Neither scenario makes me very comfortable, but there isn't anything inherently wrong about either.
Abuse always rears its ugly head when there is a disparity of power and knowledge between the participants, which there obviosuly would be in both those cases.
How and ever, a 40-year old man and/or woman could potentially be much more sensitive and caring lover than a 16 year old of either sex. Lord knows, my first sexual experiences (I was 16) must have been a bit of a trial for my poor girlfriend - I wasn't exactly Casanova. However, there was a wonderful charm in the innocence of mutual discovery (although my first lover wasn't a virgin, I was her 2nd we were the same age) which would obviously be lost with a big age gap. There's obviously a trade-off, and I think it'd be a bit unfortunate to lose that innocence, but consent is consent, and you can be conned/abused just as easily by someone your own age. And yes, I do have a kid.
* This post has been modified
: 19 years ago