EC age limit

I think the problem here is that some people feel it is borderline acceptable for non professionals (or parents) to engage in conversations about sex with underage people as it may be taken as inappropriate and even child endangering according to certain interpretations of the law.

Now I totally agree that LGBT youth do not get a lot of help with the birds and the bees as it were but some people feel uncomfortable discussing sex and other activities with minors and that is most likely the reason some people dislike the age policy from my interpretation.

I just personally stay out of those topics, but I see the rationale against the current age policy.

 

I completely agree with this. I joined EC when I was 13, and quite honestly I joined for advice. Whenever I did come across post/thread that could be considered "controversial," most of the time I already knew about the subject matter anyway.

 

Though discussing sexual topics with minors in a way that is not deliberately provocative or salacious is not in violation of the federal laws of any of the countries that EC is most prominently view by. Not to mention, the majority have regulation that require sexual activity to be discussed and explained to children on an education level at their academic institutions. A strong desire of this site is to provide a safe place for LGBTQ, especially youth, to become more knowledgeable and aware of physical and sexual health and practice. This site is not exclusively for psychological or environment advice and support.

There shouldn't be a reason to feel uncomfortable. If certain members don't feel comfort giving advice on sexual topics with minors, then they are perfectly fine in leaving the topic up to those that are. If any member reads the responses that were given to a minor and feel that certain members have leaned too far on the side of vulgarity, then I would seriously advise that they bring the thread to the staff's attention. Yes, we encourage discussing proper sexual health and practice with minors, but the topic has never been limitless. We regularly remove posts and threads that have gone to far, which is why the age limit on this site has been able to remain as it has.

The most fragile point in an individual's life-long sexual history is within their teenage years, which is why we cannot dance around the subject. Especially for LGBTQ who often receive no level of sexual advice and education from their schools or home life.

 

^ This was exactly what I was going to say, but could not articulate it right.

---------- Post added 5th Apr 2014 at 09:50 PM ----------

^ This is also very improtant to keep in mind. I think a lot of older folks forget what it was like to be that age.

 

Thank you for clarifying that.

 

I believe most 13 year olds would at least be knowledgeable about some sexual topics, I know I definitely was, and I think that making an age restricted forum would defeat the purpose of EC. Let's face it, (most) 13 year olds fall in love, (some) 13 year olds have sex, (some) 13 year olds watch porn and masturbate, and age restricting some of the informaion on the forum would most likely lead to the younger members of this site (including myself) would not be as educated about sexual intercourse. If someone is posting solely to be erotic in what they post with no educational purpose, then it should be taken down. But cutting teenagers off from information about sex only leads to negative consequences. It isn't like 13 year olds don't know the basic concept of sex, and wouldn't have it if they didn't know what some risks were. Cutting teenagers off from education about sex leads to higher teen pregnancy rates, higher STD rates, and more ignorance about safe sex.

As you can tell, I'm very anti-censorship.

 

If 10-year-olds have access to explicit porn they need access to information about sex, and all its implications and complications, in the real world.

 

When my mother got her first period she knew NOTHING. It started at school and she thought she had wet herself until she went to the outhouse (yes, an outhouse) and found herself all bloody. She was terrified she was dying and completely ashamed. She tried to clean herself up and stem the flow as much as she could. She went home terrified she would be punished. Her mother noticed blood and sent all the male family members to the far field. She and my mother sat making cloth pads while Grandma explained the birds and bees to my mom. She basically said "you have the woman's curse. You are paying for Eve's sin and the sins of all women. You will suffer this curse every month but it will let you bear children for your husband. He will perform sex on you. It will be uncomfortable and unpleasant but you must bear it for your duty to your husband and to have children."

My mom took a different approach with my sister and I. She answered any question we were old enough to think up as well as she could. Since I was the kind of kid that would not accept a simple answer that did not quite explain things fully I got the "big talk" when I was five and persisted in getting a full explanation for why my sister got that mysterious package wrapped in brown paper and twine from the pharmacy. My talk was better but based on my mother's own limited experiences and her general lack of knowledge about a topic that was still quite taboo.

When I was an early teen we heard about "the girl down the road" who got caught trying to get an abortion. Her mother found out and stopped it so the girl was going to have a baby instead of getting her third abortion. She was about 14 or 15 at the time. She had never talked to her family about sex. Her "birds and bees" education was sneaking to have sex with her much older "boyfriend" (if I remember right he was well over 20) and having him take her for abortions when she got pregnant.

I remember some other girl about this time telling me that she knew ALL ABOUT SEX! She said "a boy takes out his thing and pees on you!" She was about 12 and had no clue at all.

My mother-in-law had friends who believed that they could not get pregnant if they kept their panties on.

Yesterday was my daughter's 13th birthday. In the evening she joined EC. When she was showing the early signs of puberty I bought her the book It's Perfectly Natural. When she was very, very young she loved watching all the "from egg to birth" kinds of shows on the Discovery Channel.

Open, honest discussions of a natural thing are very helpful. If things go over a certain line then yes, report, but excluding young teens from information that might help them understand their bodies, feelings, and urges is just wrong.