I get it! When I heard him say that I had a kind of visceral gut reaction of disgust. Did it come from a micro-tone of his potential approval of this 'fact'?! Or, was he stating something I feel is true, but I don't want to think seriously about if/how/why?
Should we try to unpack it a bit more? I'd love to hear more opinions about it.
There are power positions that are far more clear cut than others, like say a pastor and a child, a teacher and a teen, or a president and an intern. But in some cases should there not be some personal responsibility on the partner/victim? Even in the intern scenario, if s/he's of age and relentlessly pursuing b/c she's obsessed with power say, while certainly the person in power should 'know better' is there not adequate reciprocity in that equation to be deemed simply 'distasteful' rather than 'morally reprehensible'? Is it even possible that the 'pursuer' here might learn a good (necessary?) lesson from the encounter that would not otherwise be learned?
Also, it's interesting to exchange the male/female roles in a scenario and remark how skewed the interpretation becomes. Many folks would say it's fine if it's an attractive older person (especially female) and horny adolescent (especially male)! If the 'partner' doesn't feel like a victim, is s/he indeed still a victim?
And, my most uncomfortable question: Could it be true that those in power should not be expected to be able to curb such desires b/c they go hand-in-hand with power? After all, there is the stereotype of the woman sleeping her way to the top, and might this be a sort of extension of the 'old boys network' only instead of golf they've moved it to the bedroom? Is that not another form of bonding and 'currency'?
So many questions!
Michelle wrote: "Also, it's interesting to exchange the male/female roles in a scenario and remark how skewed the interpretation becomes. Many folks would say it's fine if it's an attractive older person (especially female) and horny adolescent (especially male)! If the 'partner' doesn't feel like a victim, is s/he indeed still a victim?"
This brings to mind the case of Teacher, Mary Kay Latourneau. She spent seven years in jail for her sexual involvement with an under age male student. But strong love trumps civil law, I guess. He was waiting for her when she was finally released.
They married and remained together until May of 2017 at which time they separated. I was saddened. Nothing seems to last, does it?
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