I'm going to take all parts of this question quite literally, word for word. The answers are no and no, but not for any dire anti-sex reasons. Boys to a certain age are in the custody of their parents or guardians. They also don't have an intrinsic right to explore heavy automobile traffic crossing, for example, with their peers. At a certain point, though, their parents (to simplify the wording) may grant them this privilege. It may be that a parent spots little Kyle, 8, humping the rear end of little Jeremy, 6. The parent currently has the right to evaluate that situation and decide if it's a good thing for both boys. The parent may have all sorts of belief systems, ranging from religious beliefs to the post-Victorian atheist belief in mandatory childhood innocence. It doesn't matter. If the parent tells Kyle to desist from humping, Kyle cannot take him or her to court, or even to the United Nations. No intrinsic right to do this has been granted - and yes, I do say 'granted.' My concept of human rights does not hypostatize them to vaguely conceived preformations of the universe. They are measures that we, as cooperating human beings, accord to each other. We can always debate the extent to which boys can be accorded the rights you mention. The status quo is that this endowment of an inalienable right to sexual exploration has not been made anywhere on our planet, ever. |