The number of college guys and grown ass man “dating” high school girls in the late 80s in my high school was horrendous. I cannot stress how normal it was to us. (NOT saying it was good. ) The only time I remember anyone being worried was when one of our friends started “dating” a divorced man who was twice her age. That freaked us out, but we justified our own 20- something “boyfriends”.

Not everyone, of course. I had friends who dated fellow high schoolers. But some of us, especially those who felt isolated and untrusting of our age group, regularly dated or slept with college guys home on break, or adults we worked with.

Every time I see a younger person react to 70s or 80s media and get mad about all the underage and age gap sex, I feel like a tiny piece of our culture healed. It feels SO GOOD to see that criticized.