Poor Bunny
This is ridiculous. The boy was fifteen. It was consensual. If he is experiencing anything like trauma, it seems overwhelmingly likely that this is only because people make such a fuss about this kind of thing.
Yes, Madeleine Martin probably should have known better. Yes, the power relationship was likely asymmetrical. Yes, it isn’t a good idea for teachers to jump their students. But even so… let’s get some perspective here. It was sex that almost certainly both parties thoroughly enjoyed. It was just sex.
Here’s a newsflash for fifteen year old boys. If the worst thing that happens in your life is that you get shagged by your 39-year old teacher, then be thankful. And remember, there will almost certainly come a point in your life when you’ll be absurdly grateful if anybody wants to shag you.
Category: Ethics, Philosophy 7 comments »
November 26th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
When I was 15, my fantasy was sex with some of my female school teachers. Finally, at age 17 I lost my virginity with an older woman.
No harm done. We still exchange emails from time to time.
November 26th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Well exactly. And in any case, even if there were some harm done, sometimes we don’t emerge from relationships without pain. This isn’t peculiar to being 15. It’s just the way it is – relationships can be messy.
November 26th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Relationships, as you say, can be messy, as can be family life. In any case, in your previous post, about the dentist, I argued that the age of consent should be lowered, a position that I still hold.
November 26th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Yup, I agree. But it’s a very difficult position to argue for (well certainly in the UK it is).
November 27th, 2009 at 7:12 am
It is not politically correct to favor lowering the age of consent here (in Chile) either. I always suspect that there is envy or some repressed urge behind any attempt to regulate sexuality. Sex with pre-adolescent children should be punished in any case.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am
[...] complaining about this absurd practice of jailing people for engaging in consensual sex (see here, here and [...]
December 20th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I certainly agree with the idea that if this is the worst thing that could happen to the young man then his life must be charmed! Its quite possible that for some this could be an ego boosting relationship. The teacher has had the biggest ego boost and instigated the whole thing, something that would be nigh on impossible for the vast majority of young males. However the whole sordid details became public knowledge.
The biggest shame now for the teacher is in facing her peer group and the parents of the 15 year old. I wouldnt give anyone a quickie to risk such a public showdown. She must be very lacking in social and emotional intelligence!