The War on ‘Sexting’
The government is at it again, it has found a new behavior it does not like, and it is ready to declare all out war on it. This time it is the teenagers of this country who are in the crossfire of the non-stop government hate machine. For those of you who are uninformed as to what “sexting” is, let me give you a brief overview. Sexting is the act of sending nude or semi nude pictures of oneself to others through use of the picture messaging capabilities found on most modern cell phones.
This seemingly innocent act is crossing paths with the state in the form of child pornography laws scattered throughout this country. If the person who takes the self-portrait is under the age of 18, this photo is then considered child pornography in the eyes of the people in government. There have been a string of cases involving this behavior, and just like every other aspect of society where the state gets involved, it has begun to ruin peoples lives.
The latest story comes out of western PA, where a group of teenagers, age 14 – 17 are facing felony child pornography charges because there were nude photos of under aged girls being passed between them. The female teens who took the pictures were charged with manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography (of themselves), while the male teens who received the pictures are charged with possession of child pornography. If convicted of these charges all involved could face serious jail time, as well as being placed on a sex offender registry for up to 20 years.
Here’s a personal anecdote that your readers may find interesting, when I was 14 I lost my virginity to an 18 year old. This relationship did produce some risqué photographs that may or may not still be floating around somewhere. Would it have been beneficial to me and my well being (which government reports to protect) for me and my partner at the time to be locked up and thrown in jail? If I was placed on a sex registry list would my life be as productive and as happy as it is now? Obviously the answer to those questions are no. I wanted all those experiences at that age, and I feel I learned much from that early relationship (and I don’t regret it after more than 10 years later). The experiences I took away from it have helped me better manage my relationships and become a better partner. My views on sex at the age of 14 were probably no different from most other 14 year olds, I wanted sex, and anything any “authority” tried to do to prohibit me from getting sex only made me more vivacious in my pursuit of sex.
Here’s a quick reality check for those of you in la la land; when human beings hit puberty, their bodies crave sex. There is not a damn thing you or anyone else can do about it. Our DNA is hard coded to want sex the moment that we are physically able to participate in it. Is it always a good idea to follow that urge blindly? No! Absolutely not. Many people have done incredibly stupid things all in the quest of sex, but to punish non-violent people who are merely doing what their bodies crave is patently absurd.
A recent study was done, and it showed that nearly 20% of all teens in the US have participated in this sexting behavior. So does that mean that 20% of the teen population deserves to be thrown in jail and put on the sex offender list? Do 20% of the young people in this country need their lives ruined over an innocent topless or nude photo? If taking a nude picture of oneself when under the age of 18 is considered child porn, what does looking in the mirror at that age constitute? Here’s a brain twister: if two teens are over the age of consent (16 or 17) they are then (legally) allowed to have sex, but if they then take pictures of themselves while they are having sex do they then become child pornographers? Should voluntary consensual behavioral be allowed even though it is seen as obscene or wrong?
I for one think that teens are not children, and are, in fact, adults. The parents in the US have this odd habit of wanting their offspring to remain children for as long as possible, sometimes running into the 20′s or 30′s. These “goody two shoe” parents want to help protect their children from the evils that sex brings, or something like that. But all these parents are doing are inhibiting the natural growth of their children. Teenagers want to be adults, but they are stuck in this weird limbo where their bodies are ready to be adults, they have the drive to accomplish adult things, but everyone around them is telling them they are still children. Any behavior that they participate in that is seen as being adult (sex, drinking, driving, having a job, owning a business, living on their own) they are immediately slapped down and punished. I for one believe that the punishment needs to end. Let teenagers live their lives and make their own mistakes. There is no surer way to promote maturity in the young people today than to allow them to act mature.
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Author: renniks (15 Articles)
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