<p>Of course, people are allowed to acknowledge what is aesthetically pleasing! I’m a straight girl and I’m capable of judging, with no shame, boys and girls… from age 0 to 100. ;]</p>
<p>Regarding sexual attraction, my feelings are complicated. The idea of an old man sexually longing for a pre-pubescent (or post-pubescent but clearly not adult – that’s called ‘ephebophilia’) girl (or woman for boy, or man for boy, or woman for girl…) disconcerts me, but it’s more complex than that: after all, it’s not one’s choice whom he or she is attracted to. As long as he or she doesn’t act upon such desires by forcing a sexual act with someone too young to fight back or to protest, he or she isn’t committing any crime. So although I’d be grossed out, I don’t think that the person is doing anything wrong by any standards, nor is it his or her fault. But this train of thought leads me to wonder: am I being intolerant by being disgusted by such attraction? Am I as bad as, say, a homophobe? </p>
<p>Of course, the legal justification for age of consent (and keep in mind that 18 is just a line drawn by the law, as they had to draw it somewhere – by no means is there a clear distinction between 17 and 364 days and 18; you don’t magically become an adult the moment you turn 18) is the fact that, in a sexual act, young children are generally not capable of (a) fighting back, and in many cases, (b) knowing that taking part in a sexual act without their consent is not normal nor permissible (thus, the emphasis in sexual education classes on what constitutes molestation.) In short, young children lack the physical strength to repel a predator and sometimes the knowledge to protest. Perhaps this accounts for my aversion toward attraction to young children – because even if the would-be predator would never dream of acting on such desires, he or she is the type of person that would violate a weak, ignorant child.</p>