Jail Bait: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
'''Archer:''' Oh, ew, sorry.
▲{{quote|'''Malory:''' For god's sake, Sterling, she's turning seventeen!<br />
'''
'''
'''Archer:''' ''Exactly!'' Plus, [[Comically Missing the Point|the Europeans use the metric system, so...]]
▲'''Lana:''' No, she looks like she's turning ''eighteen''.<br />
|''[[Archer]]''}}
▲'''Archer:''' ''Exactly!'' Plus, [[Comically Missing the Point|the Europeans use the metric system, so...]]|''[[Archer]]''}}
{{quote|She's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they say...|Benny Mardones, ''Into the Night''}}
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Sometimes they're [[Younger Than They Look]]. It may be [[Distracted by the Sexy|difficult to realize]] this until it is too late, however. Especially if they claim to be [[Totally Eighteen]].
In [[Real Life]], it is a [[No Sex Allowed|serious crime]] for a legal adult to have sex with a minor who is below the age of consent, usually 16-19 in North America and 14-16 in Europe, but in fiction is almost always 18, since that's the legal age in the [[We All Live in America|US state]] of [[SoCalization|California]], with the notable exceptions of ''[[Law and Order]]'' making it clear the age of consent in New York is 17, and Japan where the federal age of consent is 13,<ref>although almost all localities have local laws making it 16 or 18</ref> although that one does cause some [[Values Dissonance]] when things get exported. The term for a person, or provocative pictures of them, who is under that age but looks either old enough or hot enough for onlookers to forget the difference is "'''Jail Bait'''." The "joke" about this was "15 will get you 20", only it isn't a joke
Now, there's a fine line between
There's also been some recognition over the years by some state legislators that it doesn't make much sense to send someone to prison for several years because they're a few years older than their partner, just because one is of age and the other one technically isn't (or both are under age, like a 16-year-old with a 15-year-old). Most states have what are called "Romeo and Juliet" laws, where if the age difference is within three or four years, it's generally not a crime or if it's still a crime it's been reduced to a low-level misdemeanor (maximum 6 months in the county jail and possibly a fine as opposed to years in state prison and registration as a sex offender). Conversely, some jurisdictions impose a higher minimum age ([https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/clp/faq.html 18 instead of 16] in [[Canada, Eh?|Canada]], for example) if one of the pair is in a position of trust or authority over the other (such as [[Teacher-Student Romance|a coach or instructor]]).▼
▲Now, there's a fine line between [[Jail Bait]] and [[Ephebophile|ephebophilia]], and [[Accidental Innuendo|it depends on where it takes place]], where the perpetrator is ''from'' (some countries have "sex tourism" laws) and how old the victim is. Generally, sexual interest in anyone under 13 is considered paedophilia.
▲There's also been some recognition over the years by some state legislators that it doesn't make much sense to send someone to prison for several years because they're a few years older than their partner, just because one is of age and the other one technically isn't (or both are under age, like a 16-year-old with a 15-year-old). Most states have what are called "Romeo and Juliet" laws, where if the age difference is within three or four years, it's generally not a crime or if it's still a crime it's been reduced to a low-level misdemeanor (maximum 6 months in the county jail and possibly a fine as opposed to years in state prison and registration as a sex offender).
See also [[Legal Jailbait]] and [[The Jailbait Wait]]. Contrast [[Dawson Casting]]. Not to be confused with [[Jail Bake]]. Compare [[Fille Fatale]] which is a more...proactive version of this trope.
{{noreallife|tell your local police force, not us.}}
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'', the two protagonists are both 14 years old. However, the story makes it ''reeeeeeeeeal'' easy to forget that fact. Besides almost being raped at one point, the female lead is constantly seen in a bra and panties (or less), chapter 52 {{spoiler|showcases the two of them having sex, complete with fully-exposed breasts.}} A case of [[Values Dissonance]] since the age of consent in Japan is 13.▼
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' features Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, both of whom are 14 and who are repeatedly depicted sans clothes or in suggestive poses. As with the above example, it is a case of values dissonance.▼
* ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
* Zigzagged and Downplayed in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', where Camula uses a sort of spirit form to capture Syrus (who is not only underage, but younger than most of the cast) and hold him hostage in her duel against Zane. Suffice to say it's... suggestive. Of course, Camula has [[Your Soul Is Mine| something far different in mind]], and ultimately, she pays a ''much'' higher price than most villains in the series.
