What are the key differences between male and female pedophiles?

It’s unbelievable... yes, it is harmful, because by choosing to consume this content, they are creating the demand for it. And how is that content produced?
you really deserve an award for being this dense 😛

Watching gun shows doesn't drive weapon manufacturing.
Watching dashcam footage of car wrecks doesn't cause accidents.
Watching footage from concentration camps doesn't increase the number of camps... and so on.

Viewing pedophilic content directly contributes to the creation of such imagery... look, I've laid it all out for you, but you still refuse to understand. It isn't my problem. 🤷

You're talking about those creeps who collect pedo imagery. Look, you're wrong. Looking at those pictures gives them the same kind of rush you get. It’s just not enough to make them act out the way he does.

Quincy :

silentpilot6 said:It’s unbelievable... yes, it is harmful, because by choosing to consume this content, they are creating the demand for it. And how is that content produced?
you really deserve an award for being this dense 😛

Watching gun shows doesn't drive weapon manufacturing.
Watching dashcam footage of car wrecks doesn't cause accidents.
Watching footage from concentration camps doesn't increase the number of camps... and so on.

Viewing pedophilic content directly contributes to the creation of such imagery... look, I've laid it all out for you, but you still refuse to understand. It isn't my problem. 🤷

That's a pretty flawed analogy.

An observer looking at photos of firearms is simply driving the demand for those types of photos.
and so on.

Quincy :

Dennis Martin2 said:Pedophilia falls under the umbrella of sexual pathology, and it's a disorder just like hundreds of others out there; it just has a different trigger. You’ve got everything from people obsessed with animals, corpses, inanimate objects, the same sex, elderly women, pain, suffering, insects, statues, and so on. This particular disorder isn't inherently "larger" or "smaller," nor is it easier or harder to treat just because of whether the behavior is legal or illegal.

Pedophilia isn't some harmless sexual deviation, and it has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality. We're talking about a severe disorder often characterized by extreme violence and the most heinous crimes.

The psychological profile closest to a pedophile is that of a serial rapist. They share the same core drivers: sadism, hatred, and a desperate need to exert dominance. In both cases, you're dealing with individuals who are deeply and irreparably emotionally damaged. They are incapable of forming normal, consensual sexual relationships, so they seek out helpless victims to satisfy their impulses.

Quincy :

Dennis Martin2 said:Quincy :
That's a pretty flawed analogy.

An observer looking at photos of firearms is simply driving the demand for those types of photos.
and so on.

You aren't having issues with photographing guns... nobody starts manufacturing more firearms just because some person online wants to look at pictures of them. But someone will abuse a child and take photos of it simply because some jerk on the internet wants to see those images...

That is the core of the issue. Images of almost everything else are captured after an event occurs that isn't driven by the demand for such images... but child pornography exists solely and exclusively because people want to consume it.
Guns aren't manufactured just so someone can photograph them and post them online.
People don't die in car accidents just so someone can take a picture of them.
Nazis didn't create the Holocaust just so they could take photos of it...

You still aren't getting it... I'm honestly done trying to explain this. Those who understand, understand. For everyone else, that's not my concern.

Quincy :

silvercobra11 said:Quincy :
Pedophilia isn't some harmless sexual deviation, and it has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality. We're talking about a severe disorder often characterized by extreme violence and the most heinous crimes.

The psychological profile closest to a pedophile is that of a serial rapist. They share the same core drivers: sadism, hatred, and a desperate need to exert dominance. In both cases, you're dealing with individuals who are deeply and irreparably emotionally damaged. They are incapable of forming normal, consensual sexual relationships, so they seek out helpless victims to satisfy their impulses.

Sure, maybe, but that’s not always how it plays out. And the kind of sadism you're describing doesn't necessarily have to cross legal lines. There's a whole spectrum of it, ranging from a mild, twisted enjoyment of dominance all the way up to those extreme cases of serial murder. Though, nowadays, we tend to separate the latter from pure sexual pathology, because at that point, it's about much more than just sex.

