Are Pedophiles Born or Made?

[earllogjam]

Is pedophilia a choice? A sexuality that cannot be controlled but only suppressed?

Or is pedophilia a choice? Much like many people view homosexuality.

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

Ugh, horrible OP Earl. I predict horrors.


Needless to say I don't have any advanced qualifications in the field of psychiatry so I'm not an expert but from what I've read there seems to be no firm indication as to whether peadophilia is the result of inherent traits or conditioned behaviours a person is exposed to in childhood.

I believe the balance tips towards it being something which is provoked by experiences of abuse of one kind or another but that there may be inherent factors at play also.

I also think that the more it's studied the less psychiatrists believe that peadophilia is actually a sexuality in the same way as heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality are. I mean there's always been a reason it's called a "philia" as opposed to a sexuality and that seems to be born out by the science.

 

[HungThickProf]

I believe it's like sexuality in general. No one can say whether or not something is nurture or nature. What we don't generally understand is that those paths are not mutually exclusive. Something such as sexual preferences and even mannerisms can be passed down genetically, and we never really see that. My dad was out of my life from age 2 until he was dying, so I was about 14. My mother has told me that I have his penmanship, I have his voice, and I always speak with my hands, just like him.

Can it be suppressed? Yes, but it takes a lot of counseling, and it has to be shown to the patient why it's wrong. It needs to be understood that you're causing destruction in an innocent child's life. But to tell the truth, that person will probably always have those wants and desires in the back of their minds.

Is it a choice? Absolutely not, and that's unfortunate.

 

[704606]

Homosexuality is hardly a choice. The scientific consensus ( at least what the evidence seems to point to) is that homosexuality is caused by genetics and/or cultural and social factors.

Pedophilia , as in actraction to children I think ( not sure) that it's caused by the same things, genetics /social and cultural environment.

Whatever it may be the cause, it's definitely not a choice and I don't believe in free will but that's another issue far more complex.

 

[earllogjam]

Ugh, horrible OP Earl. I predict horrors.

It is a deliciously taboo subject. :firedevil:

I'm curious in the people who feel it isn't a choice how they rationalize homosexuality is natural since it is innate and that pedophilia is aberrant and abnormal.

I think I should qualify this by saying I don't condone child molesters and adults that sexually abuse minors.

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

It is a deliciously taboo subject. :firedevil:

I'm curious in the people who feel it isn't a choice how they rationalize homosexuality is natural since it is innate and that pedophilia is aberrant and abnormal.

I think I should qualify this by saying I don't condone child molesters and adults that sexually abuse minors.

Well as I say the current balance of opinion seems to be that paedophilia is normally the result on abusive conditioning of one kind or another with a smaller element of inherent factors. Paedophilia is also regarded as being disordered because it involves desire to commit acts of sexual violence, rape.

Sexuality seems to be less to do with conditioning and more to do with inherent factors, and is not disordered because it isn't about a desire to commit rape.

Conditioning can be reversed once it's been identified.

Inherent characteristics can't.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Doesn't matter. It harms a class of people who are incapable of defending themselves. Therefore it should not be allowed.

The question is irrelevant. If it could be answered, would it make it possible to prevent the problem? Probably not.

 

[tgirlsrgreat]

Doesn't matter. It harms a class of people who are incapable of defending themselves. Therefore it should not be allowed.

The question is irrelevant. If it could be answered, would it make it possible to prevent the problem? Probably not.

quick, somebody let mot know that not all of hickboy's posts are "fuck off"!!!


and i totally agree with him on this!!:biglaugh:

 

[Endued]

I think, like all facets of sexual desires, that there is most likely at least an element of both nature and nurture in paedophilia. But whereas things like homosexuality has very little to do with nurtue, I don't think nature has much to do with paedophilia.

Oh, and I'm kind a just splitting hairs here, but 'paedophilia' is just the attraction, not the undertaking of abuse and whatnot.

 

[B_Hickboy]

quick, somebody let mot know that not all of hickboy's posts are "fuck off"!!!


and i totally agree with him on this!!:biglaugh:

fuck off

 

[tgirlsrgreat]

:lmao:

fuck off

knew it was coming!!okey:

 

[earllogjam]

Well as I say the current balance of opinion seems to be that paedophilia is normally the result on abusive conditioning of one kind or another with a smaller element of inherent factors. Paedophilia is also regarded as being disordered because it involves desire to commit acts of sexual violence, rape.

Sexuality seems to be less to do with conditioning and more to do with inherent factors, and is not disordered because it isn't about a desire to commit rape.

Conditioning can be reversed once it's been identified.

Inherent characteristics can't.

Doesn't matter. It harms a class of people who are incapable of defending themselves. Therefore it should not be allowed.

The question is irrelevant. If it could be answered, would it make it possible to prevent the problem? Probably not.

Are all acts of pedophila violent and considered rape?

I once thought this was the case but I had a friend who passed away, a rather elderly man in his 80's and he confided to me that he, in fact, regularly did have sex with an older groundskeeper at his house when he was an early teenager maybe 13 or 14. He said he was the one who sought it out and it was enjoyable for him. I thought it was very odd that he didn't feel violated or mentally scarred from his experience.

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

Are all acts of pedophila violent and considered rape?

