I always get flack when I voice this opinion, but it seems fine to me that a relatively mature, possibly sexually active, or consenting 15 year old ought to be able to make a choice for them selves. Yes it is unconventional, and yes parents and responsible adults should be on the lookout people in positions of power who may be taking advantage of that position. But I always find it demeaning to women whenever someone says that an adult 20 years or older who has consentual sex with a 15 year old girl is autmatically comitting rape. It seems to me that many young girls or boys in this situation are perfectly capable of making this decision for themselves once they have decided to become sexually active in the first place. I think for some it could be a positive experience.

Yes, if this were a male teacher/female student, everyone would be clamoring for jail time. Because that's what child molesters deserve: jail (well, a lot worse, actually, but that's all society affords us).

Just because the teacher is young and hot doesn't mean these young boys are mature enough to make these kinds of decisions. We don't allow girls that kind of freedom, and boys don't need it either.

And besides, this isn't about the kids. It's about the adults in the situation: the adult teacher, who has a special duty to remain professional and keep a professional distance from the children in her classroom.

It's not a Van Halen song, it's real life.

It's cute in the abstract, but when your 14 year old son knocks up his 25 year old sister, it's not cute anymore.

I mixed up my deviations.

One of these days I hope to read something intelligent in Broadsheet. There are men languishing, rightfully, in prisons all over the country for sexually abusing a child. When a woman does it, however, we give her a book deal, a spread in People magazine, psychological counseling, and a slap on the wrist. Then we discuss whether we should lower the age of consent? That is absurd. No one would be having this conversation if it were about a 45 year old man having sex with a 14 or 15 year old girl. We would never know his name because the national media would not report it, and, if we did, we would all feel relieved that the guy got what was coming to him under the law. I wish society would wake up and smell the double standard. We let women basically get away with a crime that earns men a bad reputation among their fellow prisoners.

Brain scans show 14-17 year old brains to be still forming, be underdeveloped in the areas needed to make judgements and control impulses, and to be the equivalent of "mentally ill". Why are we talking about lowering the age of consent again?

The real problem is that we as a society sexualize young children, use underage models in oversexed ads to draw customers, encourage the prurient gaze at 12-15 year old boys and girls by adults (remember the catalogs from Ambercrombie and Fitch- that wasn't kids picking them up), and then contradict ourselves with these laws. To be honest, we need to stop oversexualizing and sorshipping underage children in print ads and video. We need to avoid businesses that push inappropriate, oversexed dress for teens. We need to create clear lines between teenhood and adulthood again.

The first time was with my first boyfriend. He was 17, I was 16. When we broke up, his typical teenage boy reaction was to completely ignore and avoid me for several months (impressive considering we were both in the same high school theater club and spent several hours a day in the same space.)

The second time was with my second boyfriend. He was 24, I was 17. When we broke up... well, it still sucked, but he didn't pretend I didn't exist.

I can't say the second time hurt any more than the first. Less, probably - I'd already been through the wringer once.

And though neither guy was exactly Mr. Perfect, the older guy was CONSIDERABLY more aware of and senstive to my feelings than the teenage boy. Both of them were, to some degree, "taking advantage of me" to get laid; both were also, to some degree, genuinely emotionally and intellectually interested in me. I don't regret either relationship, nor do I feel traumatized or "abused."

Every case is different. If the "minor" is 14, yes, that's too young. 15, 16, 17? These are grey areas, and the law should consider the actual power dynamics, not just the number. An 18 year old boy being prosecuted for being with his 17 year old girlfriend is absurd.

Ok, when I was 16 I decided it would be cool to date older guys. I had been hit on by older men since I turned 13. I lost my virginity to a man who was 21, then proceeded to date two men who were 24 yrs old. At the time I thought I was real cool and really special that these guys paid attention to me. I thought it was great that they liked me even though there were plenty of available women their own age.

Now I am older and I look back on those days with disgust. I am horrified that these men took advantage of my need to find older men's approval because my father abandoned me.

Is anyone realizing that being a child with an adult and that child thinking it is ok is probably because someone else warped that kid? Abuse, neglect and emotional instability are self-perpetuating cycles. It takes thought and self awareness that teenagers simply don't have to realize it.

You are not equals from the start, I was dealing with curfews and prom and high school crap. These men had jobs, cars and way more experience than I did.

First and foremost, when a relationship needs to be kept secret, how can anyone think that is the RIGHT thing to do?

Plus, why would they want to deal with a person that has to answer to their mother? Why would they want to deal with someone who can't legally drink, who you have to hide from the public and you can't tell your friends about? But hey it's an ok relationship cause I, the kid, said it was? I was freaking 16 yrs old, I thought Color Me Badd was a great group and MTV was the shit!

Being an adult and having sex with a teenager is WRONG, I don't give a fuck how horny you are. Masturbate! These notions of romatic love are bullshit, you don't really love someone you have total control over. Feelings happen, but your actions can always be controlled.

Sex is not a freaking recreational sport, it involves emotions and your first experiences with the opposite sex will color your relationships for a very long time to come. I am tired of people acting like sex is no big deal it's just like eating a bowl of ice cream, it feels good and tastes great!

I have a very hard time trusting men because of my early relationships where GROWN MEN used the opportunity of a naive hot 16 yr old to get laid and know that they didn't have to be in any real sort of relationship. I have a hard time believing nice guys are really nice guys.

These teenage boys who are sleeping with their teachers may think it's all fun and games, how cool they are, they got to fufill a fantasy, ect. But you don't know the reasons they were open to the manipulation in the first place and you need to seriously wonder about people who think that teenagers are the best sexual partners.

Any relationship that is about power, control and manipulation is not healthy whether you think it is harmful or not. Harm does not always manifest itself in ways you can understand or see.