See, I fundamentally disagree with the idea that sexual abuse is not a sexual thing. Of all the ways that a person chooses to abuse a child: You could call them worthless, you could slap them, you could lock them in closets. And a LOT of people do some combination of those things without ever molesting a child. And a lot of pedophiles are violating the children sexually without doing any of the previously-mentioned things. These priests are choosing to violate the children in sexual ways, through sexual acts. I do agree that there is a power thing going, but there are other power acts that people become sexually aroused about that we have no problems labeling as a sexual attraction thing. And there are certainly people out there who are just attracted to children, full stop, but the fact is that a pretty large % of pedophiles are only interested in assaulting a specific gender. If you are attracted to girls under the age of 14 and gain sexual satisfaction by molesting them, and don’t really find yourself getting sexually aroused by the thought of young boys, then you have a sexual attraction towards young girls, and that’s really that. And if we can say it for girls in a hetero way, we can say it for boys in a homo way.
And believe me, I get that it’s dangerous (and in most cases, wrong) to talk about sexual orientation as it relates to pedophilia. I do not want anyone to think that I’m saying that in all cases Gay Person + Celibacy imposed in early Teen Years = Pedophile any more than I would suggest that gay people are just naturally prone to be more pedophilic. The human brain is a very complex thing and we’re not simple lines of long division that can be expected to react in specific ways to specific stimuli.
But we have to stop trying to carve out some discrete definition of pedophilia that is sexual abuse that is somehow not sexual for the person perpetrating it, because if we want to stop it we have to at least have a fighting chance of understanding it.
Mighty Ponygirl, it is sexual, but it is not about sexual orientation. As ceolstan mentions:
There is certainly a possibility that SOME gay males in Catholic environment end up pedophilic priests. But I feel safe saying that the majority of evidence backs up my assertion that the there is little correlation between the gender of the child a pedophile prefers and the sexual orientation of the pedophile.
To state this as clearly as I can, pedophilia is a sexual/mental disorder that is unrelated to the sexual orientation (gay/straight/bi) of the person.
Even if it’s ingrained, it’s a disorder. It’s a dangerous impulse that has bad consequences if acted upon. We’d still try to treat people who molested minors no matter what the reasons were identified to be.
sinfony – unless you’re arguing that 100% of Catholic priests are pedophiles, or that a person can’t struggle independently with deviant desires for years before deciding that the solution to the problem is to join an order that requires strict celibacy, I’m not entirely sure how your point negates mine.
I’m going to refrain from being overly rude just in case it’s undeserved, but suffice to say homosexuality is no longer considered a disorder not because it’s ingrained, but because there is nothing psychologically wrong with being homosexual and it is now an accepted mode of sexual orientation.
In my non-religious and non-theistic world, his essay on the importance of distinction makes perfect sense. If you disagree with it, fine, say why, but playing the atheism card and dismissing all religion is intellectually cheap. It’s attitudes like yours that give atheists a reputation for being sanctimonious jerks.
So how does somebody become homosexual or heterosexual? From what I understand, it’s not a conscious choice, ie, you’re born with your sexual orientation. Obviously I’m not defending pedophiles, there’s a clear difference when it comes to consenting adults and an adult taking advantage of a child. I just wonder what the societal response would be, if, say, it turns out that pedos can’t help themselves.
Well, many things that were previously considered sins and had all kinds of persecution associated with them became much more acceptable (although acceptable isn’t the right word… maybe tolerated) once they became “illnesses” or some other thing that wasn’t controllable.
For instance, it used to be if you were an alcoholic or drug addict, you were just considered a stupid drunk. You were morally reprehensible. Now, many people suggest that those addicts are unable to help themselves, and should be pitied rather than blamed. Similarly, gays were once considered to be morally bankrupt sinners, but now are considered to be just doing what their genes (or whatever, I don’t think anyone’s found any genetic link to homosexuality) tell them to do, and thus cannot be blamed or changed.
If something like pedophilia became recognized as some kind of illness, then it would no longer be considered a crime. They would be given treatment rather than punishment.
It’s a good idea to research the current treatment options for pedophilia. While it was once considered to be easy to treat, research shows that the majority of pedophiles continue to molest children. The only promising treatment has been the suppression of androgen, which of course results in a suppression of male sex drive. That’s not to say that other treatments won’t be discovered in the future, but currently, it’s the best we have. This is not to say that it should not be ordered, but given the choice between court-mandated chemical castration and prison, which would people choose?
I disagree that paedophilia - at least the act - would no longer be considered a crime. Minors don’t give informed consent. But the punishment may be different?
I’m saying that whether it is ingrained or not (I believe that it’s highly likely that people’s sexual orientation is set at birth or cemented well before puberty) is irrelevant, the fact that enlightened minds have realized “Holy crap, it’s not a disorder!” is why it’s not a disorder. Homosexuality is not a mental disease, there’s nothing to fix, and what makes one one is irrelevant at that point.
ceolstan – actually the information I’ve read is that castration (chemical or physical) is not effective in preventing recidivism. My understanding is that people misunderstand the role that hormones play in sexual arousal, thinking that they are absolutely required, when they are not.
