Recently, there has been speculations that 17-year old Kylie Jenner and 25-year old rapper Tyga are dating.
Although, the two haven’t confirmed anything, the media has caught them several times out and about.
Everyone has an opinion on it.
A few weeks ago during a radio interview on The Breakfast Club, celebrity and model Amber Rose, was asked what she thought about the two dating.
“She’s a baby, she needs to go to bed, its seven o’clock relax,” Rose, 31, said.
She continued by saying the pairing was ridiculous and that the rap artist should be ashamed of himself.
Why should he be ashamed of himself?
Is an age gap really a big deal?
It certainly isn’t a big deal to rapper Jay-Z and singer Beyonce, who have a 12-year age gap. You also can’t forget iconic couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who are 11 years apart.
There are many people who date that have an age gap, so why is it such a big deal in this case?
Some may argue that it’s because of her being a minor. In California, the law regarding minors deals in statutory rape. Couples need to be having sex for the law to get involved.
Wilmer Valdeerrama and Lindsey Lohan are another couple.
Lindsey was 17-years old, while Wilmer was 24-years old. That’s about the same age gap as Kylie and Tyga.
Mark Twain once said: “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
I feel that people should be able to date whoever they want. If a person is a minor, then they should just get approval from the parents – which likely won’t happen if a 15-year old is trying to date a 30-year old.
I asked my argumentation and debate class how they felt about this situation. A majority of them said they have no problem with age gap as long as dating a minor wasn’t permitted.
Seventeen years is not far from 18. And if the parents are aware, what’s the big deal?
The issue becomes irrelevant after both parties turn 18, which is the age of consent. We often don’t look strange at couples who are five, 10 or 15 years apart in age.
People should read between the lines that age is just a number.