A Note on Child Sexual Abuse

“Dude. You have sex with children!”1

South Park Episode - Cartman joins NAMBLA

Here in Canada we had a major dust up more than 30 years ago in an article published in a Gay magazine, (The Body Politic), Called Men loving boys, loving men,1 at the time it stirred up a lot of controversy to say the least. A contingent of the Gay Liberation movement bought the argument that pedophiles were being stigmatized and oppressed for their feelings by a sexually repressive society. Thus some bought the idea that pedophiles were a repressed minority. Further they bought the idea that children were sexual beings who were prevented by a sex-phobic society from using their sexuality which included if they so desired sex with adults.

Practically none of the people who were pro-pedophile actually supported sex with pre-adolescent teens, but they all thought that adolescent teens could at least consent and that all age of consent laws should be abolished for being too arbitrary and for not examining things on a case by case basis. And in fact it would appear that describing them as pro-pedophile is too much in my opinion. Practically none of them had much desire for sex with adolescents much less kids.2

Instead it was sort of conceived as a battle against sexual repression and sticking it to the man and not a little of epater le Bourgeoisie. Right from the start this stance was a minority one in the Gay movement. People who had been molested or knew people who had been molested had a serious problem with the idea that it ever could be free of coercion. Also the idea that the sexuality of Children and adolescents was the same as adult sexuality is to put it mildly strained. But the breaking point was consent. It simply struck the great majority of people given their own experiences has children and has young adolescents that their ability to freely consent to sex with an adult was a dubious idea, given the great inequality. That the view of pedophilia as something a child / young adolescent could consent too accepted a view of child and adolescent sexuality that was recycled dubious Freud didn't help.3

Feminists with their concerns about the sexual abuse of girls and young women also played a role in this. In that their view of sex with a girl and young adolescent female was basically one in which the female was a victim of sexual abuse.4

The end result was that the rank and file Gays basically rejected attempts to normalize pedophilia and the separation occurred.5

That organizations like Nambla exist mainly to promote the idea of adults having access to young people for the purpose of sexual gratification is obvious. That this purpose is repellant and unacceptable is also obvious.6

Frankly given the natural power imbalance between say a 12 year old and a 30 year old, for example, I just can't see a situation in which sexual congress is not coerced, and tantamount to assault. If that is true at 12 it is even more true at younger ages.

Some people in the early Gay rights movements let themselves be taken for a ride and frankly I think they had forgotten what it was like to be a kid / young adolescent. They had forgotten the essential powerlessness and desire to please adults that kids have. They also bought into Freudian notions of childhood sexuality that are very dubious. The notion that a 5 year old is “sexual” should provoke laughter as well as disgust.7

The use of phrases and stock terms like “moral panic”, “sexual repression” etc, served to disguise the prime motive which was to get greater sexual access to children. All the guff about “moral panics”, "sexual repression” and “childhood sexuality” were little more than slogans and talking points to gull “useful idiots” into supporting this aim without realizing they were doing so.

Organizations like Nambla have retreated into the dark corners and if anything the long string of scandals involving child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and other institutions have made the aims of organizations like Nambla even more unacceptable.

As for the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation? It is my hope that we are in an age in which we will see a significant decline / end in the many thousands of years old practice of adults sexually using and abusing children. After all all children are entitled as a basic personal right to the right not to be so used and abused.

To quote South Park again; as Stan says to a member of Nambla:

Yeah, you know, we believe in equality for everybody, and tolerance, and all that gay stuff, but dude, fuck you!8

1. Cartman Joins NAMBLA, Wikipedia Here. Said by Kyle.

2. See Hannon, Gerald, Men loving boys loving men, Originally published in 1978, in Jackson, Ed, Persky, Stan, Editors, Flaunting It!, Pink Triangle Press, Toronto, 1982, pp. 147-158. Gerald Hannon is an individual with a severe need, it seems, to “epater le bourgeoisie”, as his subsequent career showed. See Bebout, Rick, The Gerald Hannon Affair Here, this is informative despite the author’s sympathy for the idea that pedophilia is all about “moral panics” etc. For more info see Index about Gerald Hannon at Here. No I am not going to provide a web link to NAMBLA or any related website.

3. IBID, and Rule, Jane, Paying the Price, Flaunting It!, pp. 162-165, Bebout, Rick et al, Another Look, Flaunting It!, pp. 166-176. Feminists especially radical Feminists have been especially negative about pedophilia see Andrea Dworkin, Wikipedia Here.

4. For an early example of the reaction, largely negative, see Paying the Price: Some letters to the editor, Flaunting It!, pp. 159-161.

5. Footnote 3, Andrea Dworkin.

6. Nowadays pedophilia movements are rigorously excluded from Gay pride marches, events, organizations etc. In fact Nambla as largely been driven to operate solely underground and via the web.

7. Knowing friends both Gay and Straight who were sexually abused the idea that sexual access to children being made easier disgusts me.

8. Footnote 1.

Pierre