History Main / JailBait

Now, there's a fine line between JailBait and [[{{Ephebophile}} ephebophilia]], and [[AccidentalInnuendo it depends on where it takes place]], where the perpetrator is ''from'' (some countries have "sex tourism" laws) and how old the victim is. Generally, sexual interest in anyone under 13 is considered pedophilia.

* It is especially frustrating to some that they can openly drool over high school girls and guys during their formative years (indeed they are considered weird if they don't), until the age of 18, at which point that feeling is evidently supposed to be turned off like a tap and we are not to mention it again publicly without being chided as a pervert.

* During his Let's Play of ''FinalFantasyX'', [[TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] repeatedly comments on how creepy it is to see 15 year old Rikku sexualized as much as she is, including repeated [[MaleGaze ass shots]].[[hottip:*:Note that the age of consent in the game's country of origin is actually ''13''.]]

* During his Let's Play of ''FinalFantasyX'', [[TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] repeatedly comments on how creepy it is to see 15 year old Rikku sexualized as much as she is, including repeated [[MaleGaze ass shots]].

* [[YourMilageMayVary It is especially frustrating to some]] that they can openly drool over high school girls and guys during their formative years (indeed they are considered weird if they don't), until the age of 18, at which point that feeling is evidently supposed to be turned off like a tap and we are not to mention it again publicly without being chided as a pervert.

* Actually, 99% of the teenage anime/manga girls (at least in mainstream Shounen and Seinen titles, and specially in the Ecchi and Hentai ones) are Jailbaits, [[strike:primarly]] only for Fanservice.

'''Archer:''' ''Exactly!'' Plus, [[CompletelyMissingThePoint the Europeans use the metric system, so...]]

In RealLife, it is a [[NoSexAllowed serious crime]] for a legal adult to have sex with a minor who is below the age of consent, usually 16-18 in North America and 14-16 in Europe, but in fiction is almost always 18, since that's the legal age in the [[WeAllLiveInAmeerica US state]] of [[SoCalization California]][[hottip:*:Notable exception: ''LawAndOrder'' makes it clear the age of consent in New York is 17.]]. The term for a person, or provocative pictures of them, who is under that age but looks either old enough or hot enough for onlookers to forget the difference is "Jail Bait." The "joke" about this was "15 will get you 20", only it isn't a joke--according to the law, a minor can't give proper consent to sex since a naive and hormonal teenager might not make the most sound decisions and an adult could exploit that, hence the term "statutory rape".

In RealLife, it is a [[NoSexAllowed serious crime]] for a legal adult to have sex with a minor who is below the age of consent (which [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Age_of_Consent.png is varied from place to place]], e.g. usually 16-18 in North America and 14-16 in Europe, but in fiction is "always" 18, largely due to WeAllLiveInAmerica and SoCalization). The term for a person, or provocative pictures of them, who is under that age but looks either old enough or hot enough for onlookers to forget the difference is "Jail Bait." The "joke" about this was "15 will get you 20", only it isn't a joke - according to the law, a minor can't consent due to the fact that a naive and hormonal teenager might not make the most sound decisions and an adult could exploit that, so even if they do say yes, the law considers it the same as rape, hence the term "statutory rape".

The reason for the confusion in the U.S. is that most of the states set the age of consent at 16 (30 states and the District of Columbia), eight set it at 17 (Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas) and twelve set it at 18 (Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming). California still has it at 18, so TV presumes it's 18 everywhere. (Notable exception: LawAndOrder makes it clear the age of consent in New York is 17.)

A strange effect of this is that television gets it right in that when the story line references it, they refer to sex with someone underage as "statutory rape". In California, however, ''there is no such crime as statutory rape''. Instead, the crime is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what it is]]: Unlawful Sexual Intercourse.

There's also been some recognition over the years by some state legislators that it doesn't make much sense to send someone to prison for several years because they're a few years older than their partner, just because one is of age and the other one technically isn't (or both are under age, i.e. a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl). So some places have set up what are called "Romeo and Juliet" laws, where if the age difference is within three or four years, it's either not illegal or a much less serious crime (and less likely to be reported).

The reason for the confusion in the U.S. is that most of the states set the age of consent at 16 (36 states and the District of Columbia), eight set it at 17 (Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas) and twelve set it at 18 (Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming). California still has it at 18, so TV presumes it's 18 everywhere. (Notable exception: LawAndOrder makes it clear the age of consent in New York is 17.)

** Although, interestingly enough, Rikku herself mentions that (mainly due to the influence of Sin shortening everyone's life spans) many girls her age in Spira are getting married...[[IfYouKnowWhatIMean and presumably everything that comes with that.]]

There's also been some recognition over the years by some state legislators that it doesn't make much sense to send someone to prison for several years because they're a few years older than their partner, just because one is of age and the other one technically isn't. So some places have set up what are called "Romeo and Juliet" laws, where if the age difference is within three or four years, it's either not illegal or a much less serious crime (and less likely to be reported).

-->She's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they say...
-->-- Benny Mardones, ''Into the Night''

** Not just videos, but thanks to cell phones, jurisdictions all over the US are struggling to deal with sexting. Kids snap racy shots of themselves and face, potentially, charges of making and distributing child pornography. For BonusPoints it's legally possible to be a registered sex offender (for life) for taking and possessing pictures of ''yourself'' ...well, at least it's better than going to jail for receiving such pictures against your will.

* In ''[[OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest]]'', [=McMurphy=] is serving out a sentence for statutory rape. During his interview with Dr. Spivey, he says, "She was fifteen years old going on thirty-five, Doc, and she told me she was eighteen."

* There's been at least one upskirt photo of MileyCyrus before she was 18. Don't search for it.

* [[YourMilageMayVary It is especially frustrating to some]] that they can openly drool over high school girls and guys during their formative years (indeed they are considered... weird if they don't), until the age of 18, at which point that feeling is evidently supposed to be turned off like a tap and we are not to mention it again publicly without being chided as a pervert.

[[AC:{{LiveActionTV}}]]
* In the first episode of ''{{Californication}}'', Hank has a one night stand with a young woman who turns out to be the sixteen-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend's fiancé (though he did not know who or how old she was at the time.) Three seasons of blackmail and plagiarism later, the truth is finally revealed and Hank is charged with statutory rape.