links about copyright, one that seemed like it might be relevant here (albeit with not-that-great probability) except that it was literally just a headline followed by a page of ads—no article—and something about Cuban children fleeing to America 60 years ago.
I’m familiar with the term Romeo and Juliet laws. Is it similar?
Yes its the same I believe, these laws allow people of similar age to have a romantic relationship without fear of prosecution
Edit: I also search the phrase peter pan laws and returned the same as yourself, it is a term ive seen before used to discribe this but not a legal definition. I can’t imagine Disney are too happy with they’re IP being used in this way
some adults pray on children
they already do, and in many cases it’s both legal and socially condoned.
well, we for sure know one of the worst ways and the result of that: the last 25 years of the US public school system
the systematic identification and obliteration of individuality and agency? the US public school system sees that as something to be immediately sought out, shunned, punished, and destroyed at all costs.
I think easier access to emancipation would be incredible, when I was a teen in a bad situation I didn’t even know it was an option.
Perhaps the frontal lobes aren’t developed, but is that really a reasonable argument against freedom of action? Are we saying people who have less intelligence should not be given freedom? Why is the age 18 instead of 25? I think that’s a bad argument.
The frontal lobe isn’t “intelligence”. It’s executive function, or the ability to properly recognize long term consequences.
I’m not sure 18 is the number. You don’t need to wait until 25, though. That’s “fully developed”, not “over the threshold of capable of making responsible decisions”. Very few 18 year olds are.
There are some things that aren’t all or nothing the day someone turns 18 in many jurisdictions, and more of that kind of thinking would probably be wise. Some examples:
- Driver’s licenses often have restrictions when people first start driving, such as limits on time of day or number of passengers
- In many jurisdictions, consensual sex between a young adult and a minor some small number of years younger (three, for example) is not criminal
- In many jurisdictions, teenagers under 18 are allowed to work, but there are stricter rules about working hours and hazardous conditions than for adults
- In many jurisdictions, school is mandatory for children, but becomes optional before the age of 18
- Minors in some jurisdictions may petition a court to be emancipated from their guardians and be treated as legal adults before they’re 18 if they can demonstrate self-sufficiency
That’s largely independent of conditions in schools being unfair to students or not especially conducive to learning.
The purpose of hard age limits isn’t just to restrict the autonomy of minors.
It’s also to allow adults to know where they stand, with respect to the law, and eliminate ambiguities that could be used for selective enforcement.
As an adult, I can’t decide whether to sell alcohol to a minor, or have sex with a minor, etc. based on some concept of “real world maturity”. And if you give prosecutors flexibility in charging adults with crimes based on some mushy concept of maturity, you can probably guess who will get the shaft: poor folks, and black & brown & red folks.
I don’t know that hard age limits are “fair” to minors, I suppose I would probably agree that they are not. But we have to consider what is fair to the person who might be accused of a crime.
