Pedophilia Now Classified As A SéXual Orientation

People
can
classify
themselves
as
heterosexual,
homosexual,
asexual,
metrosexual.
There are endless s*xual orientations under
the sun, and now, pedophilia can be added to
the list.
In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V),
the American Psychological Association (APA)
drew a very distinct line between pedophilia
and pedophilic disorder.
Pedophilia refers to a s*xual orientation or
profession of s*xual preference devoid of
consummation, whereas pedophilic disorder is
defined as a compulsion and is used in reference
to individuals who act on their se*uality.
APA’s decision has given rise to numerous
pedophilia-advocacy groups, the chief of them
being B4U-ACT, a non-profit grassroots
organization based in Maryland.
Created in 2003 primarily as a means for
“minor-attracted persons” to be open about
their s*xual preferences in a supportive
atmosphere, B4U-ACT is now widening the
scope of their organization.
According to spokesperson and registered s*x
offender Paul Christiano, the pedophilia-
advocacy group is “working towards de-
stigmatizing the mental health community.”
Christiano explained that negative societal
attitudes towards minor-attracted persons
“trickle down to policy-making and the mental
health community.”
“Policy-making” is used chiefly in reference to
the s*x-offender registry. Christiano is not
alone in advocating change within the system.
Caitlin Myers, a doctorate student in Sociology
here at the University of Southern California,
says the registry needs to be “more senstitive to
the nature of crime.”
Myers explained that the chief problem within
the s*x-offender registry itself is the “one size
fits all” viewpoint it bears towards s*xual
offenses.
“There could be a man who committed 20
consecutive r*pes and a 19-year-old boy who
had s*x with his 17-year-old girlfriend and they
would be punished in the same manner.”
Change to the system is understandable, yet
B4U-ACT’s grounds for such change remains
murky.
When questioned about the most responsible
way in which a pedophile could manage his
s*xual preferences, Christiano answered that
while B4U-ACT encouraged minor-attracted
persons within the organization to openly
acknowledge their feelings and desires, such
s*xual preferences must remain purely a mental
exercise and therefore entirely unconsummated.
In other words, pedophiles must be allowed to
fantasize about minors, as long as such acts are
never consummated. “B4U-ACT does not
condone illegal activity,” Christiano insisted.
Yet how can we be assured that such behavior
remains entirely in the mind and not carried out
in the bedroom? Answer: we can’t. Myers
confirmed that it is “scientifically impossible to
settle the question of whether or not a minor-
attracted person will act on their compulsion.”
In an essay written for his senior thesis as a
graduate student, Christiano argued for the
“s*xual autonomy” of children, citing that
children “should not be left in the dark about
their own se*uality.” With more education
about their se*uality, reasoned Christiano,
comes more knowledge of boundaries and what
they do or don’t want.
However, there is an underlying suggestion that
with s*xual knowledge comes s*xual consent. If
children were permitted to be more sexually
autonomous, would they then be able to fully
consent to a s*xual relationship or more
importantly, a s*xual relationship with an
adult?
While Myers agrees that open discussion and
acknowledgement of se*uality is something our
current society is lacking, she emphasizes that
children cannot give consent. “In theory,” Myers
says, “pedophilia as a practiced s*xual
orientation walks a thin line. There is no
possibility of pedophilia becoming an accepted
s*xual orientation in current culture.”
According to Christiano, people must be allowed
to celebrate s*x and se*uality, “one of the few
freely-given pleasures in life.” The community
of minor-attracted persons is, as a whole,
“denied their complexities.”