Re: Honesty in establishing common ground
Submitted by GraceComesFirst on November 30 2000 02:23:42
In reply to Honesty in establishing common ground submitted by Heather on November 29 2000 15:59:44
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I'm not going to say much more about my personal beliefs, because I think I have made that clear. I hope I have not offended, or been too blunt about it. But I have one gripe: I don't like to hear the word "pedophilia" used to describe my feelings. I find that word insulting, because of all the negative connotations that it has. Can't we just please use boylove, teenboylove, or gay, (or anything other than pedophile) depending on the age we're talking about? The APA defines pedophilia as being an UNHEALTHY, lustful attraction for prepubescent children. It is defined as a mental illness. I don't think that either boylove, or teenboylove (ephebophilia), or homosexuality are mental illnesses. I explained my sexual feelings to my therapist, and asked him what he thought, and his response was that I am "normal". He didn't think my feelings constituted pedophilia at all (this therapist is a heterosexual man). I know dozens of gay guys in their 20s who are dating underage teenagers all the time, but I don't usually hear that characterized as pedophilia. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude; but it bugs me when the word pedophilia is used so loosely to describe things that I don't consider to be wrong, when most people in the world have very negative connotations with that word. But to be honest, my personal opinions about sexual morality are probably much more liberal than many of the people who post here, because although I am conservative theologically, I am totally NOT a fundamentalist. Is this board for boylovers, or outsiders? Is it more important that boylovers can be honest here, or that they should try to act "nice" so as not to offend the straights? But I will shut up now. |
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