In any kind of sexual pathology, including pedophilia, there's a subset that essentially boils down to "fantasizing"—those people who have these thoughts pop into their heads but actually possess the willpower to keep them contained. But honestly, when you look at it, pedophilia is fundamentally most similar to rape...

Quincy : Legion

silentpilot6 said:Quincy :
You aren't having issues with photographing guns... nobody starts manufacturing more firearms just because some person online wants to look at pictures of them. But someone will abuse a child and take photos of it simply because some jerk on the internet wants to see those images...

That is the core of the issue. Images of almost everything else are captured after an event occurs that isn't driven by the demand for such images... but child pornography exists solely and exclusively because people want to consume it.
Guns aren't manufactured just so someone can photograph them and post them online.
People don't die in car accidents just so someone can take a picture of them.
Nazis didn't create the Holocaust just so they could take photos of it...

You still aren't getting it... I'm honestly done trying to explain this. Those who understand, understand. For everyone else, that's not my concern.

You're still leaning on a flawed analogy.

Both photos of children and photos of weapons are uploaded specifically because people want to see them. Neither weapons nor children are being "produced" for the sake of being photographed.

I can't say if it was already mentioned earlier in the thread, but from my perspective as a psychologist, gender doesn't change the nature of pedophilia. To a predator, the victim is just a child, regardless of whether they are male or female. Most cases involve heterosexual men. About 64% are married with their own children. Around 47% were victims themselves during their youth. We're starting to see links between neurological imbalances and social disorders that lead to this. Some cases are actually treatable. Why there are more men than women involved remains an open question, though many assume it’s hormonal. Of course, none of that excuses the destruction of a young life, but understanding the pathology might help us eradicate the disease one day...

Quincy : Legion

Dennis Martin2 said:Quincy : Legion

You're still leaning on a flawed analogy.

Both photos of children and photos of weapons are uploaded specifically because people want to see them. Neither weapons nor children are being "produced" for the sake of being photographed.

Or maybe it's because people just love showing them off... ☕

Anyway, look, as a photographer myself, I get seriously triggered whenever the term "child pornography" gets thrown around loosely. It's wild how everyone turns into a mob against any "outsider" caught with a camera near a kid—I remember seeing these self-appointed "protective moms" on various forums making all sorts of threats toward photographers. Meanwhile, those same parents are out there flooding the internet with photos of their half-naked toddlers on Facebook or Instagram. And if we're being real, parents are often the most frequent abusers.

To make matters worse, nowadays, these amateur moral police don't even bother distinguishing between different types of images anymore. They just shove everything into the same bucket of sexual abuse and child pornography. Honestly, if you look at a photo of a kid playing at a beach or a park—with zero sexual context—and you see abuse or porn, you probably need serious professional help. Like, real clinical intervention. ☕

Quincy :

Dennis Martin2 said:Quincy : Legion

You're still leaning on a flawed analogy.

Both photos of children and photos of weapons are uploaded specifically because people want to see them. Neither weapons nor children are being "produced" for the sake of being photographed.

Fine, one of you is a photographer, so that explains why you're struggling to grasp this, but what's your excuse?

Has it occurred to you that a child could be kidnapped solely for the purpose of exploitation and filmed just so that content can be distributed?
Or are you going to claim that all pedophilic content consists of children being photographed in secret?
If that isn't the case—and unfortunately, it isn't—😢 then what exactly are we even discussing here? 🤷

I am still stuck on your weapon analogy.

It seems I might actually need to grab some crayons and start drawing pictures for people to make them understand.🤷

Quincy : Legion

Zachary Doyle4 said:I can't say if it was already mentioned earlier in the thread, but from my perspective as a psychologist, gender doesn't change the nature of pedophilia. To a predator, the victim is just a child, regardless of whether they are male or female. Most cases involve heterosexual men. About 64% are married with their own children. Around 47% were victims themselves during their youth. We're starting to see links between neurological imbalances and social disorders that lead to this. Some cases are actually treatable. Why there are more men than women involved remains an open question, though many assume it’s hormonal. Of course, none of that excuses the destruction of a young life, but understanding the pathology might help us eradicate the disease one day...

