More specifically, statutory rape. You’re probably a little familiar with Tyga, a 25 year old father, and 17 year-old Kylie Jenner’s relationship. But just how out of bounds is it? Across these 50 states, the age of consent varies between 16 and 18 years old. In 31 states the age gap can be used as a legal defense, with allowances varying between 2 and 5 years.
And these laws are quite reasonable, biologically speaking. 16 is the age at which physical maturity is reached in females and 18 is the age at which physical maturity is reached in males. You could argue that your mind isn’t fully developed at these ages, but if you wanted to have the faculties of a fully developed mind as a requirement to consent you’d have to wait till you were 25 years old. Realistically, you probably lost your virginity at age 17.
At this point if you are one of the many people who view this relationship as normal, you’re relieved. After all this isn’t your usual “To Catch A Predator” craigslist surfer or predatory family member type. The problem is in our reaction when asked: is this relationship statutory rape? Because we don’t explain it in legal terms, or use biology as a recourse to justify the relationship. It's not pedophilia but it is revelatory of our problematic assumptions on women and their bodies.
Most argue for the relationship like Khloe Kardashian. As she told Complex magazine:
“Kylie might be 17, but from what Kylie has been through and the life she lives, she’s not a normal 17-year-old … Kylie is taking business meetings and bought her first house, or she’s going on a private plane with Karl Lagerfeld to take a meeting. That’s not even what people do in their 30s. It’s a rare circumstance, so let’s treat this as a special case.”
Similarly on the podcast "Brilliant Idiots" Andrew Schulz commented:
“If you look womanly my body says you are ready for me to have sex with you. Now, Kylie looks womanly because I’m attracted to woman so my body says time to have sex.”
Of course, Schulz is the same genius that said no judge would prosecute Tyga, realized he forgot there were female judges out there, and proceeded to assume their decision would be based on their genitalia and not years of experience and education.
The whole argument that Kylie Jenner looks like an adult and does adult things so therefore must be treated like an adult is problematic. There is a slew of child celebrities turned miscreants and drug addicts might prove otherwise. The biggest issue with this comment is that it is misogynistic, yet many are missing the connection.
We live in a country where the average model is a 14 year-old girl. That means that pubescent teens and pre-teens are being used to sell products to women. They are being used to create the expectations of what the perfect woman should look like. They are being used to fuel grown men's fantasies. We live in a world where child pornography is a three billion dollar industry and teen sex is the most searched type of porn. Girls are being used to sell phone sex, escort services, etc.
That does not happen because the desire for intercourse with girls is some common, naturally-occurring, wrongfully-shamed, fetish. We are taught to sexualize women from a very young age. We are taught that someone like Kylie, who is young but has puffy lips and a sultry look, is ripe for the picking and should be subject to her objectification without regard to her development as a person. In fact you are dumb if you don’t.
When asked about Kylie's relationship with Tyga in a Breakfast Club interview Kanye West said:
“I think that I think he got in early I think he was smart”.
A comment that is eerily similar to the logic behind grooming behavior. He’s not the only one. In an episode of "Brilliant Idiots" Charlamagne tha God said:
“Tyga really may be smarter than all of us”
Remind me again, why exactly is it smart to "get in there early?" Could it have to do with our view as women having more value when they are young and fertile? Is it because you would like to maximize the amount of time your baby making machine is open for business before menopause hits it like a bad recession? Or is it because you feel that you need to create a dominance in your relationship, and there’s nothing quite like getting them when their brains are still malleable and rewiring their minds so you are it’s centerfold?
The relationship is legal, maybe even moral. And at the end of the day, I don’t care about celebrities and what they do with their personal lives. But if we don’t watch the way we speak about the issue, we can be contributing to already too popular perceptions about women and who gets ownership over their bodies.
