Are All Men Pedophiles?

Embogenous · 2012-03-21T12:58:55+00:00

Seems kind of stupid. How do they define pedophile? The news lady is like "16? 14? 12?" Since they're not using the technical definition, I would hope that in the actual film they at least define the colloquial meaning they're using.

The answer to the film is an obvious, zero-thought "No", thanks to the existence of men who don't experience sexual attraction. But 16 year olds often have appearance traits exactly like those of older women. The girl in the picture, who I'm guessing is actually 16 or so (given the context), I would have guessed was in her 20s (the makeup and photoshopping don't help). If you take a 16 year old that looks 25 (uncommon, but not exactly impossible) who has the maturity and intelligence of the average 25 year old, then supposedly a 30 year old who finds her attractive would be a "pedophile". However, if she actually was 25, even if she looked and acted slightly younger, it would be considered perfectly normal and acceptable. The point I'm making is that the ability to find 16 year olds attractive doesn't make one a pedophile (or rather an ephebophile, but whatever), or if it does then it makes no sense to have a problem with it (if you actually pursue relationships then yes, but attraction is unconscous).

As an analogy, if you find a trans woman who passes perfectly and looks exactly like a gorgeous cis woman attractive, it doesn't make you gay.

The same is true for women, anyway.

zyk0s · 2012-03-21T12:50:47+00:00

The title is of course very antagonizing, and it was certainly chosen to stir up controversy, with little regard for how men feel. But the description seems to suggest something much less crazy:

For the first time a documentary examines the global impact of pedophilia from a cultural and professional perspective.

We live in a society that condemns pedophiles, though biological instinct and world cultures throughout history suggest that an attraction to adolescents is as natural as it is unavoidable. The fashion industry on the one hand sexualizes ever-younger girls while those who act on these instincts are reviled. The apparent hypocrisy at the heart of society forces the question:

What do we mean when we talk about Pedophilia? Are All Men Pedophiles?

The last question is a very important one. We throw the word pedophile around to mean anything and everything. A 18 year old with a 17 year old girlfriend is a pedophile in the US. It's complete nonsense! Pedophilia is the attraction to prepubescent individuals. A man who feels an attraction for a 16-year-old with developed breasts and who otherwise would be difficult to distinguish in a crowd of 18-year-olds is not a pedophile. It's not about age, it's about body appearance and stages of development.

So to the question of "are all men pedophiles" I have to say, yes, just like all men are rapists according to the new definitions of the terms that have been broadened to insensible levels for political reasons.

dermanus · 2012-03-21T16:17:43+00:00

I saw an interview with the film maker. His point is basically that the term 'paedophile' has expanded to include anybody 18 and under, when in medical terms it means somebody who is attracted to a sexually immature person.

He wants to create a distinction between somebody attracted to say, a mature 16 year-old versus a 10 year-old. While most people still shouldn't try and have sex with the 16 year-old due to power issues and such, the attraction itself is a normal biological response, while attraction to a 10 year-old would not be.

C0CKPUNCHER · 2012-03-21T12:22:27+00:00

A is not B. A man who finds a picture you show him attractive is not a pedophile by that alone. Are all women hysterical? That would be just as valid / in-valid a question by the logic of pedohysteria.

Godspiral · 2012-03-21T22:55:47+00:00

Are all women pedophiles?

One of the basis from the trailer is that fashion models are super young. Models are chosen entirely to target women, and what women will find hot.

ycombinator · 2012-03-21T12:15:40+00:00

This film looks absolutely terrible. If you read some of the background information ( contained in the Press Kit PDF ) it sounds like the creator is actually using this film to try and justify his own feelings on the subject and then project those feelings on to the rest of us men (hence the title).

But we all know from countless news stories that women are pedophiles as well (just look at all the stories about older female teachers having sex with underage male students). Even in the Press Kit PDF for the film they mention that they interview a female pedophile. So why the title, "Are All Men Pedophiles"? Is it a marketing tactic to stir up controversy and interest in the film? Is it simply prejudice?

While there appears to be a lot of pseudo-intellectual nonsense in this "documentary" we'll have to wait and watch the film in it's entirety before we can come to any worthwhile conclusions.

It would be great if someone could report back on this if they are able to attend a screening.

Question: Speaking of pseudo-intellectual nonsense, how long before this goes viral and is used by lefty feminists and right wing religious white knights as more propaganda against men?

gprime · 2012-03-22T05:15:35+00:00

I realize that the title's function is to raise controversy and build an audience, but the terminological inaccuracy is bothersome. That is, the answer must be categorically "no," because even if we excluded asexual individuals, it is readily apparent that the vast majority of people are not attracted to the pre-pubescent, which is the correct way to define pedophilia. Once puberty has began and secondary sexual characteristics have begun to develop, the attraction cannot properly be termed pedophilia. And the dichotomy is crucial because laws aside, pedophilia is a mental disorder, where hebephelia and ephebophilia are not. A significantly more accurate question, which admittedly would make for a shitty title, is "Are all non-asexual men ephebophiles?"

I think the premise has some merit, insofar as the video preview would seem to suggest that there will necessarily be some discussion of age of consent laws, and their change over time. And these are actually quite relevant in mra terms because if you look at the historic circumstance, technical structure, and application of statutory rape laws, it is primarily men harmed by them. That said, I get the impression that the filmmaker has a somewhat different and more insidious agenda, and that he may deliberately be using the informal definition of pedophilia to defend actual pedophilia instead of hebephilia and ephebophilia. But we shall see, as I definitely intend to watch this documentary whenever it is screened near me.

down_vote_that · 2012-03-21T16:21:10+00:00

This just about sums it up.

rapiertwit · 2012-03-21T18:57:19+00:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephebophilia

There is a word for attraction to post-pubescent adolescents, and we should start using it, to differentiate that urge from pedophilia.

Pedophiles are attracted to true children who are incapable of understanding or desiring sex. Ephebophiles are attracted to youthful, but sexually mature individuals who would have been "fair game" until less than a century ago. One is a tragic (for the pedophile, and for his or her victims if the urge is acted on) mental disorder, the other is a temporally inconvenient preference.

luciansolaris · 2012-03-21T11:48:56+00:00

[permanently deleted]

PissedOffNinjaBum · 2012-03-21T21:10:21+00:00

I don't find her attractive. I find her fake and insipid.

Title	Are All Men Pedophiles?
Author	ycombinator
Upvotes	13
Comments	43
Date	March 21, 2012 11:33 AM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/r6lv3/are_all_men_pedophiles/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/are-all-men-pedophiles.1025537 https://theredarchive.com/post/1025537

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