Smut and the Underaged

[† Emotional Outlet]

I came across a rather heated debate on Tumblr (all debates are heated on Tumblr). You can find the original post here. Subsequent comments, including my own, can be found in the notes. What caught my eye was this particular rant...

 

Which I was going to link, but it looks like they've deleted all of their posts on the matter. So I guess I will link to my page instead, wherein the rant is quoted. You also get to read what I think, if you want.

 

Basically, if you cannot access Tumblr or do not care to, someone submitted a pet peeve to a blog saying they do not like smut RPers who are underaged. More specifically:

 

 

Seriously, Rpers should be more careful with who they’re smutting with on US based sites. The average age of consent is around 17 [which may vary from state to state]. You’re basically creating porn with a minor and if their family finds out, you are now a sex offender. Be careful who you Rp with and how far you take it. If you’re underaged, be careful so you don’t get your Rp partner in serious trouble.

 

 

However, in the rant that caught my eye, they were very much offended by the notion. I've cut it shorter, but again, you can read the whole thing from my linked page.

 

 

I don’t think you guys realize how hypocritical and damaging it is to say “I don’t want to RP with anyone under 18” or “Roleplaying Pet Peeves; Underage smut RPers.” You guys have fucking friends that are 15, 16, 17, maybe even a little younger. Do you remember being that age? I can bet most of you were RPing at that age, I bet most of you RP’d smut at that age. Don’t fucking lie and say you didn’t do it, you did. You read the smutty RPs and fanfic, you wrote and RP’d it, and suddenly, that magical digit changes to 8 and you’re way fucking above paying the same respects to people in that position than you were when you were that age.

 

There is no set law in the area of RP, at least not that I’m aware of and I actively work to know these things. You’re not in person, you’re not sending pictures to each other, you’re not fucking each other, you are WRITING about the interaction of two CHARACTERS. But all of sudden you’re a ball of fear going all “oh I don’t want to risk it!” which brings me to my next Bullshit Detector moment.

 

Talk about fucking hypocritical. You guys definitely break copyright laws left and right, you watch shit illegally online, don’t deny it, all of us have broken at least a couple laws simply by living the culture of the internet. All of that shit has way worse consequences than RPing with someone you didn’t know was underage. So what’s the big deal? It makes you squeamish? You want to weed out the immature? Or the people who don’t quite had the skill down? Wow, do you smell that? IT’S YOUR BULLSHIT. You sucked at writing smut once upon a midnight fuck, and it was people taking pity on you and wanting to RP with you that made you better.

 

[...]

 

You shame me with your forgetfulness and your inconsideration of an entire sect of talented young people who just want to be your equal, and I serve you back all the hatred and distaste you deserve for putting all of them down for your hypocritical values.

 

 

There is a disconnect, as OP is talking specifically about creating smut with an underaged person, whereas the angry response seems to take it as a dig against all underaged RPers in general. I still don't know that illegally downloading anime is reason enough to say "welp, might as well start porning it up with underaged folk", but I am no expert on Tumblr.

 

Their potentially misplaced rage aside, it has sparked a lot of people speaking out against those who choose not to RP smut with the underaged, apparently riding in on the coattails of the somewhat lengthy tirade.

 

My view of the matter is I do not view those younger than me as being below me, as is the insinuation in the rant. I do not think they are inherently less talented (that would be a filthy lie anyway), inherently less mature, or inherently not worth my time. I will RP with most anyone, though I do so rarely nowadays, and otherwise engage in creative endeavours with anyone regardless of age.

 

It is only when the matter of sex, even if fictional, comes into play that I feel uncomfortable and draw the line. While I cannot recall ever roleplaying smut, even in my misguided youth, it does not seem like something I would have done with someone older than me regardless, as I found the very concept horrifying and skeevy. Now that I am on the other side of the coin, it is still horrifying and skeevy.

 

Some say it is only for play, that it is meant to be a way of safely exploring sex. Others yet will point out horror stories of stalkers and legitimately creepy people who tried to take advantage of them during RP, taking it far beyond what is reasonable or legal.

