The best science indicates that pedophilia is probably best seen as an orientation and not a paraphilia. It acts more like an orientation than a paraphilia in some ways. True pedophiles can’t help it. And they can’t be cured. I have worked with a couple of pedophile clients, and I liked both of them a lot. Neither was offending with children. One worried so badly that he might hurt a child that he was suicidal. I thought he was a good person to care about others so much that he felt that way.
As long as they are not offending, I am ok with them. There are groups called Virtuous Pedophiles set up now of pedophiles who have pledged not to offend. This should be encouraged. The more we hate and threaten them, the more likely they are to offend.
Or we could just put them all on an island where everyone is over 18.
In a long-term study, 50% of released pedophiles were able to go 25 years without offending, so large numbers of them can keep from offending for a long time.
Adult pedophiles need to get with a kind therapist who can work closely with them to keep them from offending. Frequency of sessions could vary.
Anyway, 80% of child molesters aren’t even pedophiles at all. They’re just criminals. They’re not attracted to kids at all or no more so than any other man. They’re attracted to mature females for the most part.
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Hmm. Paedophilia acts like an orientation AND a paraphilia. Many paraphilias are similarly not chosen. Take Autogynephilia, for example, ‘a man’s propensity to be aroused by the thought or image of himself as a woman’ which is Jenner’s condition. That is something that men struggle with and certainly don’t choose — although their sexual behaviour can drastically exacerbate the problem. Like paedophiilia, it behaves in many ways like an orientation, but also as a paraphilia. The distinction seems one of vernacular language, and the distinction is obscure.
For example ‘In DSM-5 the term paraphilia is defined as “any intense and persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in genital stimulation or preparatory fondling with phenotypically normal, physiologically mature, consenting human partners.” Since the removal of homosexuality as a disorder in 1973, the DSM has had very little to say about ‘orientations’. (Actually I think it’s nothing but I ain’t about to read the whole thing right now.)
I’m presuming you are talking about actual paedophilia, the attraction to pre-pubescent children, and not ‘hebophilia’ and ‘ephebephlia’ which are, essentially, perfectly normal but socially condemned attractions to young, sexually active people. The purpose of humans is reproduction and the primary purpose of sex is conception, so men not being attracted to young fertile women would be, at best, counter-intuitive.
Thanks Rod. Of course I am not including hebephilia and ephebephilia, though having spent some time on a hebephile forum, I do find them rather odd. I mean someone would post a 16 year old girl and the whole room would light up with “Ew! Gross! No grandmas!” That sound normal to you?
Love this goddamn article!