THE BLOG 10/05/2012 11:46 am ET Updated Feb 02, 2016
Homosexuality and Pedophila: The False Link
📷By Joe Kort, Ph.D.200
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It is so hard to believe that people are still trying to use the purported link between pedophilia and homosexuality. The old, tired argument that pedophilia is linked with homosexuality is wrong on many levels.
First, we need to clarify our definitions. When discussing sexual abuse and molestation of children, there’s often conflict over terminology. One frequently quoted researcher on the topic of homosexuality and child molestation, Gregory Herek, a research psychologist at the University of California, defines pedophilia as “a psychosexual disorder characterized by a preference for prepubescent children as sexual partners, which may or may not be acted upon.” He defines child sexual abuse as “actual sexual contact between an adult and someone who has not reached the legal age of consent.” Not all pedophiles actually molest children, he points out. A pedophile may be attracted to children but never actually engage in sexual contact with them. Quite often, pedophiles never develop a sexual orientation toward other adults.
Herek points out that child molestation and child sexual abuse refer to “actions,” without implying any “particular psychological makeup or motive on the part of the perpetrator.” In other words, not all incidents of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by pedophiles. Pedophilia can be viewed as a kind of sexual fetish, wherein the person requires the mental image of a child — not necessarily a flesh-and-blood child — to achieve sexual gratification.
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