History Main / JailbaitTaboo

* Downplayed in ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld''. Everyone makes a big deal out of 24-year-old Scott "dating a highschooler", 17-year-old Knives, though she's above the age of consent, and shames him for it, but he doesn't face any serious consequences. Scott is portrayed as a whiny, immature jerk, so it fits his characterization. In the video game Kim (same age as Scott) also ends up kissing her.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': When Bojack, a middle-aged man, goes to New Mexico and spends time with [[TheOneThatGotAway Charlotte]] and her family, her 17-year-old[[note]]legal in NM [[HollywoodProvincialism and most other states aside from California]], which Penny mentions when coming onto him[[/note]] daughter Penny ends up falling for him. He does the right thing and rejects her advances, but after Charlotte rejects him he's too depressed to continue resisting and allows Penny to have her way with him, only for [[ParentsWalkInAtTheWorstTime Charlotte to catch them in the act]]. This destroys his relationship with Charlotte and later comes back to haunt him, and is treated by the show as one of Bojack's many moral failings.

* In ''Film/{{Trainspotting}}'', the adult Mark goes to bed with a cute girl, only to find out in the morning that she's 16 and lives with her parents. He tries to break it off, but she threatens to report him to the police if he doesn't keep seeing her.

* ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'': Bibi Dahl shows up in Bond's hotel room naked and ReadyForLovemaking, but Bond declines the offer due to her being underaged.

In RealLife, [[UsefulNotes/{{Consent}} Age of Consent laws]] define when sex or relationships between adults and older teenagers are legal, and the adult can be prosecuted for it when they aren't. HollywoodLaw often comes into play with this trope, because most of the world makes some allowance for such relationships even if they're socially frowned upon[[note]]Admittedly, there's a world of difference between a 19-year-old dating a 16-year-old, and an old pervert hitting on someone young enough to be their child, hence why "Romeo & Juliet" laws exist when the partners are just a few years apart but on opposite sides of the age of consent.[[/note]]. Because California is one of the few exceptions where the younger partner MUST be 18 with no close-in-age exceptions, many [[HollywoodProvincialism Hollywood works incorrectly assume this is the case]] everywhere.

* ''Film/Blame2017'': Mr. Woods is attracted to Abigail, his teenage student. He kisses her, but then soon comes to his senses and gently tells Abigail that nothing else can come of it despite clearly mutual attraction from her.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': When Bojack, a middle-aged man, goes to New Mexico and spends time with [[TheOneThatGotAway Charlotte]] and her family, her 17-year-old[[note]]legal in NM [[HollywoodProvincialism and most other states aside from California]][[/note]] daughter Penny ends up falling for him. He does the right thing and rejects her advances, but after Charlotte rejects him he's too depressed to continue resisting and allows Penny to have her way with him, only for [[ParentsWalkInAtTheWorstTime Charlotte to catch them in the act]]. This destroys his relationship with Charlotte and later comes back to haunt him, and is treated by the show as one of Bojack's many moral failings.

--> '''Malory''' For god's sake, Sterling, she's turning seventeen!\\
'''Archer''' Oh, ew, sorry.\\
'''Lana''' Even for you, Archer.\\
'''Archer''' Come on, she doesn't look like she's turning seventeen.\\
'''Lana''' No, she looks like she's turning ''eighteen''.\\
'''Archer''' ''Exactly!'' Plus, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint the Europeans use the metric system, so...]]

* ''ComicBook/Supergirl2011'': When an older super-villain hits on Supergirl, she hits him, shouting "I'm sixteen, you creep!"

* In ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', Bibi Dahl shows up in Bond's hotel room naked and ReadyForLovemaking, but Bond declines the offer due to her being underaged.

* JailbaitTaboo: Even ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' has his limits.

This trope often involves an adult man and an underage girl, but not always. Gender-flipped [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale examples]] are [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale more likely]] to be PlayedForLaughs or for {{Fanservice}}, while same-gender examples often fall into LoverAndBeloved and tend to be the most scandalized due what so many [[AllHomosexualsArePedophiles already believe about gay people]].

This trope is when an adult character struggles with romantic and/or sexual feelings for a teenager below the legal age of consent. Social norms portray relationships between adults and teenagers as inherently [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] and [[NoYay wrong]], yet many adult characters [[{{Ephebophile}} find teens attractive]] (or just one in particular), making them ForbiddenFruit. Thus, the opportunity of sex or a relationship with an underage partner presents a moral conundrum and [[SecretTestOfCharacter character-defining moment]].

High school girls present a challenging temptation for today's fictional men. Social norms portray relationships between adults and teenagers as inherently [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] and [[NoYay wrong]], yet many adult characters [[{{Ephebophile}} find teen girls attractive]], making them taboo ForbiddenFruit. Thus, the opportunity of sex or a relationship with an underage partner presents a moral conundrum and [[SecretTestOfCharacter character-defining moment]].

In RealLife, [[UsefulNotes/{{Consent}} Age of Consent laws]] define when sex or relationships between adults and older teenagers are legal, and the adult can be prosecuted for it when they aren't. HollywoodLaw often comes into play with this trope, because in most of the world the law allows such relationships between older teens and adults, even if they are not necessarily socially acceptable. Because California is one of the few exceptions, many [[HollywoodProvincialism Hollywood works incorrectly assume that they are a crime]] everywhere and at any age.

