Re: Kids these days, they are out of control.

I too wonder where these assumptions come from. A friend of mine who's a teacher says it is immensely difficult to get kids to cooperate with anything they have no interest in doing. Every parent I know can vouch for that, so yeah, it is obvious that kids objecting to adults isn't a rare thing. I guess people think kids are afraid to say no to an adult offering some racy play to them because they assume that kids are frightened by the topic of sex.

I know the power imbalance argument backwards and forwards. The people who make it seem to forget that power dynamics between people are seldom black and white. The "weak" party can easily be stronger willed than the "powerful" party. For example, a kid can take advantage of a fawning adult by making unreasonable demands on the adults finances, time, actions, etc. Consider also the principle of least interest a familiar, very relevant archetype. The law of human nature that in any interpersonal relationship the party who has the greater influence is the one who is the most casual about maintaining it. The more involved person, eager to maintain the relationship, defers to the lesser interested persons wishes. In a pedophiliac relationship this holder of power would in many situations be the kid since kids dont view relationships or sex in terms of long-term commitment, their interests change, and love to them is basically infatuation. This is especially the case when they can obtain attention and other desired companionship elsewhere. Power dynamics can get dicey if the younger party does feel particularly dependent on the older, in which case the adult would have to be more cautious about how they exercise their power.

Just some food for thought.