I once thought this was the case but I had a friend who passed away, a rather elderly man in his 80's and he confided to me that he, in fact, regularly did have sex with an older groundskeeper at his house when he was an early teenager maybe 13 or 14. He said he was the one who sought it out and it was enjoyable for him. I thought it was very odd that he didn't feel violated or mentally scarred from his experience.

Well there's a difference between Paedophilia and Ephebophilia or Pederasty, the law doesn't recognise it, but psychiatry does.

Personally I see a difference between a teenager (who is presumably physically, if not mentally, no longer a prebuscent child) seeking out sex with an adult and an adult who is sexually attracted to prepubescent children.

Mind you in my own opinion anyone below the age of consent is incapable of consenting to sex and therefore sex with them is a form of rape.

 

[helgaleena]

Are all acts of pedophila violent and considered rape?

I once thought this was the case but I had a friend who passed away, a rather elderly man in his 80's and he confided to me that he, in fact, regularly did have sex with an older groundskeeper at his house when he was an early teenager maybe 13 or 14. He said he was the one who sought it out and it was enjoyable for him. I thought it was very odd that he didn't feel violated or mentally scarred from his experience.

It's not a violation if you don't want it to be in retrospect, in the case of any sort of trauma. But It Was Still Illegal.

And if it happens today, it remains illegal and the young person can rationalize all they like without changing that fact. Things which happened to me as a child which I cannot clearly recall but which I have been told about, as well as things which I do recall and thought were odd at the time, still have their effect upon me as an almost-old lady.

However I do not perpetuate the cycle if I can help it. I do not abuse children or teens, and neither am I a bully, at least deliberately not.

You do not say if this ancient acquaintance of yours was also a pedophile or whether he was simply recounting that he had known one long ago.

 

[Incocknito]

Quite obviously it would appear that paedophilia is for most, if not all perpetrators a choice ie that they are 'made' to do it seemingly by choice.

My evidence for this is that many paedophiles have families; wives or girlfriends (or husbands/boyfriends) or otherwise engage in accepted hetero or homo behaviours.

So at least the majority of paedophiles are capable of and engage in legal sexual activities. If someone were '100%' paedophilic you would not expect them to have wives or husbands etc.

IdiotBoy: No one is trying to 'solve' the problem of paedophilia. This is just a discussion on whether they are born or made.

 

[helgaleena]

Quite obviously it would appear that paedophilia is for most, if not all perpetrators a choice ie that they are 'made' to do it seemingly by choice.

My evidence for this is that many paedophiles have families; wives or girlfriends (or husbands/boyfriends) or otherwise engage in accepted hetero or homo behaviours.

So at least the majority of paedophiles are capable of and engage in legal sexual activities. If someone were '100%' paedophilic you would not expect them to have wives or husbands etc.

IdiotBoy: No one is trying to 'solve' the problem of paedophilia. This is just a discussion on whether they are born or made.

My vote is for 'made'. The definition is a product of culture and so is the behavior.

 

[earllogjam]

You do not say if this ancient acquaintance of yours was also a pedophile or whether he was simply recounting that he had known one long ago.

I don't believe he was a pedophile as his sexual tastes were for adult men and he never had kids around nor had any interest in anything to do with kids that I am aware.

I do think though that his early sexual experiences caused him to be overly sexualized as an adult man. But it's hard to determine where a man's overactive libido stems from.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Quite obviously it would appear that paedophilia is for most, if not all perpetrators a choice ie that they are 'made' to do it seemingly by choice.

My evidence for this is that many paedophiles have families; wives or girlfriends (or husbands/boyfriends) or otherwise engage in accepted hetero or homo behaviours.

So at least the majority of paedophiles are capable of and engage in legal sexual activities. If someone were '100%' paedophilic you would not expect them to have wives or husbands etc.

IdiotBoy: No one is trying to 'solve' the problem of paedophilia. This is just a discussion on whether they are born or made.

Ignorito: Why don't you go outside and play a nice game of hide-and-go-fuck-yourself? The question is irrelevant, from an epistemological standpoint. If it could be answered, it would yield no knowledge of value. Same as your unsolicited reply to my post, gobshite.

You really need to eat a bolus of pig shit and die, you miserable cunt, and please do it before you live long enough to breed.

Failing that, you could just put me on ignore.

 

[King_ding_a_ling]

Ignorito: Why don't you go outside and play a nice game of hide-and-go-fuck-yourself? The question is irrelevant, from an epistemological standpoint. If it could be answered, it would yield no knowledge of value. Same as your unsolicited reply to my post, gobshite.

You really need to eat a bolus of pig shit and die, you miserable cunt, and please do it before you live long enough to breed.

Failing that, you could just put me on ignore.

Actually I feel that answering this question could yield knowledge of immense value. If we were to find that Pedophilia was an inherited trait rather than a learned trait we could try to produce a "cure".

If we learn that it is a learned rather than inherent trait then we can identify and help individuals faster. We could also "reverse engineer" how to keep someone from becoming a pedophile.


But, what do I know.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Actually I feel that answering this question could yield knowledge of immense value. If we were to find that Pedophilia was an inherited trait rather than a learned trait we could try to produce a "cure".

If we learn that it is a learned rather than inherent trait then we can identify and help individuals faster. We could also "reverse engineer" how to keep someone from becoming a pedophile.


But, what do I know.

How would you go about doing that?