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The Forum > Article Comments > Lolita turns fifty > Comments

Lolita turns fifty : Comments

By Barbara Biggs, published 2/12/2005

Barbara Biggs discusses the book and the film 'Lolita' fifty years on.

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Redneck what Barbara is saying about Lolita is that when it is filmed the girl always looks older than 12, because society is complicit in the view that girls who are abused might have initiated it and hence deserved it so it's probably okay in some circumstances (e.g. when you have a sexually "willing" child who looks like an adult such as Lolita is portrayed). It's no surprise to me that pornography sites references [from irritating spam that I delete - I'm not against adult porn but I dislike spam and hate child porn] refer to "eager, young, barely-legal Lolitas". Clearly, barely legal means 16 yo (at least in Australia). What Barbara is saying is that if the film portrayed a 12 yo girl people would be totally disgusted and it would aid in clearing up the "she wanted it so it was okay" argument. While I agree with Barbara that the argument is reprehensible I don't necessarily know if a refilming of Lolita with an accurate age portrayal would be good because of, as you say, the sympathetic portrayal of Humbert in the story. It might turn into a prized possession for pedophile's collections as you describe. Your analysis of the book Lolita is pretty good.
Posted by Pedant, Sunday, 11 December 2005 7:29:59 AM
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Space Cadet and Redneck have made comments which would appear to epitomise the young boy's sexual encounter with Stifler's Mum has a 'badge of honour', and a rite of passage for the pubescent male boy. The double standard is glaringly obvious in Space Cadet's post, who claims that he would have loved Stifler's Mum's affections at age 13. However, a 13 year old girl desiring the same thing is childish and clearly has some emotional issues and a love me love me complex. Is the issue here about sexual autonomy and precisely the moment when it reaches maturity? Because as a child I was disgusted, horrified and damn near petrified to be told by older male associates that a girl old enough to bleed is old enough to feed. I developed breasts at age 9, and menstruation at 11. And that was 17 years ago, so it is not just girls today who reach mens at 11. The real issue is that children are not asexual beings, and the onus is on adults to not abuse the position of authority and power that the age differential creates, male or female. In the event that abuse results, the law should punish indiscriminately, which is why justice is considered blind. However, ample anecdotal evidence exists that demonstrates a female predator is considered less heinous than a male one, the comments of Redneck and Space Cadet suggesting they would agree with this view. Female sexuality is misguided and dangerous, male sexuality virile and potent. I guess some archetypes will stay around forever.
Posted by Ashley, Sunday, 11 December 2005 8:41:14 PM
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Dear Barbara

Thank you for your article.

As a mental health professional, I am amazed at the responses to your article - from both males and females. Indeed, in the main, I am apalled.

Having nursed dozens and dozens of female victims of paedophillia, I think that I have a good handle on most things about the issue.

For God's sake - you people who say that young girls "come on" to you. Do you have any idea of their backgrounds? I do.

From my experience they were a victim of an older male - usually a step father, "an uncle", or a so-called "family friend". They were "taught" by the paedophile to "come on" to an older male. That is their strategy. That is their modus operandi.

Some female children are abused from the age of three months. They grow up thinking that [abnormal] sex stuff is normal. The paedophile "trains" them! They are indoctrinated.

Grr - I am so angry that most posters are in denial.

In Toowoomba for example, the majority of young females in the psych unit were victims of child sexual abuse. They did not know any other way to behave. Their mothers had the blinkers on, and their "fathers" continued their acts of "love".

I nursed the same kind of young girls on the Hawkesbury in NSW and in Nambour Q.

For God's sake, get your heads out of the sand. Paedophillia is alive and well - possibly next door!

I remain in shock re most of the above responses.

Regards
Kay
Posted by kalweb, Sunday, 11 December 2005 9:37:29 PM
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To Pedant. Part 1

What is “a child”? All NSW states consider “adulthood” begins at 18 years of age. But in NSW the age of consent is 16 and in Queensland it is 17. So it is quite legal to screw “children.” The first thing I would point out is that if an 18 year old man screws a 16 year old “child” in Tweed Heads, it is perfectly legal. But if he then drives the “child” over the bridge into Coolangatta and screws her again, he is a paedophile.

Here is a true story. When I asked my ex girlfriend “Judy”, “ when did she lose her virginity?” She smiled and said. ‘When I was 15 years, 11 months, 6 days and 23 and a half hours old. “ Tell me, do you consider “Judy’s” former ex boyfriend a paedophile who should be jailed for 5 years? Or do you consider that under age sex is not a black and white issue, and that there are plainly shades of grey?

The question of the morality of older people having sex with under age “children” has been played out in Sydney in the last 6 months. A married, predatory male gym teacher deliberately set out to seduce a 14 year old female pupil. He then used emotional blackmail to keep the girl as his mistress for some years and ended up having such emotional control over her that he even ordered her to have sex with his mates. The girl became a mental patient by age 20. She finally ended up having the teacher prosecuted and he is now rotting in jail for 5 years.
Posted by redneck, Monday, 12 December 2005 2:48:43 AM
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To Pedant Part 2

But in another school, a 15 year old boy told his mates that he intended to seduce his female gym teacher. His success at his boast made him a legend among his school mates and he must have been grinning from ear to ear. But the boys mother found out and dobbed the married female teacher in. The female teacher was jailed for six months, much to the distress of the 15 year old boy. The boy was so horrified at the repercussions to his teacher from his playful behaviour that became totally estranged from his mother and moved out of the family home. He then went public with the media and pleaded for the teacher to be released from jail because he considered that the situation had all been his own fault.

Do you consider that both teachers behaviour is equally reprehensible or do you concede that the ramifications to the “children” were different and therefore the situations were different?
Posted by redneck, Monday, 12 December 2005 2:50:04 AM
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1.

Kalweb, thanks for your post, a great response to all those who try to blame the girls when older men have sex with those girls. So there you are R0bert - clearly there are some children out there asking adults to have sex with them but those children may be psychologically traumatised and have often been "groomed" into those behaviours. So we don't actually need children to be told that they deserve their abuse because they initiated it, we need all adults educated that sex with children is wrong in all circumstances. Adults are the responsible ones - stop trying to blame the children. However, Kalweb, I think posters to this thread should be given credit for dealing responsibly as an adult to approaches from children. I'm an adult and no child has ever asked me for sex - but clearly some of the posters on this thread have had children ask them for sex and they have said no which is good [methinks they exaggerate somewhat about these hordes of ravenous predatory children chasing them down the street pinning them down demanding sex, sex, sex - yes this is an exaggerated description ;-)].

Redneck, you are wrong regarding Tweed Heads/Coolangatta. Queensland consent age is 16 (s215(1) Criminal Code), except for anal sex, which is 18 (s208(1) Criminal Code) www.legislation.qld.gov.au

So as long as the man in your example who drove over the border from NSW to Qld did not have anal sex with the 16 year there is no crime. One other offence in Queensland is if you are a teacher and you have sex with one of your students who is under 18 (not sure of the section but it's in there somewhere). In NSW they recently reduced the age of consent for anal sex to 16, and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth about “horrible gay men getting their hands on our innocent sons" very interesting given posters here talking about the level of sexualisation of children - perhaps Maximus would propose a law to protect gullible old men from predatory teenage boys ;-)
Posted by Pedant, Monday, 12 December 2005 1:12:03 PM
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