...ha...I feel honoured.
I haven't actually read the book, so I'm probably gonna be way off on this. It just reminds of the way statutory rape is dealt with differently for male and females. I'm just thinking of a few specific cases where high schools males slept with their teachers. Even though they were legally obliged to prosecute the female teachers, there was an undercurrent of "thata boy!!" and admiration for the kid that scored with an older woman.(I remember reading that the police officer actually congratulated the kid in this one article).
....females the same age on the other hand are usually treated as sacred "virgins" with absolutely no sexual autonomy or free will of their own. I remember there was this creepy 28 year old guy that used to loiter at my workplace, and I found out later that he lured 16 year old girls on the internet for sex. In the article I read he disclosed his actual age to these girls, and then they met up later for (consensual) sex.
...my intitial reaction like a lot of people was that this guy should be locked away for at least 6 years.....but I think back to those sex scandals involving high school males and older teachers....and I can kind of understand how the prosecution was a little lax in that case...I can honestly say that if I was in the same situation(the kids) I wouldn't be traumatized--unless of course I got caught, and had to deal with all the publicity and legal hassles....and I still wouldn't want to see the older lady get locked up.
....so the dude is known as the "guy that scored with the older chick", and the girl(know matter what her personal feelings on the subject are) is treated as the victim and has to deal with the stigma for the rest of her life.
Even super right-wing guys I know who think the male sex offender should be given minimum ten year sentences, argue that the "kid knew what he was doing" in the case of the male victims.
...I'm not trying to excuse sex offenders, and I think in both cases it's unethical and really creepy, but how is the girl any less capable of making the decision that the male did?The dude gets the unofficial "badge of honour", and the girl is now "impure".
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