“I have higher hopes for "Hard Candy", which looks at a nice role reversal of a teen having power over her internet stalker.”
I’m all giddy just talking about it. Is it out in theaters there? DVD? I haven’t gotten too far stalking it down on the internet. Do tell when you see it!

The lead was abducted and raped by 3 women, who meant him no real harm, and pleasured him against his will, deriving their pleasure from his. The lead then tries to find these women, sleeping with many other women trying to track down the three, based on identifying tattoos and birthmarks. His motivation for revenge, or curiosity, or merely to sleep with them, is never properly explored.

The masochism angle is never really explored, as the characters emotionlessness throughout the film doesn’t allow the audience to gauge whether they are enjoying themselves, enjoying themselves against their will, or genuinely scarred by the experience. There is one reluctant woman rapist, but frustratingly, her story arc isn’t completed (along with several others - the jilted lover of the lead for example).

I have higher hopes for “Hard Candy”, which looks at a nice role reversal of a teen having power over her internet stalker.

I’ll let you know how it was.

Check out Hard Candy.
I will. Not available from Netflix yet, sadly (Netflix, how I love you)… but I will search the vast world of the internet. And it will be mine ;-).

Just as a general shout out to anyone/everyone following this thread, I really appreciate suggestons like this: movies and books especially that deal with paedophilia or masochism from an interesting angle. I’ll be working on a large project all this year, and I’m still putting together my reading list… Thanks!

Also, remember the opening scene of at least one Buffy season, where a guy persuades a girl into a darkened ally/hallway, and the reversal is that the girl is the predator (vampire)? One of my favourite reversals of all time.

I only mention that as one possibility, but it seems like it would be a not unlikely scenario to me. Teenagers lie about who they are all the time; why not lie to older people to get them to sleep with you? Not like grownups don’t lie to each other all the time to get them to sleep with one another. :-)

“I want to know why a young female can't knowingly and willingly go after an older man"¦ without deception, just acceptance on both sides"¦?”

Well, for one thing, most men want to avoid statutory rape charges…

And if we as a culture frown on both teenage sexuality and female sexuality, how much do we disapprove of sexually active female teenagers actively pursuing older men? Pretty damn much, I’m thinkin’.

And it’s interesting you put it that way, Bonnie, because I quite consciously omitted mentioning any genders… :-)

We are. :)

My answer was not sappy so much as glib. :-)

Seriously, sex is such an intensely personal experience with so many factors involved that about the only hard rule I have is: “Before puberty is a big no-no.” Otherwise, how exactly do you draw an arbitrary line in the sand? In some parts of the world, the age of consent is 18; in others, it’s 16. How much do such laws reflect our understanding of human sexuality and how much do they just simply reflect social mores? Child brides may be quite common in some parts of the world, while they’re unheard of here - who’s doing things the “right” way?

I’m not saying I have no standards; I don’t embrace pure moral relativism here. [Child brides usually make me flinch, fer instance.] I’m just saying a lot depends on circumstances. E.g., BFA’s 15 & 22 year old scenario: the way you’ve pitched it, it sounds like you’re presuming the adult is the active party; but what if it’s the teenager who seduces the older partner? What if the adult didn’t know or ask how old the teenager is (or the teenager lied)? What if it’s the adult who’s the virgin and the teenager who’s the sexually experienced one?

“Not under false pretenses:” Dude, you just eliminated 85% of all sex that people have. Have you ever even been in a bar? ;-)

A 22 yr old and a 15 yr old is call-the-cops time. That’s predation, not seduction.