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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
I think this is a very bad comparison. Pedophilia is an officially designated mental disorder, not a 'normal' sexual urge.
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As much as I have reservations on the legitimacy of 'official designation' of mental disorders, I agree in that I certainly wouldn't classify pedophilia as 'normal' (you used that term, not I). My idea is that that pedophilia, in and of itself, may not necessarily be dangerous or harmful.
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mixedmedia]
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Originally Posted by Lak
If I am a regular guy with a sexual attraction to women, viewing large amounts of (legal) pornography does not increase my desire to go out and abuse or rape women.
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I again I think this is a bad/lopsided comparison. No, pornography may not make a man go out and rape women. Not sure why you even take it that way. But I think it's pretty safe to say that viewing pornography can impart a person with the desire to have sex. Combine that with a compulsive disorder like pedophilia (more closely linked to a fetish than a 'normal' sexual urge) and I think that viewing child pornography could very easily instigate the pursuit of sex with children. After all, most victims of child sexual abuse are seduced, not forced.
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My comparison relies and the ability for either subject to recognise the exploitation which they are party to. Just as the guy who would 'seduce' the girl who is over-and-out drunk at a party for his own gratification, his methods are wrong and reprehensible. Yes. she agreed to it, but no, she shouldn't have and no, she wasn't fit to make that decision anyway. This guy
knowingly takes advantage of that, and this is the sort of person who is comparable to a child molester. The molester knows it is wrong. He does it anyway. The only difference is the victim demographic. These actions are part of his character, not a subset of the 'symptoms' of pedophilia.
If either of these men were
unable to recognise that what they are doing is wrong, they would have a problem which causes them to be potentially harmful. They have the same problem in common, and yet one is a pedophile and one is not. To me this suggests that this 'problem' is not rooted in pedophilia, but some condition that sometimes/usually accompanies it. A abusive upbringing for example, can spawn both conditions.
It is true that many pedophiles fall into the second category and have poor moral judgement, but I think it is probably unfair to lump them together into the same condition. This is the concept that my analogy is based on. What are your thoughts?