4 ms·

What's the difference between a minor attracted person and a pedophile?

• lilboiluvr69 5y ago
  There is none. But even though the term 'pedophile' refers to a psychiatric condition involving children as objects of sexual attraction, most lay people refer to child molesters as pedophiles. I once had a therapist (with a degree in psychology and a history of treating sex offenders, not that I am one) who didn't realize that 'pedophile' just referred to an attraction. When I told him I was a pedophile he incorrectly assumed I was a sex offender and asked me about the nature of my crime. We had a debate about it until the next session where he said he looked it up and yes, pedophile just referred to the sexual orientation. If someone who works as a psychologist makes that mistake, it's safe to assume that calling yourself a 'pedophile' makes you a target for every would vigilante out there regardless of what you have or haven't done. Most people who are pedophiles don't refer to themselves as such, even in communities there are filled with pedophiles, like Inkbunny, because of the negative connotations. They call themselves 'cubfurs' or 'cublovers' or 'shotacons' or things like that. And my close friends and I have our own terminology. Hence some people have started to refer to as pedophiles as 'pedosexuals' or MAPs (Minor Attracted Persons) as a more neutral term. But I never liked the term myself because it feels too much like the beginning of a euphemism treadmill and I figured I might has well bite the bullet and call myself what I am regardless of if it makes people uncomfortable. (Which I'm sure it does, my apologies in advance.)