[Bungleau]

Epona,

If the teenaged girls were also bundles of hormones, how come they never let it be known when I was around? [img]smile.gif[/img] Okay, I admit my general geekiness back then, but still...

As far as the whole boy/girl issue goes, it's definitely not fairly balanced. A guy can go sow his wild oats, and if he decides to move on and ignore any evidence of past mistakes (like children), it's much easier, at least in my perspective. The girl, rightly or wrongly, seems to be the one who gets "stuck" raising the kid(s). And yes, adoption is an option, but that's another thread entirely. [img]smile.gif[/img]

And look at the impacts, too. If a baby is conceived, the guy's job (as my wife reminded me) is already over. The girl gets to carry the baby until it reaches full term, with all the physical and biological changes that go along with it. As well, if a girl is pregnant, it's pretty much assumed she had sex. It's not always assumed which guy might have been the father, although it can be proven today through testing. Yep, still not fair. The girl gets most, if not all, of the downside.

It's interesting to me that you took a different view of my post than I intended. What I meant to say was that if my daughter decides to do something, I want it to be because *she* decided, not because someone else sold her a bill of goods and empty promises. I want her to make up her own mind; that's the point.

I remember from my youth the occasional promising of the moon, with no intent to deliver on the promise. Phrases like "Sure, I'll still love you in the morning" have become jokes because they're so prevalent.

It's also curious to me as I look at things from a more *ahem* mature perspective. Back in my youth, I didn't know the right things to say to get sex, quite frankly. I made up for it in college as best I could.

Today, if I don't care about the long-term implications, it's much easier to do a little acting, pretend interest in what someone else is doing or interested in, all the while focusing on what else needs to be done to open the bedsheets. Is it deceitful? Dishonest? Yeah, but when your big brain isn't doing the thinking, you care less about these things.

Note that I haven't done this; I'm still faithful after all these years, but I could.

And there's a whole industry of people who make these kinds of promises, only to deliver less than expected, if anything at all. The adult film industry, modeling... anything where youth is valued has the opportunity for abuse. And this doesn't mean everyone in those industries is dirty; rather, it's real easy to convince someone that if they "act" in this film, they'll soon be pulling in a million dollar income and partying with the glitziest people in Hollywood.

BTW, I don't think that boys should be allowed to get away with things either. I've got a son just two years behind my daughter, and I'll be expecting him to control his hormones as well. Don't ask me how, yet, because I'm still working on it... understanding of just what the implications and responsibilities of his actions will probably be a cornerstone of it.