 

So where do you stand on the matter? When it comes to smut and the underaged, do you think it is okay for a person of age to participate? What are your opinions on people who do participate in smutty RP with underaged folk? Your opinions of the underaged themselves?

[Dark_Angel13]

Ah I thought you may bring this up here EO after our previous conversation. It's still sick to me that people rp that way with underaged people and on the internet you can't really know how old someone is, a 14 yr old could be talking to a 50 yr old. It's just wrong and I don't like it so no I don't think they should do it.

[† Mute point]

I think that underage experimentation, whether physical or through text, should be with those who are also underage.

 

I've done a bit of sex RP in the past. Never with someone I didn't know, and even then it was nothing more or less than writing a collaborative romance story would have been. Except that we switched off every paragraph or so instead of every couple of chapters. In the end, the story might not have been as good, but experience is experience.

 

Back on the subject of minors though. If you're using a website for this purpose, most of them that allow it have rules against underage members. Those rules are not very well enforced... and even if their profile says they're 18 it doesn't mean they really are. That's where the getting to know them factor comes in.

 

In most areas, erotic fiction is not restricted by age, because there really isn't a separate category for it. It's all listed under "romance" which makes it safe even if someone is lying about their age as far as the law is concerned.

[† poetictragedy]

Anonymity of the internet makes it extremely difficult to gauge how old a person is. And just because they say they're of legal age, it obviously doesn't mean they actually are. And if I was going to engage in an RP with a person, I would literally have no idea the age or gender of the person (unless I actually knew them, obviously); I could only take their word for it. The same goes for third parties; if you see the RP come up on your Tumblr dash or whatever, who's to say the RP wasn't a product of two twelve year olds? You just don't know. I think if somebody's comfortable doing it, who really cares? I mean, I'm not really keen on twelve year olds writing hardcore porn, but I guess that's just the kind of world we live in now. Kids are so exposed and comfortable with subjects that are generally labeled as adult subjects, it blows my mind.

Anyways. I will admit that when I was underaged, I'd read smutty fanfics. On Fanfiction.net and AO3, all it takes is a mouse-click that says, "Yep, I'm 18," or whatever. Anyone who clicks that knows full well what they're getting into. And come on, what teenager hasn't looked at porn? Stereotypical teenage boys that steal their dad's Playboy magazines?

I think it's just life. I think people get waaaay too worked up on Tumblr about stuff that's just the way the internet is.

EDIT: As far as my own conduct on the internet... If I RP with someone, I know them, or at least trust them enough to know that they're not underage or some dirty person. I don't RP much though, and I definitely haven't done any smutty RPs in a quite a long time; they're not really my cup of tea. And as far as fanfics go, I'm nearly 22 and I do what I want. ;D

Edited January 20, 2013 by poetictragedy

[† Emotional Outlet]

Oh definitely, I've been 18+ since I was 13, haha.

 

I don't believe in attempting to shield the underaged from smut, considering it'd be more an exercise in futility than anything else. I wouldn't parade it in their face or just leave porn lying around the apartment (which I already don't do, but what if), but it wouldn't be a secret thing either. I think one of the reasons I never developed a fascination with alcohol was because it was never treated as a verboten, secret thing in my household.

 

And I do think they should experiment with each other, with people they trust, and not with random 20- and 30-something year olds on the Internet, haha.

 

I'm not going to interject into random Tumblr RPs and ask for ID, or start yelling at underaged artists for drawing boobs (who didn't draw boobs when they were young), but I'd definitely feel weird asking any of them to draw me boobs or if they tried to RP smut with me. I guess the "don't ask, don't tell" philosophy is a popular one, but I feel rather skeevy about it.

 

You ever see the movie Me and You and Everyone We Know? The movie where "pooping back and forth forever came from"? I know it's rarely that ridiculous--I think that kid was like seven? Eight? But the scene where the woman finally meets this mysterious Internet stranger and discovers that he's a little kid really weirded me out, haha. I can't imagine what it would be like to discover the person you've been saying really sexual things to is underaged.

