Could you please clarify what the law of Statutory Rape is in the State of Texas. I am an 18 year old male. Is it that any female under 18 is off-limits, or is it that any female under 18 within 3 years is allowed, or is it something else? Please help me as I am distraught and unable to make a decision of whether to have sex with this girl or not.

Thanks for your note to FEMINIST.COM and for taking the time to clarify before you made any mistakes. I'm assuming that Texas has Statutory Rape laws-and if so, this means that it is illegal (i.e. rape) for anyone over the age of 18 to have sex with anyone under the age of 18. Some states such as Massachusetts make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to have sex. So I think you are legally safe. It sounds like you are taking this situation seriously--but I want to emphasize that you should make sure that you want to have sex and that she really wants to have sex. Some times we think we do, but we really only want the attention. Good luck.
—Amy