The "age is just a number" folks who intentionally seek out teenagers.

@Jexie yes indeed, but you use geezer friendly terms lol.

@ThirstenHowl Fax no printer

@FableDNK I agree with that. Extreme caution. But if sexual orientation of any kind is not choice, but biology/psychology - what do we do with this? I am by no means an apologist for pedophiles.

Fable is correct. It is not a sexual orientation. It is a DISORDER of sexual PREFERENCE

Sexual preference includes three aspects: Sexual orientation (this is about gender preference and ranges from heterosexual to bisexual to homosexual) Sexual Directedness (about age preference) Sexual Inclination (preferences for specific traits or activities.)

So, a person with pedophilic interests might have a heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual orientation.. (based on the gender of the children), a directedness toward children, and any specific sexual inclinations.

Their sexual directedness is without a doubt harmful and needs be addressed, which is why it is considered a disorder. It is already an established fact in the scientific community that they need to manage it with professional help. It is not comparable to a sexual orientation which isn't harmful. And conflating homosexuality with pedophilia can turn to a discourse of normalization as well as of demonizing a harmless aspect of sexual preference.

We cannot deduce whether or not something is good or bad from whether or not it is biological..even murder is biological. We have their effects to observe and judge with. Their effects are destructive.

We also cannot just lump them up and get rid of them, because like you pointed out, they lack a level of control, and they do not always act on those thoughts, when properly treated. However, actions need be taken to minimize the risks of offending and that's where we all have control.

I would like to wrap this up because I do not want my thread to be a trigger for people who are victims, looking at this and then taking ot as justifications, or those who have the mental disorder looking at it as discouragement from seeking treatement and adding to the stigma.

Statistically most offenders do not have the disorder..and statistically most of them get away with their crimes which means that our energy is better spent on fixing that than arguing about those who haven't offended yet.

@PepsiColaP The definition of maturity is tailored to suit the ends of whomever is using it.

@NerdyPotato Yes, except that scientifically neither genders have optimal frontal cortex development regardless of who is ahead at the game.

@SW-User Your way of seeing this is interesting. You project the goodness of your own heart unto these freaks ever having one.

@Miram everyone is born with a heart but sometimes things go wrong 😔

@BRUUH Don't hope for a change. She already made her choice.

@Miram I feel both resentment towards her, but also longing for her, and compassion for all her hardships.

@Longpatrol They don't like that word here. Remember I was once threatened with legal action from a popular SWer by his dying dad/alt because he thought I used it to describe him, when all I did was lay down the evidence and the community derived the label 😇