* Hentai of underage characters is ''notorious'' for being a legally gray example of jailbait, due to the debate whether it's real or just simulated pornography. Most civil law countries generally hold that it is simulated and is thus not jail worthy, as does the USA. Most non-American common law countries, however, consider such pornography to be real and thus jail worthy; in a particularly (in)famous example, New Zealand banned ''[[High School DxD]]'' (which is ecchi, not hentai) for merely featuring "sexualized underage characters" in 2013.
* In ''[[One Piece]]'', [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Jewelry_Bonney Jewelry Bonney] is one of many [[Ms. Fanservice]] characters who is often shown in “cheesecake” scenes. One rather risque scene occurred at the beginning of the Egghead arc, where she was literally topless, [[Godiva Hair| her breasts covered by her long hair]]. Fans never thought much of it, as she is hardly the only female character featured this way. However, later in the same arc it is revealed that she is, in fact, only 12 years old, her adult appearance the result of her Devil Fruit power, which lets her alter the age of anyone, including herself. While this information does make a lot of sense in hindsight, many fans have felt retroactively dirty upon learning it.
* ''[[My Hero Academia]]''; again, downplayed the way [[Hot Teacher| Midnight]] lulls Sero to sleep during the Final Exam arc. It would have been... creepy to a viewer who does not know it was a drill.
==
* Max Damage of ''[[Irredeemable|Incorruptible]]'' has a [[Perky Female Minion]] named Jailbait. Upon his [[Heel Face Turn]], he breaks up with her, citing [[
▲* In [[Mirai Nikki]], the two protagonists are both 14 years old. However, the story makes it ''reeeeeeeeeal'' easy to forget that fact. Besides almost being raped at one point, the female lead is constantly seen in a bra and panties (or less), chapter 52 {{spoiler|showcases the two of them having sex, complete with fully-exposed breasts.}} A case of [[Values Dissonance]] since the age of consent in Japan is 13.
▲* [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] features Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, both of whom are 14 and who are repeatedly depicted sans clothes or in suggestive poses. As with the above example, it is a case of values dissonance.
▲* [[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water|Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water's]] titular character is yet another 14 year old, who spends the majority of her screentime in a [[Stripperific|stripperiffic]] circus costume and is depicted as quite nubile, despite her age. This is often used for [[Fan Service|fanservice,]] at one point, spending almost two full episodes nude.
== Comics ==▼
▲* Max Damage of ''[[Irredeemable|Incorruptible]]'' has a [[Perky Female Minion]] named Jailbait. Upon his [[Heel Face Turn]], he breaks up with her, citing [[Jail Bait Wait]].
== Film ==
* Porn movies, in general, tend to put disclaimers at the beginning claiming [[Totally Eighteen|all actors are legal age]], given the penalties for casting someone who is not.
** [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2257 18 U.S. Code § 2257. Record keeping requirements] requires producers of all US films containing actual sexual explicit conduct to keep records of ID for every performer portrayed in the work.
* In the movie ''Lifeguard'', the chief lifeguard warns his assistant that having sex with an underage girl — even if she's willing — is a crime. Then he goes ahead and has sex with one anyway after warning the trainee that it's a bad idea.▼
** There's a history behind this; [[Traci Lords]] broke into porn [[Really Seventeen Years Old|at age sixteen, using fake ID]]; as soon as [[Younger Than They Look|the deception]] was spotted, every copy of almost every film in which she had ever appeared became very illegal to possess, let alone sell, and had to be destroyed. She went on to [[No Such Thing as Bad Publicity|become somewhat-known]] as a mainstream actor (in a rare crossover) and singer but [[Never Live It Down/Real Life|never lived this down]].
* MTV had a TV movie about this named after the trope. The reason why it's notable is that the titular jailbait later became the Pink Ranger on [[Power Rangers SPD]].▼
▲* In the movie ''[[Lifeguard]]'', the chief lifeguard warns his assistant that having sex with an underage girl — even if she's willing — is a crime. Then he goes ahead and has sex with one anyway after warning the trainee that it's a bad idea.
▲* MTV had a TV movie about this named after the trope. The reason why it's notable is that the titular jailbait later became the Pink Ranger on ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]''.
* In ''[[Animal House]]'', Clorette drunkenly blurts out "I'm only thirteen" during a makeout session. The line was actually a [[Censor Decoy]] put in so that the writers could get away with "I'm only seventeen" as a "compromise", but it went though without modification.