Is it truly possible to cure them?
I don't know much about the specifics, but I recall reading somewhere that they can't be cured—aside from chemical castration—and that these offenders almost always repeat their crimes...

There isn't a cure. Psychotherapy can help lower the risk of a relapse, but beyond drastically reducing testosterone levels, there isn't any other medication out there. Also, from what I understand, most female offenders are motivated by acting as accomplices to their male partners. That link to testosterone levels just further suggests that this issue is primarily tied to the male sex.

silentpilot6, you’re out here throwing straw man arguments... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

☕

I found this here

http://www.mental-health-matters.com...article&id=519

"...Pedophiles can be "treated" but never cured—since their sexual preference has always been, and will always be, children. Those urges aren't going anywhere. Because of that, treatment really just focuses on changing, curbing, or redirecting those specific acting-out behaviors."

A few points to clarify, as some people here are getting their facts mixed up. Pedophilia isn't actually a legal term for a crime. Under US law, the offense is sexual contact with a minor—specifically someone under the age of 14. In these cases, the physical appearance or development of the child is irrelevant. From what I understand, judicial practice treats contact with a child who lacks secondary sexual characteristics as an aggravating circumstance. Furthermore, the penal code recognizes two types of offenses involving individuals between 14 and 18. First, if the act itself is recorded on film, it is classified as child pornography, which is a felony. I find the viability of such a statute questionable, given that it hinges so heavily on the specific method of the act, such as whether a camera was used. Additionally, any sexual encounter with a person aged 14 to 18 where one party exerts influence over the other is criminalized. It’s much like how even a fantasy about a teacher could be scrutinized under certain frameworks.
Pedophilia, strictly speaking, is categorized as a psychological disorder. It is most simply defined as a sexual interest in individuals lacking secondary sexual characteristics. However, I suspect there are psychologists and psychiatrists better equipped to explain the nuances. It might also be worth noting that, currently, courts do not accept an insanity defense for those with this condition. This represents a persistent conflict between the judiciary and the medical community. Technically, individuals who commit crimes due to illness should be treated rather than incarcerated, according to the law. Eventually, a change will have to occur—either pedophilia is removed from the list of mental disorders, or the courts must finally acknowledge it as a legitimate illness.

There isn’t any real difference between male and female pedophiles. Also, while most of them are men, I suspect plenty of women get away with it because boys often see it as a "win" rather than something they should report—but again, the majority are men. From what I've seen in the news, male pedophiles target boys just as often as girls. It seems to me like it's not always about gendered sexual motives; it's just an attraction to children in general. It's wild to think that back in Ancient Greece, boys were practically treated as a luxury for adult men—it was almost normalized for a man who took care of himself to indulge that way. Is there actually a link between pedophilia and homosexuality?

Quincy :

Jamie Reyes6 said:Total ad hominem attack. Honestly, we're done here. Nothing left to talk about. ☕

I mean, most people can tell the difference between adult films and just photos of grown adults at the beach.

The same logic applies to child pornography—both images and videos. It’s a massive, illegal industry.

It wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the sick individuals willing to pay to watch it.

So, yeah. Child pornography is produced because of those predators.

I don't see why this is so hard to grasp. Do I really have to explain it five times?

vividhound7 said:There isn’t any real difference between male and female pedophiles. Also, while most of them are men, I suspect plenty of women get away with it because boys often see it as a "win" rather than something they should report—but again, the majority are men. From what I've seen in the news, male pedophiles target boys just as often as girls. It seems to me like it's not always about gendered sexual motives; it's just an attraction to children in general. It's wild to think that back in Ancient Greece, boys were practically treated as a luxury for adult men—it was almost normalized for a man who took care of himself to indulge that way. Is there actually a link between pedophilia and homosexuality?

That's a good question... also, does the attraction stem primarily from the age of the child, regardless of gender, or is it specific to boys or girls?