One of the many reasons it’s impossible to have an honest and mature discussion on the topic. No one cares to actually be accurate with terminology just because it’s “icky”
Now if only we could also get research funding on the topic that doesn’t have a billion strings attached to the researchers or the results being locked away forever because no one wants their name attached.
Or the best one peer review being basically impossible on the topic.
It’s a well documented sexual dysfunction with diagnosis codes and treatment methods (really mostly coping mechanisms and therapy) and everything.
Not all people who are pedophiles rape children or consume CSM. Some people have the presence of mind to seek out help. Those people are people we can have an adult discussion about and if you want to be specific with definitions with them, fine. Be my guest.
For the people who raped minors, or consumed CSM? Literally does not fucking matter what you call them. Any discussion on exactly the right word to use is a targeted distraction from the point. You’re either willfully and knowingly engaging in that distraction, or you’re ignorant of the harm some people are trying to cause by doing so.
He’s a pedophile. Everybody that went to Epstein’s Island is a pedophile, rapist, child molester, whatever, or in the very best case complicit in those crimes.
I see your point about distraction from the matter, and I agree there. At the same time I am very bothered by the media coverage saying pedophile 99% of the time. Because, as you have mentioned in your first two paragraphs, pedophilia is a disorder, and not every pedophile/ephebophile/hebephile is an offender or consumes CSM. They should be calling them child rapists, sex offenders who raped minors, whatever. At least in Epstein’s case you can reasonably assume he did, indeed, have a sexual disorder, I’m not sure if it is true for all his clients. But they all are child sex offenders, there is no doubt about that.
Language matters. The last decade was putting such an emphasis on this, but with this case a lot of people seem to agree that “language distracts”. Let it be vague, everyone knows what is meant. Don’t distract from the important matter by being specific about the words you use. Well, I disagree, and I disagree not because it is ephebophilia or hebephilia, I disagree because a) It’s not about the …philia, it is about the offenses committed, and thus b) there are more precise terms that should be used in this case, and these terms (child rapist, statutory rape, child sex trafficker, etc) sound much harsher anyway. Also c) you are working against the interest of non offending pedophiles here and dismantle any awareness there is about everything you had pointed out above. Language matters for them as well.
I’m lucky enough to have a very bland, healthy sexual orientation and preference, but I do have a kid, and God knows I want to protect her from harm.
For this, I need people who are attracted to minors to be open about it, and they won’t be if we run with torches after them for just their orientation, or if we keep calling every person who offended a minor a pedophile. They won’t be open or seek help, and the discourse right now is incredibly counterproductive.
I also need people to be more aware that about half of sex offenses concerning minors are committed by people who have no attraction dysfunction. If it were so easy as to just “remove all the pedophiles” to stop child sex offenses.
So, in my opinion, the response to “ackshually he’s not a pedophile” should be “you’re right, he sex trafficked and raped minors. Better now?”
Using the wrong terminology does attract unwanted attention to the wrong group though, because now a lot of people are saying “kill all pedophiles!” and that definition somehow also extends to the non-offending ones you mentioned. Those people don’t deserve all that fire for a paraphilic disorder they didn’t choose and are still actively in control over.
There really isn’t a way to protect the non-offenders from this outrage other than a collective effort to clarify our terminology. I’ve been using “rapist” instead: it’s short, gets the point across, and is accurate.
One of the many reasons it’s impossible to have an honest and mature discussion on the topic. No one cares to actually be accurate with terminology just because it’s “icky”
Now if only we could also get research funding on the topic that doesn’t have a billion strings attached to the researchers or the results being locked away forever because no one wants their name attached.
Or the best one peer review being basically impossible on the topic.
It’s such a huge problem.
This is not only wrong it’s extremely wrong.
It’s a well documented sexual dysfunction with diagnosis codes and treatment methods (really mostly coping mechanisms and therapy) and everything.
Not all people who are pedophiles rape children or consume CSM. Some people have the presence of mind to seek out help. Those people are people we can have an adult discussion about and if you want to be specific with definitions with them, fine. Be my guest.
For the people who raped minors, or consumed CSM? Literally does not fucking matter what you call them. Any discussion on exactly the right word to use is a targeted distraction from the point. You’re either willfully and knowingly engaging in that distraction, or you’re ignorant of the harm some people are trying to cause by doing so.
He’s a pedophile. Everybody that went to Epstein’s Island is a pedophile, rapist, child molester, whatever, or in the very best case complicit in those crimes.
I see your point about distraction from the matter, and I agree there. At the same time I am very bothered by the media coverage saying pedophile 99% of the time. Because, as you have mentioned in your first two paragraphs, pedophilia is a disorder, and not every pedophile/ephebophile/hebephile is an offender or consumes CSM. They should be calling them child rapists, sex offenders who raped minors, whatever. At least in Epstein’s case you can reasonably assume he did, indeed, have a sexual disorder, I’m not sure if it is true for all his clients. But they all are child sex offenders, there is no doubt about that.
Language matters. The last decade was putting such an emphasis on this, but with this case a lot of people seem to agree that “language distracts”. Let it be vague, everyone knows what is meant. Don’t distract from the important matter by being specific about the words you use. Well, I disagree, and I disagree not because it is ephebophilia or hebephilia, I disagree because a) It’s not about the …philia, it is about the offenses committed, and thus b) there are more precise terms that should be used in this case, and these terms (child rapist, statutory rape, child sex trafficker, etc) sound much harsher anyway. Also c) you are working against the interest of non offending pedophiles here and dismantle any awareness there is about everything you had pointed out above. Language matters for them as well.
I’m lucky enough to have a very bland, healthy sexual orientation and preference, but I do have a kid, and God knows I want to protect her from harm.
For this, I need people who are attracted to minors to be open about it, and they won’t be if we run with torches after them for just their orientation, or if we keep calling every person who offended a minor a pedophile. They won’t be open or seek help, and the discourse right now is incredibly counterproductive.
I also need people to be more aware that about half of sex offenses concerning minors are committed by people who have no attraction dysfunction. If it were so easy as to just “remove all the pedophiles” to stop child sex offenses.
So, in my opinion, the response to “ackshually he’s not a pedophile” should be “you’re right, he sex trafficked and raped minors. Better now?”
Using the wrong terminology does attract unwanted attention to the wrong group though, because now a lot of people are saying “kill all pedophiles!” and that definition somehow also extends to the non-offending ones you mentioned. Those people don’t deserve all that fire for a paraphilic disorder they didn’t choose and are still actively in control over.
There really isn’t a way to protect the non-offenders from this outrage other than a collective effort to clarify our terminology. I’ve been using “rapist” instead: it’s short, gets the point across, and is accurate.
Seek out help? In the US? Lol good one