I have noticed that when I looked at some discussions on age-of-consent that the arguments are often built on metaphysics. (For example, the idea that sexual development (or puberty) has definite, exact stages; and start or end dates.)

However, the dialectical materialist conception opposes metaphysics; so this would mean that if the age-of-consent is built on metaphysics; then it will not correspond to material reality.

This would include the start and end of sexual development in people; some people self-initate or end puberty much earlier (like at 8 or 9 years age) than what is traditionally expected (12 to 13 years age); and the rate of puberty onset has changed with the material conditions[1] (as dialectical materialism predicts).

So, if a person ends puberty (sexual development) much earlier than the age-of-consent and has gotten clear sex education; then should they still be not allowed to have sex until that age? What about adults having late puberty? What about people who never went through puberty, like some people with Kallmann Syndrome?

Since the conclusion of sexual development allows a person to have sex without sustaining damage, with good and proper sex education (as is education that doesn’t lead to rape), that would mean the person would be able to safely have sex, even if they have late puberty or end puberty earlier than expected. This is the opinion I’ve developed from my rethinking on this topic.

  1. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006 Nov; 60(11): 910–911. doi: 10.1136/jech.2006.049379 PMCID: PMC2465479 PMID: 17053275 ↩︎

  • bruhbeans@lemmy.ml
    10·
    2 years ago

    You’re assuming age of consent is about puberty, reproduction, but age of consent is about being intellectually capable of understanding and having responsibility for actions, which isn’t something you can measure in a physical sense.

    “the conclusion of sexual development allows a person to have sex without sustaining damage” this is baseless and incorrect and fucking creepy as shit, tbh.

    • Amicese@lemmy.mlOP
      23·
      2 years ago

      You’re assuming age of consent is about puberty, reproduction, but age of consent is about being intellectually capable of understanding and having responsibility for actions, which isn’t something you can measure in a physical sense.

      1. Intellectual knowledge in a person would have to be physical though, otherwise it wouldn’t affect the brain (and they wouldn’t learn anything).
      2. Simple solution then: Initiate sex education at all school levels and multiple times.

      “the conclusion of sexual development allows a person to have sex without sustaining damage” this is baseless and incorrect

      How is it baseless and incorrect? Without puberty, humans would never become able to sexually reproduce safely and also develop into adults.

      fucking creepy as shit, tbh

      What’s creepy about saying that ending puberty allows a person (or adult in that case) to perform sex safely (without sustaining damage)?

      • bruhbeans@lemmy.ml
        61·
        2 years ago

        Being able to reproduce is completely irrelevant to whether a person is ready and able to enter into a sexual relationship. You’re making shit up to skirt around that. That’s creepy as fuck, you sound like you’re trying to excuse child abuse.

        • Amicese@lemmy.mlOP
          1·
          2 years ago

          Ohh. I should have just meant and said perform sex. I treated the two like they’re the same. Sorry.

      • Helix 🧬@feddit.deEnglish
        3·
        2 years ago

        How is it baseless and incorrect? Without puberty, humans would never become able to sexually reproduce safely and also develop into adults.

        There’s more kinds of damage than physical damage. Your wording is awful.

        • Amicese@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
          12·
          2 years ago

          I thought that was implied through the general term damage, that’s why I used the general term damage and not just physical. Sorry if it came off that way.

          (Technically, all damage (physical, emotion, neurological, etc.) is physical as it affects the human body, but that shouldn’t and hopefully doesn’t downplay their effects and importance of recognition.)

          • Helix 🧬@feddit.deEnglish
            1·
            2 years ago

            I’d rather use the word “harm” than “damage”, since “damage” removes the perpetrator from the equation. However, fewer words are not optimal in that case. I’m glad you clarified all that :)