[Dark-hunter]

i honestly don't care   they make the choice to do it so they should live with the consequence    its no dif then accidentally finding porn on the net when u have your own computer  and any age can do that  if get on one  so

[LordLi1]

i am just wondering here and cant be a hundred percent sure but it seems to me that ranter is them selves most likely in there teens o.o.

 

In any case while R Ping smut with underage individuals in quite disturbing, it is something that cant be prevented. i watched many people try and avoid it but the instances in which  it has happened  it is normally younger persons  being untruthful about their age and eventually getting exposed beaus they slip up about something.

 

In my experience most serious Role players are more careful then that because  often role playing with an immature person (leaving the whole smut thing a side for a sec) ends up  leading to the destruction of either your character or even the room it self.

Edited July 2, 2013 by LordLi1

[† Emotional Outlet]

I can't remember exactly (it's been a while), but I vaguely recall the writer of the rant post stating they were of age. I might be misremembering and it's not like people don't lie, especially to save face, haha.

 

It is definitely something that will happen regardless, but I think you can take measures to minimise the possibility. The biggest thing for me is I see a lot of RPing happening in public on Tumblr, so if you're RPing smut with an underaged person on Tumblr, it looks pretty skeevy. (I think RPing smut in public and not in specific channels meant for it is pretty skeevy in general, but that's just me.)

 

It's one thing to do it in private, but with the number of predators floating about and the fact a lot of young teens don't necessarily have the life experience or maturity to understand when they're in a dangerous situation or trapped in an abusive relationship, I just wish people would be a little more careful rather than try to puff out their chest like they know how the world works.

 

Like not I'm not trying to be paranoid or accusatory, a lot of problems can defintiely be easily avoided, but if you lack the knowledge of the warning signs, it's easier said than done.

 

For example, I was approached by a rental scam the other day--someone claimed they wanted to be my roommate, but when they offered to pay for several months' rent ahead of time without even seeing the apartment or meeting in person, that set off alarm bells in my head.

 

If you didn't have the knowledge, if you've never looked for roommates before, if you didn't have the instinct that something was wrong, I can easily see a person who could look at that situation and not find it weird. They'll just see this person submitted a sob story about trying to get their life back on track and they're out of state but they'll be moving soon so they can't view the apartment, so the victims think they're being altruistic and kind by accepting this payment.

 

When it comes to RP, there's no monetary exchange, so abuse and manipulation can be subtler and work real deep into a person, and that's what I worry about when people get defensive about RPing smut with underaged people, whether they're underaged themselves or not. It's not uncommon for victims of abuse to stand by their abusers.

 

There are certainly trustworthy people and the underaged should have safe venues to explore their sexuality, but there's a power dynamic at play when there's an age gap. I'd feel better about two 14 year olds RPing smut with each other than a 14 year old and a 24 year old, you know?

 

Plus it just reflects poorly on me, I think, if I RPed smut with a teenager. People wouldn't exactly have the highest opinion of me and, more importantly, I'd personally feel awful about it.

[LordLi1]

Indeed  sadly poor judgement isn't limited to teenagers many adults find them selves in similar situations.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Yeah, definitely not just teens falling prey to rental scams, haha.

[theNexus]

Kids where once kids and their innocence was intact till they got to high school. if you are a young person you have not been brought up with indecency and there for you will be all like

who give a shit. It breaks my heart that kids are not just being kids now. They look like little pedo bate even from the age of 6. They are dressing in a way no one would have done

30 years ago.

This is about roll playing from what I gather. Talking to a child in that way is so wrong. Saying you didn't know they where that young will not fly in Court when the parents get the police involved.

It's the same thing with webcams and selfless. Young kids should not be doing that kind of thing at least with out 100% adult supervision.

 

If I caught someone talking smut to my daughter online I can guarantee you I'll have the police after you. if anyone send nude pics to my daughter or tried to get her to do the same, I'd have you

thrown in prison.

Edited August 24, 2014 by theNexus

[Tsukumo Yuma]

On the internet, someone claiming to be an adult could be a child, and vice versa.

Usualy on roleplay sites, blogs and forums, they saw if they have rules, and some say if they are NSFW or 18+ and inter at your own descresion, but that doesn't mean that if some kid wants to join in on the roleplay, that they won't.

