Jailbait

Jailbait or jail bait is slang for a person who is younger than the legal age of consent for sexual activity, with the implication that a person above the age of consent might find them sexually attractive. The term jailbait is derived from the fact that engaging in sexual activity with someone who is under the age of consent is classified as statutory rape or by an equivalent term. The minor deemed sexually attractive is thus a temptation to an older person to pursue them for sexual relations at the risk of being sent to jail if caught.

Criteria

As the legal age of consent varies by country and jurisdiction, the age at which a person can be considered "jailbait" varies. For example, in the United Kingdom, where the age of consent is 16, the term is used to refer to those younger than 16, whereas in some parts of the United States where the age of consent is 18, the term would refer to those aged under 18. The frequent use of the term jailbait in popular culture has been linked to a greater understanding of age of consent laws among teenagers.

Jailbait (book)

Jailbait: The Politics of Statutory Rape Laws in the United States is a 2004 non-fiction book by Carolyn Cocca, published by the State University of New York Press. It discusses the ages of consent in the United States.

Chapter 1 analyzes the general history of statutory rape policies in the U.S., while Chapters 2, 3, and 4 discuss how states revised and adopted the laws in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Each of the three other chapters discusses a particular aspect of the revisions and adoptions: Respectively they are the age revisions, gender-neutral language, and revisions related to 1990s social welfare policies concerning teenage pregnancy, race, and deadbeat fathers.

Reception

Donald P. Haider-Markel of the University of Kansas concluded that the book is "a thoughtful and engaging book that connects a variety of theoretical perspectives and makes use of multiple methodological approaches in a coherent manner." He argued that the book would be good for classes on public policy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He added that he believed Cocca had overstated several of her arguments, such as those about the role of interest groups and the use of statutory rape laws as "morality politics".

Jailbait (2004 film)

Jailbait is a 2004 psychodrama film written and directed by Brett C. Leonard. It stars Stephen Adly Guirgis and Michael Pitt and is set in an unnamed prison in California. The film received numerous independent film nominations and was awarded the Lake Placid Film Festival Grand Jury Prize.

Plot

Randy (Pitt), a 20-year-old convict, is taken to his cell. He is greeted by his new cellmate, Jake (Guirgis), a veteran prisoner serving a life sentence. Randy explains that he is serving 25 years for spray painting his neighbor's Mercedes-Benz.

The next morning, Jake begins telling Randy a story about the worst sexual encounter he ever had. The story terrifies Randy, who begins to realize that Jake's motive may be more than just friendship. The conversation turns toward how Jake feels homosexuality is a state of mind. The breakfast bell rings and the story is interrupted, much to Randy's relief. Jake seems to drop the topic and return to his more friendly demeanor. However, Randy is quickly brought back to the horrible reality of his situation when Jake forces him to wear his shirt in a feminine style and to hold his hand as they go to lunch (See prison sexuality).