and THIS is a good example of why the AoC needs to be 18, possibly higher. The idea that teen girls and teen women have complete agency in the face of adult authority and male power is categorically false.

First of all, Lemondolphin, the AoC is a major denial of female agency, and its roots are tied into misandry. Which is precisely what you are spreading here, I must say.

Secondly, I have seen many examples of young girls and young women effectively manipulating adult men, on this board in the past (as recollected in this very thread) and easily getting them fired from jobs or banned from social media with the slightest accusation in the current climate.

Thirdly, an underaged girl, if so inclined, can destroy an adult man she has a relationship with, or even if she dislikes him, with a simple phone call. Hardly the type of power disparity your status quo world view claims.

f a young lady can be coerced into doing something against her will that is damaging and harmful to herself simply by words on a screen, typed by an adult male, how easy is it to sexually abuse and exploit a girl when the adult man is standing face to face with her, staring her down, speaking with authority?? Add to that, the strong pro-social emotions that girls have, and they are easily manipulated.

I would think you were time traveling forward from the Victorian era if I didn't also realize that this attitude persists among, of all people, mainstream liberals of today. In fact, you sound like a caricature, Lemondolphin. Pro-social emotions? Young girls and women can be quite cruel when in a position of power, and the girls on this board often wielded quite a bit. Fayla wasn't a case of falling victim to "male authority"; it was a case of her wanting to prove she was authentic in the face of someone who thought she was a poser...and attempting to resist his claims.

What you are proposing is to deny girls agency by using the excuse of "protecting" them and punishing adult males by insisting they have power while proving how little they have by making it clear who truly has the upper hand thanks to the current anti-male laws.

I am in favor of creating strong families, human bonds, and bringing men and women together for positive life-affirming relationships, whatever the age...BUT please let's not act like powerless underage girls are masters of their own destiny.

This is a major contradiction. Hating men and assuming they have power when the laws are against them is not creating life-affirming relationships. It's perpetuating a status quo by claiming certain individuals are powerless and marginalized while...supporting laws that deny them agency and promote hatred against men? Younger people will be masters of their own destiny once they achieve full civil rights, which means equality and not entitlements while pretending they are marginalized because of alleged inherently passive personality traits on their part and alleged overly aggressive personality traits on the part of the gender and age group that you dislike.

They require protection,

Bingo! The real motive, encapsulated in faux altruistic armor.

and are unable to protect themselves due to the trifecta of legal restrictions (they are in adult custody)

So instead of giving them full empowerment, we create laws that further entrench them in adult custody...for their own protection? It seems protecting them is not the goal, but keeping them on a leash.

psychological motivations (they are obligated to others by their sense of loyalty and emotional attachments),

So you have declared them inherently weak emotionally. Nice sign of empowerment, Lemondolphin. That is very disrespectful to them, as well as ignoring how easily their sex appeal and cunning not only allows them to game the system in their favor while playing the "victim" when so inclined, but also to manipulate men into doing their bidding. You are being an enabler and a white knight whose main goal is to maintain a status quo, dude.

and social factors (sexual bullying at school and in the culture writ large, the dehumanization of girls/women, proliferation of porn, etc).

Wow, what a nice modern liberal you are. Attacking porn and crying exploitation to deny women sexual expression so you can maintain a form of purity culture, thus forcing them into the paradigm you want them to fit: helpless damsels in distress, with men fitting the paradigm of dangerous dragon causing the distress, and with other men like yourself fitting the paradigm of noble knight and big brother figure who keeps both in their proper place.

Sexual bullying at school? You must mean if a boy acknowledges their attractiveness by subjecting them to the "male gaze", or any type of attention that besmirches the paradigm of innocence and helplessness in your eyes.

It's amazing how this attitude both puts girls on a moralistic pedestal and utterly insults and infantalizes them at the same time. But the liberals manage that dichotomy perfectly.