while this framework is helpful it is also limiting in one major respect: this type of analysis assumer that the act in question is deviant. Many of the young women I interviewed felt that dating an older boyfriend was not deviant. For this reason, I have divided my analysis into three major sections. In the first section, I examine the justifications used by the young women who do not view having older boyfriends as deviant. in the second section, I analyze the responses of the young women who do view this behavior as deviant. Here, I look at why they define younger girlfriend/older boyfriend relationships as deviant . In the third section, I examine the excuses given. by the young women to account for their involvement in behavior they define as deviant. Finally , I offer explanations as to why the young women may have different ideas about whether the act is deviant and discuss the implications of my findings for the accounts literature and for statutory rape laws.