* In ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'', McMurphy is serving out a sentence for statutory rape. During his interview with Dr. Spivey, he says, "She was fifteen years old going on thirty-five, Doc, and she told me she was eighteen."
* Possibly the only time James Bond says "no" to a woman is for this reason; in ''[[For Your Eyes Only]]'' he declines Bibi's advances because she is underage.
* At the beginning of ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'', Scott starts dating Chau, a 17-year-old high-school student (''dating'' her, not sleeping with her) and everyone seems to focus on her being underage. Eventually, Scott decides to break up with her and ask Ramona out... Which doesn't go well, given how vindictive exes tend to be in [[Widget Series| this odd reality]].
== Literature ==
* [[Shotacon|Male example]] in ''[[Haunted
▲* [[Shotacon|Male example]] in ''[[Haunted 2005]]''. {{spoiler|Brandon Whittier is a thirteen-year-old boy suffering from progeria, which causes him to age at seven times the normal rate. He amasses a fortune by telling his nurses he's eighteen, begging them not to let him die a virgin, and then revealing his age and demanding money in exchange for not reporting them.}}
* In the early ''[[Posleen War Series]]'' novels, Cally O'Neill's apparent age, actual age, and willingness to defend her virtue at gunpoint caused posters with her picture on it to be put up all around her home town with the message: WARNING: Jailbait. To be considered armed and dangerous.
* ''[https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7176 The Sexteens and the Fake Goddess]'' by Frederic Tremblay et al. bills itself as "The Most Controversial Teen Novel that Will Change your Life Forevermore". More likely, it would've silently passed under the radar along with the rest of the largely [[Self Publishing|self-published]] slushpile that is [[Smashwords]] – were it not for the minor detail that Mr. Tremblay was a high-school civics teacher. And chairman of the Ontario College of Teachers' discipline committee. And an elected member of the College's governing council. Ultimately, he resigned from everything [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/jacques-tremblay-racy-teen-novel-author-quits-teaching-after-backlash-1.2741530 and gave up his teacher's licence].
== Live
* In the first episode of ''[[Californication]]'', Hank has a one
▲* In the first episode of ''[[Californication]]'', Hank has a one night stand with a young woman who turns out to be the sixteen-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend's fiancé (though he did not know who or how old she was at the time.) Three seasons of blackmail and plagiarism later, the truth is finally revealed and Hank is arrested and charged with statutory rape.
* When new watcher Wesley expresses interest in Cordelia on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', this is Faith's response:
{{quote|
* In one episode of ''[[NCIS]]'', one particularly [[Jerkass]] suspect alibied out of the [[Body of the Week|Murder of the Week]] because he was having sex with a senator's seventeen-year-old daughter at the time. Ziva promptly (and rather smugly) arrested him for statutory rape.
* British police drama ''[[The Bill]]'' had an interesting example. A drunken man picked up a very willing female partner in an adult nightclub and ended up bedding her. Some months later this girl's mother found out about it and reported them to the police since her daughter was under the age of consent (16 in the UK). The police established that the fourteen year old had deliberately used clothes and make up to make herself look older than she really was, and persuaded the male to confess, reasoning that he had been careless but that it wasn't really in the public interest to prosecute him so he would be given a slap on the wrist and let go. Then it transpired that the girl's birthday was incorrect due to adoption or some other reason, so she was actually thirteen. Except that a few months ago when the incident took place she was twelve, thus
* ''[[Married... with Children]]'':
** One episode had Bud's (admittedly hot) teacher coming onto him; proving [[Everyone Has Standards|this is a line he won't cross]], Al actually delayed his plans to [[It Makes Sense In Context|crash a kid's party]] in order to try to talk him out of it, and later called the police on her. Unfortunately, it led to [[Mistaken Identity|the wrong teacher being arrested.]]
** There was an unsuccessful [[Spin-Off]] of the show called ''[[Top of the Heap]]'' <ref>It only lasted seven episodes, but that was still longer than the other two attempts.</ref> In the first episode, an attractive teenaged girl tries to seduce the male protagonist; he suggests she come back "when you're not a felony".
== Music ==
* The song
*
* [[Winger|Winger's]] most popular song,
* ''[[wikipedia:Hot Child in the City|Hot Child in the City]]'' (1978) by [[wikipedia:Nick Gilder|Nick Gilder]] is about child prostitution: "I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse."
