Relationship with a underaged character story, is it okay?

[punkarsenic]

i mean, i just very profoundly disagree and wont have my mind changed. teenagers, for their own safety, should not date adults, and such relationships shouldnt be encouraged

[SuperRazz]

What do you mean by "is it okay" in this context?

If the relationship in the story is normalized, I'd be disgusted. I don't know the aim of the author but I'd imagine the comic will attract "that kind" of crowd as readers.

Tapas has young readers, possibly as young as or younger than 17 . I'd be uncomfortable knowing they might come across that kind of comic.

[therealbereth]

17 and 29 is... oof.

Regardless of the age of consent, this is an age gap where a power imbalance is not avoidable, and I don't really consider any relationship with an age gap like that... consensual.

I mean, you were asking in relation to Tapas' community guidelines, of course, and they will follow the law in this regard (meaning US law here), so I don't think there would be a legal issue.

Morally, though? Big yikes.
Keep in mind the psychological development of a human brain is only finished once we hit 25 years or so, so the 2nd person is past that point, whereas the first is still in their adolescence. This isn't exactly... healthy.

[nostalgicroxas]

Yet no one scoffs at a 47 yr old and a 59 yr old. The years are the same time frame apart, and yet we're all just EW cause it's someone under the age of 22. Don't get me wrong, I work with 16-24 year old kids all the time, and they inner date between their ages (underaged and overaged being discouraged of course) but one thing that constantly comes up is how if they were an older couple, just by 10 or something years, no one would care.
Gotta love the brain development at someone who's 17 years old- which I think is the red flag.

Honestly, it's writing. It happens in real life regardless of our haughty views of right, wrong, correct, abuse, and the like. It does happen. If the younger person was younger than 16, we'd be having a legitimately different discussion.

[mariusthered]

agreed, it's nice to see their is one person on this website who's view are the same as mine.

[azzy-m]

Assuming you're asking if it's okay to post something like that on Tapas, like if it's not violating anything in the TOS, then yes as long as you are not glorifying/normalizing it, and also if it's not explicit. If you make it implied though you should put it behind a mature filter just to be safe.

[nostalgicroxas]

Something I haven't seen much of discussion about is how much this couple knows each other. If it's a pair of friends who've been hanging out for years, then it's more "okay" because their level of conversations are deeper. If it's a random chance meeting, it'll be viewed weirdly. Let's not forget, our favorite Sailor Moon was dating Tuxedo Mask and her father disapproved of it.

On the topic of this story in question - if there is any sexual content at all, is up to the writer. Not us. If they share it here, it's up to them how much they censor it. Explicit sexual content created to amplify a reader's personal sexual fantasies is not accepted, as the ToS outlines. And the writer's already stated they would not make that content available here.

[therealbereth]

Yet no one scoffs at a 47 yr old and a 59 yr old.

That's because both their brains are fully developed and none of them is in adolescence, still very much not adult, but a child in psychological terms.

I've had friends who were in "relationships" like that. Still doesn't necessarily make them healthy because of the power imbalances. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I mean, who is even interested in a teen as a nearly 30-year-old person? Just rubs me the wrong way.

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But, yeah. In terms of the guidelines, I guess there's no issue. I just take issue with relationships like that in general.

[punkarsenic]

Yet no one scoffs at a 47 yr old and a 59 yr old.

Keep in mind the psychological development of a human brain is only finished once we hit 25 years or so

Keep in mind the psychological development of a human brain is only finished once we hit 25 years or so

Keep in mind the psychological development of a human brain is only finished once we hit 25 years or so

i ask again: yall met a 17 year old lately?

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i aint gonna start beefing abt this bc i feel very strongly about it and am tryna get work done today, so im gonna mute this thread, but first: fiction is fiction, but when talking about the safety and morality of adult relationships with teenagers in the real world we must remember that teenagers are extremely vulnerable and immature, and we must question why a grown adult would even want to date someone who, really, when you talk to them, when you look at them, is most definitely a child.

At 29, I look back on my teenage relationships with older men with more – not...

[SuperRazz]

Yet no one scoffs at a 47 yr old and a 59 yr old.

Because the mental development of a 47 year old is not the same with a 17 year old. Because the power imbalance of a 17-29 year old couple is not the same to that of a 47 - 59 year old couple.

Gotta love the brain development at someone who's 17 years old- which I think is the red flag.

why?? Should that be discounted at all?

Honestly, it's writing. It happens in real life regardless of our haughty views of right, wrong, correct, abuse, and the like.

sure. But that does not make them immune from criticism. Remember how "13 reasons why" ? It depicted suicide and self harm but it was criticized for romanticizing it. Therefore, I am allowed to look at a 17-29 year old couple and say "EW".

[mariusthered]

i can see where this thread is going. time i back out. I have given my opinion for the thread poster that's all that counts.

[therealbereth]

Fiction doesn't operate in a vacuum. So when a creator asks if something is "okay", even if the question was originally aimed at the community guidelines, then people are entitled to point out where something could lead down a potentially toxic and harmful path.

This is not an attack. It is an opportunity to learn and grow, and as creators, we should treat it as such.

[Freemints30]

Then They should just state thier rating of the comic in the description. Aim simply seems to be simple romance with an, I hope mature rational 17 year old,(my country has 16 year age of consent, but I have never met one of these kinds of mature kids). As long as any sexual content is mostly not there or very subtly implied she will be fine. That crowd normally go to that kind of content when its very graphic.

[TAMAnnoying]

Just like everything else. As long as its well written and you do your best to be responsible with the message you're putting out then you're friend will be fine! I 100% agree that people get a lot of their knowledge and thinking from media but I also believe that if people can't be held accountable for their own responsibility of separating fiction from reality then they have a lot more problems then enjoying a story about an age gap.

[djwaglmuffin]

Don't forget Romeo and Juliet laws...

If two people are in a consensual sexual relationship (age of consent in most places being 17), then the relationship tends to be fine but the age difference here changes that.

This law pertains to, say, if I was 15 and my boyfriend turned 18 and we had been together for, like...5 years prior. Technically, my now 18 year old boyfriend would be considered statutory r*pe but this Romeo and Juliet law covers the context of the relationship. But I think the age difference can't be more than 5 years.

But I've seen people who end up arrested for sexual assault of a minor and have it follow them around until the other party turns 18. It can be sticky.

[ratique]

[ratique]

The conversation is derailing, the OP got the answer needed.