lesbianrey:

i really do think we should start using the term “experience gap” instead of “age gap” for a number of reasons. first, i feel like a lot of young people reach a point where they think age is just arbitrary / they’re unique and smart, and are therefore resistant to a patronizing idea that they aren’t mature enough to pursue ‘adult’ relationships when it’s not a comment on your intelligence at all- you can be the smartest person in the world and there’s still going to be an experience gap between you at age 16 and someone else who has had objectively more life experience at 24. and secondly, i think mentioning the experience gap when critiquing relationships between young adults and older adults helps people realize some of the issues of power in these relationships beyond ‘well they’re both legal so whats the problem’