I don’t need her to be a leftist dream, I need her to be better than Mitch. It’s a pretty low bar. Campaigning in a way that talks to voters she needs to win over, conservatives who have probably voted red their whole lives (or voted southern democrat when that was still a thing) is smart. 

John’s hair-splitting tells us all we need to know about him.

No actually, the terms are not important. The terms that ARE important are CHILD and RAPE. 

Here's a tip to help people sort out why this phrase is so problematic: If you would not use the phrase "underage men," then don't use "underage women," either. The English language has over a hundred thousand words. Choose better ones.

Ok John, fine, he’s an ephebophile. Is that better? Do you feel better now that the mean ladies called the man a slightly more accurate (but still fucking odious don’t get me wrong) word? I know the terms are important to you.

At 12 I also wore a C cup. A while back, I saw some pictures of me from when I was that age. I thought I looked grown at the time. I looked like child in reality. There was no way the werido older men that would say horrible things to me wouldn’t have known I was a child.

Bless you, my sister (and why is your comment in the grays?) When my daughter was 12, and had started developing a woman’s body, I remember seeing two men, probably in their 20's or early 30's, ogling her and eyeing her body up and down in the food court of our local mall. I was right behind my daughter, but they…

Hell yes. These are KIDS. These are CHILDREN. They wouldn’t be calling a 14 year-old boy an “underage man.” They’d be calling him a 14 year-old boy.  Epstein is a child rapist.

Question: I thought “alleged” was used to prevent any kind of libel suit? and had to be used until conviction?

But I think in the “alleged” has to do with if there is a pending legal case which if the person has been formally charge but not yet tried or convicted.

Amen. “Underage women” is one of those phrases that, if you went through a halfway decent journalism program, gets beaten out of you by a curmudgeonly editing professor wielding the AP Stylebook.

THANK YOU for writing this. Words matter. Words carry so much meaning, so much weight. 

He rapes girl children.

Thank you! This language has been used to excuse male creepiness towards teenage girls far too often. Underage is a child regardless of how “developed” a girl appears to be.  

We see this a lot too from the media/politicians as well through the lens of “non-consensual sex.” There isn’t sex and non-consensual sex, there is sex and there is rape.

As someone who developed early (C cup by age 12, also tall) believe me, I know about men just deciding how much you “owe” them due to your appearance.

Underage women=girls. He rapes girl children. The sooner news outlets start phrasing it accurately, the better.

A 14 year old is not an “underage woman.” No “woman” is underage.

The republicans throw refugee children in cages. They deserve no respect, no civility and until they are soundly defeated, no mercy.

“They’re for sure gonna have it. I promise. I promise that your kid’s gonna have sex. So if she asks you what the song’s about, talk about it.”