On 2/19/2026 at 8:37 AM, npts2020 said:

mature enough to be wiling and not having been coerced or intimidated (which can happen at any age) into sex?

Coercion by definition is caused by some sort of power differential, and factors pertaining to can include age, but also threats or use of force. So as you mentioned, there is no age that immunizes against that. But the point regarding age is that clearly folks are more susceptible and less powerful the younger they are. Again, the differential in power is what is relevant. What in this spectrum is considered appropriate will be up to society to decide. The concept of coercion and that it is inappropriate in Western societies is a rather recent development, for example. Legal age of consent have varied a fair bit as have societal attitudes.

Up until very recently a power differential between men and women was assumed to be the norm and there have been long struggles to address that, or to move the scale back towards it. AFAIK there is no universal standard that one could simply apply, even within a given society.

8 minutes ago, swansont said:

Perhaps the question should be at what age is it appropriate to become a parent, since that’s a common and predictable result of sexual activity?

That would be a very pragmatic criterion, for sure.

8 hours ago, dimreepr said:

That's a good question, do you remember when you were mature enough to make a decision?

I have generally always been able to make a decision. Whether that decision was based on anything rational could be debated, especially at a very young age.

6 hours ago, swansont said:

Perhaps the question should be at what age is it appropriate to become a parent, since that’s a common and predictable result of sexual activity?

Actually, it isn't a predictable result. It is only true if one engages in normal sexual intercourse with both partners being fertile in addition to or rather than other forms of sex. I don't think homosexuals ever get pregnant from a same sex partner and there is such a thing as birth control for others.

I was not really looking for a debate or to try to entrap anyone into saying they like underage partners, just wondered if there was any objective criteria on the question.