Celebrity Paedogeddon and old men yelling at clouds

*bing

Oh, my Rustlers is ready.

Hrm, breads all wet.

Good lord what happened in here?

As for Kal's suggestion of 21 for consent - user Jambo and others have alluded to the fact that people can be immature morons right up to a grand old age.

I think if you just stuck with 16 year olds can only sleep with 18 and under, it'd be an absolute minefield to police and it does ignore the fact you can get very stunted 21 year olds.

I'm not against the idea but I think there's much more nuance in it. I think 16-20 is fine. But I also know a girl who, from the age of about 19, actively sought older men in their 30s and 40s for "stability". I was 22 when I started going out with someone 15 years older - though I didn't find out her actual age until after a month or so.

Maybe just stick age of consent at 18, in line with drinking and voting but allow police officers and CPS to use their discretion.

Oh and maybe put some effort into actual sex education, make it something mandatory all through school and something parents have to involve themselves in. Bloody sick of "my kids don't need to know about that", immediately followed with "of course they've got a 30GB phone contract I pay for"

Already mentioned, but definitely think the age of consent set at 16 is to low. If the age of consent is there purely to protect children, it should be set to an age where you at least have some life experience to make an informed decision. Especially when it's regarding decisions on sexual relationships,that could have long lasting consequences and shape how you develop as a person.

Being charged with raging hormones, being sexually active and looking 22 under the right light, isn't the same as being an adult.

I'm in my 40's and had teenagers approach me in bars, usually high on something desperate to experiment with new found access to alcohol and sex. They need protecting from themselves, what's horrifying to me is seen as an ideal opportunity for some men.

Personally I'd set the age of consent to 18, providing you're within 2 years of each other. With it then set to 21 at which point you can have a relationship with anyone of any age.

I'd also make the drinking age 21 while I was at it.

I’d split the difference and say 17.

When I was 16 all I wanted to be was “not a virgin” but I wasn’t much older before the thought of 16-year-old sex started to seem really icky. It feels gross even typing it

About the same amount of 18 year old's agreeing to the alcohol limit being raised to 21 I'd assume. 

Not suggesting the problem is the victim at all.  Brand using the age of consent to legally have a relationship with a 16 year old still in school is what I find worrying, when the age of consent is there to protect the vulnerable in the first place. 

That sounds awful. What bars were those so I can avoid them?

I think it was Kal a couple of pages back who said the focus on hard ages and numbers doesn’t really give the context or nuance that’s probably needed.

It’d be almost impossible to get the wording down in legislation in any functional form but I think we can all agree as a nation that an adult man trying to have sex with a school age girl is 100% a massive nonce regardless of the current age of consent.

Plus y’know, Brand did also rape multiple adult women too so he’s not just a nonce.

Good.

The wording probably isn't that hard; as the laws we do have already contain an element of both Police discretion and Crown Prosecution Service discretion. A 16 year old fucking their partner, the day before their 16th birthday is never going near a court no matter the technicalities of the law as written right now. There's absolutely no public interest. Just clarify the 16 with someone over the age of 18 bit somewhat. As there's definitely something there about teachers/people in authority already. Various laws are designed with wooly wording on the understanding everyone involved uses some common sense.

Though the idea of the drinking age going up to 21 did make me laugh.

A friend from uni has just reminded me we had a guest lecturer for a semester was the guy who set up Zoo.

Eurgh.

Yeah. Eurgh

(Mental note to move carefully archived back issues further back in the loft. And and add another layer of top soil to the Nuts time capsule. And change the locks on the FHM crypt…)

I wonder if in Germany they’re having deep discussions over Bravo or are just like “so everyone was naked. Who cares?”

Keith Chegwin. Naked. Jungle.

Tbf the Naked Jungle thing was very non sexual and probably quite body positive, compared to the other shit.

Where do we stand on Eurotrash?

One of our extended friends group used to do loads of the features for Zoo, Loaded, Maxim, FHM, Nuts, etc etc. Loads of the photo shoots we've all had under our bed at some point.

These day his bio for that period is Freelance journalist, and he now works for the Guardian.