Wasty: Phew, you've kind of launched a hot potato in my lap here. Maybe I should just pull the cryptoland route and say 'Mental maturity should be more than enough ;)'. Pft...But let's get serious for this, and try to keep the jokes to a minimum.
Zootopian age of consent is slightly more complicated than that of our own, in that there is a difference between the maximum lifespan of certain mammals. To keep things simplified, the real difference is in Megafauna and Microfauna, as Megafauna are seen as taking longer to get to physical adulthood, and most rodents take a shorter time. This can make interspecies relationships involving either a bit more legally complicated. Using Moira and Giselle as examples, Moira would have been considered an adult mouse at the age of fifteen rather than eighteen, and Giselle would have been seen as a legal adult at the age of twenty.
To add a layer of further confusion, there is a legal sliding scale of consent for interactions between certain age brackets. This is to prevent an eighteen-year-old from necessarily being jailed for a relationship with a fifteen-year-old. Generally, there are two legal brackets for that. The twelve to sixteen bracket, and the sixteen to twenty bracket, each given a little leeway for those on the cusp. The partitioning is designed to deter a relationship between a twenty-year-old and someone fourteen or younger, as it could be argued such a relationship naturally entails grooming while creating a cut off between the upper end and lower end of the teen years to separate those who have little to no understanding of their sexual development, and those who understand enough to begin experimenting with those in their peer group. Naturally, this can cause some legal issues if a mammal is say seventeen and their significant other is fourteen, but such relationships are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Generally, microfauna and megafauna have been awkwardly shoehorned into this system with special exemptions. With the first bracket of maturity of mice being lowered to ten to fourteen, and fourteen to eighteen respectively. Whereas with Megafauna the brackets are fourteen to eighteen, and eighteen to twenty-two. And much like with special circumstances, any interspecies relationship between a Mega/Microfauna and an average lifespan mammal must be reviewed on a case by case basis. Granted, all this only comes into play if the parents of either party feels the need to contest something.
In terms of ages to run for political office, the age is twenty-four for average species and mega-fauna and twenty for Microfauna.
Rodents can legally drive at fourteen, whereas average and megafauna mammals can get permits at sixteen and full licenses at eighteen.
Voting has a blanket age of eighteen, regardless of species, although the residents of Districts like Rodentia have been trying to get the age lowered to sixteen in their district.
Drinking and Smoking are probably one of the more complicated ones, as it adheres to the age range used for consent. So, smoking for rodents is at sixteen, and drinking at eighteen. Average life span mammals can smoke at eighteen and drink at twenty, and Megafauna can smoke at twenty, but have to wait till the age of twenty-five to legally drink. (This is because there is a severe degree of concern about the risks of a megafauna mammal getting drunk and hurting others.
Lastly, Marriage adheres to legal adulthood across each species class. So fifteen for rodents, eighteen for mammals like Dawn and Vern, and twenty onward for Giselle.
Of course, all that is just for Zootopia. In other parts of Animalia I can imagine those stats are even more confusing and all over the place. And to stop you ahead of time, if you ask me about that, don't expect an answer! Thanks for the Ask!
-Wasty
No comments:
Post a Comment