05-21-2007, 06:09 PM
There are millions of years of evolution at work here. In fact, for most males the visual attraction towards females begins as the female reaches sexual maturity. And this is true across most mammalian species. When you think about it, 18 is just an arbitrary age we have chosen in this country (as in most) to divide children from adults. One day (on the eighteenth birthday) it is suddenly acceptable to look at "adult women" where the day before it was perverted. Undoubtedly, some of the "18 or 19" year old women you ogled were 16 and 17.
I don't think that it is perverted or dirty for a man or woman of any age to be visually attracted to another sexually mature member of the same species. Acting on this attraction, OTOH, can be psychologically damaging to the actors and should be discouraged by the society. Over time, evolution has optimized the steps required to reproduce and visual attraction is a very important part of that process. It is best to accept and acknowledge this as a normal function of the human animal than to turn it into a cultural taboo.
I don't think that it is perverted or dirty for a man or woman of any age to be visually attracted to another sexually mature member of the same species. Acting on this attraction, OTOH, can be psychologically damaging to the actors and should be discouraged by the society. Over time, evolution has optimized the steps required to reproduce and visual attraction is a very important part of that process. It is best to accept and acknowledge this as a normal function of the human animal than to turn it into a cultural taboo.