Fair point, if someone did ever find themself attracted to children, they'd probably become too scared to seek help for fear of being lynched and end up letting it lie until the point at which they act upon it. No other crime carries the same suspicion of guilt as paedophilia.
They can trust people who offer professional help - just what they need. That's why psychiatrists have to keep anything their patient says a secret.
Which begs the question...why do these people engage in inappropriate relationships with minors, rather than someone their own age (both chronologically and developmentally)? It's not all about the sex; it has more to do with power control. But since I'm not the professional, I'll leave it up to someone with more knowledge on the subject to explain further. I think the media attraction to celebrities (and I use that term very loosely) such as Paris Hilton has less to do with sex appeal and more to do with our voyeuristic human nature. We love to watch people like Paris and Britney and whatshername because they whore themselves out and we can make fun of them and it makes us feel better about ourselves. The truth is, we love them too much for them to go away. -monkey
That may have been true a few decades ago when curvy women were still viewed as the sexiest, but because of supermodels, the "ideal woman" changed. For many, many people, Paris Hilton is a sex symbol, and she's not famous just because of her money and the fact she did a reality TV show or two, if people didn't find her attractive, she wouldn't have been in the lime light so much. If you were attracted to a certain type of woman, you'd want to have sex with that type of woman, and wouldn't really enjoy or want sex with anyone else. Say, you find obese people revolting, and you want to have sex with a skinny woman, but the law permits that you can't have sex with anyone but overweight people, it's the same thing for some paedophiles. You can't really explain away something as complicated as this with a blanket statement like that, there are some that are genuinely attracted only to children, maybe they're trying to relieve their childhood for some reason, perhaps their mentality didn't mature (but their sexuality did, since they'll have all the hormones). Of course there are those that are real evil people and rape toddlers because they get a kick out of the power, but each case is different, unfortunately the media doesn't show it this way. I'm not trying to defend all paedophiles here, just trying to stop the mob mentality that all paedophiles are toddler raping *******s that the media has caused. Not all paedophiles are evil pieces of work that should be dragged along the street while the whole town beats them with baseball bats, there are some that genuinely care and love a child (in a non parental way) and couldn't face being with anyone else.
It goes deeper than just physical attraction. This is why they need to be encouraged to face the horror so to speak and seek help without fear of being the subject of hate crime. Thoughts go out to the victims of these horrific acts but we need to look at the bigger picture and help to prevent the acts in the first place. You can't gain someones confidence by putting a barrier of hate and fear in front of them.
I'm sure there are some people out there who find Paris Hilton attractive, but that certainly is not the reason she's famous. Nobody knew who she was until she turned 18 and the wild child was set loose on the world. Her exploits, and her ties to the Hilton family, got her name in the news. She's famous for being famous; her looks had little to do with it. Supermodels didn't change how we view the ideal woman. I think the "ideal woman" is an idea that is largely imprinted in our primitive mind. As the human species, we really aren't much different than any other animal. As such, we seek out to breed with the healthiest mate we can find. -monkey
Well from the seems of it, many people have turned against that, otherwise why would all these celebrities try and be as thin as possible, I can tell you in the majority of cases it has nothing to do with attempting to find Nirvana.
I don't really know why celebrities try to be as thin as possible. My guess would be for reasons similar to non celebrities: poor self image. They think (incorrectly) that they have to be thin to be successful (or popular, etc.). History has shown that these rail-thin celebutantes are a flash in the pan. They lack any real staying power because they think the sex appeal will carry them forever, and they have nothing else to add. If we take Hollywood as an example, and we look at the people who have had real success, you'll find the vast majority aren't ultra-skinny supermodels. They're relatively healthy, and they have either acting talent or business savvy to ensure their successes. -monkey
Didn't notice this before, but this guy lives where I do. Or used to, when i was living in Germany we used to come over here (where I live now) to visit my grandma, who lived in the same street he did. How freaking awesome is that?
It's about safe relationships. People who engage in sexual relationships with children are psychologically immature and feel rather intimidated by other adults, so intimacy with another adult is a rather frightening notion. Children are safer. They have little power and autonomy, they are dependent and relatively uncomplicated in their emotional needs, and are naive and inexperienced, having little knowledge of what is appropriate in sex and in relationships. A young child looks up to adults and wants to please them. Of course, it helps that children tend to look cute. We are programmed to respond to child-like features like big eyes and smooth skin, which is why we think that puppies of pretty much any mammal look so devastatingly cute. Since society regards youth as an essential attribute of beauty (since it is a hallmark of reproductive fitness), women often try to emulate the young, wide-eyed innocent ingenue (but not too innocent, of course). You see this at its most parodic in Japanese Anime. People do not always seem know where to draw the line; hence you get child beauty pageants in which little girls get made up in much the same way as adult women. Women pretending to be young girls, little girls pretending to be women... it all gets mixed up. Add to this the commercially driven pressure for children to adopt (consumer) interests beyond their years, and the boundaries blur even further. Paedophiles select their victim carefully: they target the neglected, needy, introvert child. They are good at recognising those because they were once the same. But they are bigger now, so they get to call the shots. They have little insight into how the child might be affected because they are essentially childishly self-centered in their outlook. Like many people, they do not understand that children basically do not and cannot think like adults. They may be abusive bullies relishing in their power, because they grew up in an abusive environment themselves where might makes right (and sex), but they may also rationalise their sexual acts as genuine expressions of affection, construing their "relationship" as a form of intimacy and giving positive attention to an emotionally needy child.
The perception of beauty is often associated with what is rare or difficult to attain. In times (or cultures) where resources are scarce, signs of being well-fed and affluent is considered beautiful: hence voluptuous women are seen as attractive. In some African tribes brides are fattened up to make them more desirable. In earlier times pale, smooth skin was seen as beautiful, as only the wealthy could afford not to toil outside all day where the elements tanned and leathered your skin. In ancient China, long fingernails were a sign of beauty, as were bound feet; only the wealthy could afford not to lift a finger or be carried everywhere. In modern times, being able to work up a tan in a nice holiday resort is a sign of wealth. Hence now a tanned skin is considered beautiful. With food being plentiful, voluptuousness is not considered as exclusive, nor an essential sign of health; now skinniness is rarer and more aspirational. It also reminds us of girls just entering puberty (small breasts, long legs), where youth converges with reproductive fitness.
I think I must be different then most people, as I find extremely thin people unattractive, but relatively curvy ones very attractive. A lot of what you said is very interesting Nexxo, thanks for bringing your knowledge to the thread!
The above refers maninly to cultural values of beauty; personal preferences may vary... Personally, I prefer curvy over skinny.
I know this is a bit time delayed but wanted to have a reply. But drug dealers are not worse, I mean yes they cause great problems but still paedophilia commits crimes upon people who have done nothing at all, just innocent children (well as much as they can be) And I didn't want to cut there balls off or shoot them, I personally am strongly again capital punishment and though I said something more I did not specifically mention such violent acts.
Lots of crimes are targeted against the helpless; I don't see much vociferous indignation when some kid attacks an old lady for drug money. Smack on the hand, forgotten. Can't even publish the kid's name or photo. All crimes hurt the victim. Some are just more news-worthy than others. Cute kiddies>>old ladies.
Not all the time, a lot of local papers publish photos of old people horrificly (sp) injured from robberies for litterally pennies. It's part of the Name And Shame initiative. But Kids make national and international news.
