Here's my take on the "Sex Offender" phenomenon. This is just opinion, you are free to disagree with it. I ask that you please respect it as opinion, and not try to convert me to some other point of view, or pass moral judgements.
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We are too eager to brand people with this identification. (Sex offender) This dilutes the meaning. This has been a problem with every attempt to enforce public transparency with a perceived offence like this.
Historically, we have the "P" and "A" brands applied by the east india company to pirates, and by old world courts to women found guilty of adultery. Both were applied too aggressively. "The Scarlet Letter" focuses on the latter quite extensively.
In this modern age, we have teenagers being branded as sex offenders for life for sharing nudie pics of each other, and other absurdities.
The base of this problem is still the same: Moral outrage. Like always, and as always will be, "Morality" is a spectrum, not black and white. (I am going to pick on a prominent, but not yet discussed to my knowledge, issue here.) Some people are literally outraged that teenagers would take pics OF THEMSELVES, and send them to romantic interests. It offends their sensibilities, and they feel that broad-brush application of laws in these circumstances are fine, just, and proper. "Kids should be outside playing, not taking nude selfies"-- etc. The kids, however, are just being sexual, like adolescents have always been. The problem is the adults who dont want to accept this simple reality, and instead cling to an ideal moral fantasy where their kids dont have genitals.
Labels like "Sexual Predator" need to be reserved for individuals who have recidivism; actual predators, who satisfy their desires through forceful sexual conduct with others, and cannot find satisfaction any other way. I dislike the term "Sex Offender". We seem to have developed a culture that is overly easy to offend-- That way lies madness, as literally anything can be offensive to another person. Burping in public, for instance. Or, perhaps simply whistling while walking down the street. Some people find homosexual sex to be offensive, for instance. Others consider even masturbation to be sexually offensive. What one generation finds "Sexually Offensive", another will laugh at and ridicule. "Showing ankle", or instance.
Consider for instance, the culturally accepted views of the ancient Greeks,
concerning erestes and eromenos. There was actual sex in these relationships, but due to what was considered offensive TO THEM, the "acceptable" kind featured only
"Intercrural" sex. Today, if somebody tried to have that kind of relationship, they would get the great big sexual predator label stuck to them. That behaviour was considered "Normal" to ancient Greeks.
Moral based labels are by their very nature, subjective, officious, and unrealistic. EVERY generation believes that they "Know the truth" of the matter, and every generation speaks a different "Truth."
It is my personal opinion that the whole "it makes me offended!" thing needs to be thrown out. To fashionistas, wearing clothes from the discount rack is offensive. Should bargain shoppers be legally penalized? Same basic idea! Or perhaps Vegans-- Eating meat is offensive to them, should they be allowed to tell other people what they can and cant eat? The very idea that somebody should have some kind of right to "Not be offended" is absurd.
There needs to be an understood delineation between "Things that I find squicky" and "Things that need to be illegal."
Things that need to be illegal? Things that harm people, or that cause unfair circumstances that can cause harm. (Things like rape, stealing, false testimony, and the like fall into this category.)
Things that you find squicky? Mind your own business. ;P
In relation to the "Pregnant woman commits crime" absurdity; it's a leftover from more victorian dealings, where capital punishment was handed out like candy. Killing the unborn child by commuting sentence on a found guilty pregnant mother was considered morally monsterous-- so in a silly bout of letigious absurdity, they made committing crimes while pregnant into a crime. That'll stop those pregnant criminals!
Again, moral subjectivism, given weight of law. Absurd.
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