Also, a roleplay is not talking smut or posting selfies.

Online roleplay is were each person involved choses or creates a character they want to play, and each person creats the story, setting, and diolouge with each of there post.

A persons character can not have a someone elses character talking smut to there character, unless they are already involved in the roleplay.

With the age of the internet, were you can find all kinds of smut just from googling something as simple as, I don't know Ash Ketchum x Misty

And find something smutty as a search result,

Or go to a yugioh or pokemon site and find a smutty fan fic

kids on the internet probably know about those kinds of things already.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Tsukumo Yuma

[theNexus]

Tsukumo Yuma:

 

i agree the net is a big problem and so is the media, tv and MTV.

 

parents need to take responsibility for what their kids see and do.

This wold makes that almost impossible, but then you have parents

who where brought up with incandescence so they see it as the "Norm"

 

Honestly kids are not kids anymore. Innocence is completely lost!!

[Tsukumo Yuma]

Internet, it removes the abillitty to remain oblivious to the realitty of things.

MTV? I don't see anything wrong with it other then there are no music shows, and reality shows with the majority of the people acting trashy.

Just don't copy them, that is common sense, they show you what not to do.

Though now, it would do them more harm then good keeping them in the dark about things.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Tsukumo Yuma

[theNexus]

Mtv teaches little girls to dress and dance like little sluts and Pedo bate. I was watching Judging Amy a show that just

happened to by on my tv while I was on the computer and it covered exactly that topic. how inappropriate music

videos are for preteens as well as young kids.

Kinda like clothing stores making training bras for 4yo little girls. why are they sexualizing these kids?

 

When I was 21, I bet a very beautiful girl. She was Amazing looking and we become friends. Just friends nothing more.

I came to learn she was only 14yo. I was like your F-ing kidding me? She looked at least 17.

I won't post a picture on here so you can see how old she looked when she was 14. I would never do that.

 

but the point is she actually looked a lot older, but girls are not dressing age appropriate anymore. Young girls

are dressing like a 20yo. This is all spawned on my music videos and crap.

 

A child should look, act and be a child. Not look act and pretend like they are an adult.

[Tsukumo Yuma]

I don't think looking old has less to do with what they were wearing, there face should tell there age even with make up on.

I have seen people that were 12 that looked 17, but it wasn't because they were wearing adult cloths or make up, they wore regular stuff like a lego t shirt and some regular jean shorts with some spiderman flip flops, they just looked old.

Bras for 4 year olds I haven't seen, but I have seen some supper small bras for kids, but some kids, even with me when I was 8 and 10, need to wear them at a young age, because I had breast and starting puberty, appearently my mom said a lot of kids were going through puberty at a earlier age then they used too.

Also, first of all mtv doesn't have music videos, the disney and nick kids have music videos but aren't all skimpy, but when you go to stores likt kohls or macys here at least, they have the same cloths the adults do in a kid size, and barely any cloths that look like kids cloths.

The cloths that they have that look like they are for kids, cost a small fortune that parents can't affored no mater how much they splurge.

There are no shows starring little girls on mtv, a few with teens, and a lot with adults.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Tsukumo Yuma

[theNexus]

the puberty thing is to do with the hormones pumped into animals to make them grow faster and meatier.

When we eat them we are affected by the hormones in the meat. That is why girls are developing

breasts at an earlier age and have their periods earlier too.

There was a time when the average age for a girl to get her period was 15. That was when all food

was natural.

It's a time long forgotten.

Edited August 25, 2014 by theNexus

[Tsukumo Yuma]

15 was average?

I started way before I was 15, actualy before teen was even in my age.

But the whole kid bras thing is needed now, things change, never stay the same.

Things 20 years from now will also probably be different then they are today.

The same goes with what is acceptable and what isn't.

Also with internet connecting several countries, what is acceptable or child freindly in one country, might not be in another country.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Tsukumo Yuma

[TRUNKSvsCELL]

I for one is for lowering the age of consent because "smut" should not have to be censored around anyone. Once someone is sexual active (that includes masturbation) there is no point for them to have a legal standing that the parents have full control in which is the most twisted part.