Legal aspects aside, the taboo can have a number of impacts on the story and characterization. A character may be attracted to underage girls, but avoid pursuing the relationships due to the taboo (often a way to show that he's a decent guy or ChivalrousPervert). He may pursue the relationship despite the taboo, and receive [[PlayedForDrama legal or social consequences]] for it. Other times, he may simply [[TheJailbaitWait wait until she is of legal age]] before starting the relationship. Some scenarios make the man sympathetic or even a victim by having [[FilleFatale girl initiate the relationship]], often by [[ReallySeventeenYearsOld lying about her age]]. Other scenarios where the man willingly pursues these taboo relationships tend to portray him as a pervert, immature {{manchild}}, or an abusive creep exploiting his young lover's innocence.

Usually, though not always, involves an adult man and an underage girl. Gender-flipped [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale examples]] are [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale more likely]] to be PlayedForLaughs or for {{Fanservice}}, while same-gender examples often fall into LoverAndBeloved.

Legal aspects aside, the taboo can have a number of impacts on the story and characterization. A character may be attracted to underage girls, but avoid pursuing the relationships due to the taboo (often a way to show that he's a decent guy or ChivalrousPervert). He may pursue the relationship despite the taboo, and receive [[PlayedForDrama legal or social consequences]] for it. Other times, he may simply [[TheJailBaitWait wait until she is of legal age]] before starting the relationship. Some scenarios make the man sympathetic or even a victim by having [[FilleFatale girl initiate the relationship]], often by [[ReallySeventeenYearsOld lying about her age]]. Other scenarios where the man willingly pursues these taboo relationships tend to portray him as a pervert, immature {{manchild}}, or an abusive creep exploiting his young lover's innocence.

* In ''Webcomic/GangsterMama'', Jasmine, a 16-year-old girl, is pregnant with Bowswer's child. She uses the threat of sending him to jail for statuatory rape to blackmail him into marrying her and paying child support.

* Gary Puckett & The Union Gap: In "Young Girl", he discovers the girl he just banged is Jail Bait and is really unhappy she didn't tell him first. He then tells her that she had best leave him alone and go home to her momma before he changes his mind and bangs her again.

--> Well, then a judge and a jury sat me in a room\\

Done brought me twenty long years in jail.

--> ''"...You know what comes next, took her to the snooty\\

Now he's arrested."''

[[folder:Webcomics]]

--> '''Malory''' "For god's sake, Sterling, she's turning seventeen!\\
'''Archer''' "Oh, ew, sorry."\\
'''Lana''' "Even for you, Archer."\\
'''Archer''' "Come on, she doesn't look like she's turning seventeen."\\
'''Lana''' "No, she looks like she's turning ''eighteen''."\\
'''Archer''' "''Exactly!'' Plus, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint the Europeans use the metric system, so...]]"

!!Examples

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* ''Film/SerieNoire'': The woman Franck sells a bathrobe to at the beginning offers to pay him with an "intimate moment" in the company of her 16 year old niece Mona... Franck follows Mona in her room, then she completely undresses right in front of him. Probably feeling a Jail Bait due to her age (and being married at this point), Franck quickly has her dress up again and lectures her.

* In a story from ''Literature/Haunted2005'', [[spoiler: "old" Mr Whittier is actually a progeria-suffering thirteen-year-old who makes money by seducing wealthy women and then blackmailing them with the threat of turning them in for statutory rape.]]

* ''Series/{{Euphoria}}'': Maddy has sex with [[spoiler: Tyler]] in order to get back at her boyfriend, which ends up with ''disastrous'' consequences for him as she's only seventeen. This might be covered by a Romeo and Juliet law,[[note]]Which permits consensual sexual contact between a minor and a person who is only a few years older.[[/note]] but he might be unaware of that, and it could have social consequences anyway.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' In Season 3, Carol catches friendly-yet-shady prisoner Axel hitting on seventeen-year old Beth. Without any hesitation, she gets him away from her and tells him, in no uncertain terms, to keep his pervy mitts off Beth.

* A RunningGag in ''Website/TheHardTimes'' is that PopPunk frontmen all exclusively date underage girls. This is played for BlackComedy, and the frontmen in question are portrayed as immature creeps who are still stuck in high school. One article, "[[https://thehardtimes.net/news/all-warped-tour-stages-moved-100-feet-from-audience-to-comply-with-sex-offender-laws/ All Warped Tour Stages Moved 100 Feet from Audience To Comply With Sex Offender Laws]]", jokes that so many PopPunk frontmen have been convicted of sex offenses that they are not allowed to get too close to the audience at Warped Tour, a music festival known both for its young audience and density of PopPunk acts.
* In one issue of ''[[http://matsjonssonbloggen.blogspot.com/ Mats Jonsson]]'', the protagonist is having a relationship with a girl who pretends to be 21. When it's revealed that she's studying at high school rather than the university, she changes it to nineteen. When she later confesses that she's actually sixteen and begs forgiveness for her dishonesty, he breaks all contact with her and spends the rest of the episode angsting over having been messing around with someone so young. The story takes place in Sweden, where the age of consent is fifteen - so his angst is purely emotional, without any ephebophilia issues.

* In one issue of ''[[http://matsjonssonbloggen.blogspot.com/ Mats Jonsson]]'', the protagonist is having a relationship with a girl who pretends to be 21. When it's revealed that she's studying at high school rather than the university, she changes it to nineteen. When she later confesses that she's actually sixteen and begs forgiveness for her dishonesty, he breaks all contact with her and spends the rest of the episode angsting over having been messing around with someone so young. The story takes place in Sweden, where the age of consent is fifteen - so his angst is purely emotional, without any JailBait issues.

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