There is no "gotcha" here, there is no hidden agenda, it's an honest qustion and is really just a think piece kind of a post. I'm curious about perspectives on this.

Why is it considered so much worse for an adult male to have sex with an underage female than it is for an adult female to have sex with an underage male?

Is this because we assume that threat of or actual application of physical force and/or violence must have been involved and that we believe adult males are much more likely to use physical force to coerce underage people into sex?

Is there some sort of chivalrous consideration of female virtue at issue here? Is it some sort of hold out from more barbaric times? Do we really believe that young females don't want sex as much as young males do?

Is this because of the potential risk of pregnancy for a female, and the belief that underage females would be less prepared to prevent pregnancy than adult females?

Is this because socially we tend to consider women "ruined" or "sullied" if she has sex too early, or with too many people? While some of these attitudes are changing, the threshhold for body count being negatively perceived is much lower across the board for women than it is for men. Also, a female who is a virgin on her wedding day will almost be universally well thought of, while a male who is a virgin on his wedding day will be almost universally pitied, if not thught of as pathetic (by men and women alike).

Is this about the aspects of penetration and some sort of homophobia? If so, is it as bad for an adult male to have sex with an underage male? Is it worse for an adult female to use something like a strap-on or dildo to penetrate an underage male than it is for that adult female to have traditional sex with that underage male that does not involve the male being "penetrated"?

What other reasons could there be? Is it a combination of some or all of these reasons?

Honestly, I want to hear why else you all think this very clear bias exists.