* [[ABBA]]. ''[[wikipedia:Does Your Mother Know|Does Your Mother Know]]''?
** Inspired, according to Björn Ulvaeus, by a newspaper article. “It was most likely about predatory older men using younger women, and I had the idea of reversing the situation and creating a song about a man who, instead of trying to pick up a girl, turns round and says, ‘Oh, what are you doing out tonight, does your mother know that you’re out?’”[https://abbasite.com/articles/does-your-mother-know-the-anatomy-of-a-hit-single/]
** The ABBA [[Jukebox Musical]] ''[[Mamma Mia!]]'' [[Inverted Trope|inverts the trope]] by having an older woman singing this song to a younger man.
* [[Joan Jett]], anyone? In her signature song,
* Proyecto Uno's Spanish cover of Fannypack's "Nu nu (yeah yeah)" changed the lyrics to be about the singer finding out that the very hot girl he has been dancing all night is actually fifteen years old, and feeling very conflicted because the girl looks sexier and even more mature than the singer's ex.
== Video Games ==
▲* The song ''Jailbait'' by [[Motorhead]] is about underage groupies who show up at the band's shows.
* ''[[Resident Evil 4]]''; when rescued, [[Rescue Sex| Asley offers Leon a reward]] for "overtime" - he declines.
▲* ''Christine Sixteen'' by [[Kiss]] is about an older man who becomes infatuated with a sixteen year old girl. Because of the controversial subject matter many radio stations refused to play the song when it was released in 1977.
▲* [[Winger|Winger's]] most popular song, ''Seventeen'', is about a man who meets a woman he is intensely attracted to, and his surprise when she tells him "I'm only seventeen."
▲* [[Joan Jett]], anyone? In her signature song, ''I Love Rock and Roll,'' she declares "I knew he musta been about seventeen." Joan was 21 when she first covered the song on a recording.
▲== Web Comics ==
* In one early story arc of ''[[Least I Could Do]]'', Rayne met a girl in a bar, and slept with her, not unreasonably assuming that she was over 18. However, she was actually 16 and still in high school. Rayne was arrested but eventually acquitted as there was no way he could have known she was under age, since 16 year old high school students aren't supposed to hang around in bars. Rayne them asked if this meant [[Comically Missing the Point|he could legally sleep with sixteen
▲== Webcomics ==
▲* In one early story arc of [[Least I Could Do]], Rayne met a girl in a bar, and slept with her, not unreasonably assuming that she was over 18. However, she was actually 16 and still in high school. Rayne was arrested but eventually acquitted as there was no way he could have known she was under age, since 16 year old high school students aren't supposed to hang around in bars. Rayne them asked if this meant [[Comically Missing the Point|he could legally sleep with sixteen year olds if he met them in bars]], causing John and his lawyer to drag him out of the courtroom.
== Web Original ==
* A flash game on [[Newgrounds]] deals with this trope, in which the viewer is asked to [[Schmuck Bait|identify whether the featured celebrity]] is
▲* A flash game on [[Newgrounds]] deals with this trope, in which the viewer is asked to [[Schmuck Bait|identify whether the featured celebrity]] is [[Jail Bait]] or legal. [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/192840 Surprisingly safe for work], but expect to be called a [[Covert Pervert]] if you guess wrong with ''actual'' jailbait, and [[Ambiguously Gay]] if you guess wrong if they're legal.
* During his Let's Play of ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'', [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony]] repeatedly comments on how creepy it is to see 15 year old Rikku sexualized as much as she is, including repeated [[Male Gaze|ass shots]].<ref>Note that the age of consent in the game's country of origin is actually ''13'' making this a case of [[Values Dissonance]] as well.</ref>
{{quote|
'''Spoony:''' Woah! You are a prison sentence waiting to happen kid! }}
** Although, interestingly enough, Rikku herself mentions that (mainly due to the influence of Sin shortening everyone's life spans) many girls her age in Spira are getting married... and presumably everything that comes with that.
== Western Animation ==
* Ultimately averted in the ''[[Teen Titans]]'' episode "How Long is Forever?", although ''many'' fans noted that the adult Nightwing seemed to be getting a little ''too'' close to the still-teenage Starfire.
* This is where the protagonist of ''[[Archer]]'' draws the line; in one episode, he refuses to have sex with Anka, despite local laws making her two years above age of consent in the country they're currently in.
{{reflist}}
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