About a million years ago I was a firm-bodied teenage girl with thoughts of independence and confusing hormonal urges. I was completely sure I knew everything and my choices were my own. I look back on those days now and realize I didn't know shit, I just thought I did.
Sure, I was smart enough to take the pill but I was impressionable enough to allow a certain youth minister to "counsel" me by taking me to his bed. I would probably never go as far as to press charges against that minister because I willingly consented. However, if I ever see him again I'm gonna kick his ass because no matter how much I thought I knew, he knew better.
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"On a perfect planet, all the countries of the world should have one standard when it comes to the age of legal consent." |
The boards at Cozy have been buzzing with talk about underage models, allusions to under age models and those sites that feature underage models who are clothed but none the less posed in an erotic fashion.
Posters wonder about the legalities of these types of content. They find the lines between artistic merit and child pornography to be fuzzy and wonder just how far a webmaster can push the legal envelope. Matters are complicated more by the different laws governing consent ages in different countries.
The United States definition of underage is different that the Russian one. States and countries have different age definitions for sexual consent than they do for contractual consent. In other words, a girl may be legally able to consent to sex at age 16 but cannot consent to being an adult model until she is eighteen.
On top of that, the consent ages differ between boys and girls usually with boys being allowed to make life-altering decisions at a younger age than girls do. It all gets even messier when you factor in sites that imply their legally aged models are underage or the models are clothed. There are even wish-list sites built by the models themselves where the surfers purchase gifts for them in trade for private communications and whatnot.
Promoting and selling access to teen sexual content is big damned business. The teen niche is generally understood to be models who are 18-19 years of age. They are legally allowed to sign contracts and pose in a sexually explicit manner. Choosing to have sex and choosing to sign contracts have separate standards according to the law. The teen porn market constantly walks the slippery slope when it comes to selling its wares. You'll see legal aged models with pigtails, school uniforms and stuffed animals.
Webmasters will incorporate clever keywording in META tags with terms like "lolita" and "teenie". Some webmasters go as far as to use actual under age models that are fully clothed but still
erotically posed.
A site can feature models who are perfectly legal but can still offer their users story content that is centered around under-aged sex. Even if the United States were able to institute more clearly written laws governing under age porn, so many other countries will have completely different standards. Considering that the Internet is the WORLD WIDE WEB, enforcing US law on content that is based in Japan is next to impossible.
On a perfect planet, all the countries of the world should have one standard when it comes to the age of legal consent. Until that day comes, an adult webmaster who decides to take the chance and promote and sell teen content would be well advised to familiarize themselves with the laws of their countries and the laws of the cities and states they live in.
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For those of you who would like to know a little bit more about consent laws and the difference between sexual consent and contractual consent, here are some links you might want to explore:
Title 18 USC 2257
(http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/2257.html)
While Title 18 may be a US law, it's a good standard for any adult webmaster from any country. This link informs the adult webmaster what legal notices should be applied to your site and the penalties to those who do not comply.
Age of Consent
(http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm)
The
Viagra banner at the top of this site seems a little bit dubious but just the same, this is a highly informative list of different consent ages in different countries and states.
Contractual Consent
(http://www.itslegal.com/infonet/consumer/contracts.html#who)
As said,
the age to consent to sex is different than the age one is determined to be able to understand and sign a legally-binding document. Keep in mind, this is a US standard.
When it comes down to it, an adult webmaster should ALWAYS consult a lawyer to protect themselves against potential litigation. Many people are trying their hardest to make porn go away completely. Those who do not legally comply only make it harder for the rest of us who do.
I have definite opinions on the whole teen content thing and if you catch me in a private conversation, I will gladly tell them to you. In print, I neither condone nor reject teen smut. I write this article in an effort to be informative and helpful. How you choose to make your living in the adult Internet is entirely up to you and your conscience.
Still, someday I'm gonna find that shithead youth minister and when I do, I'm gonna tear him a new one.