This Troubles Me

[BoSoxGal]

People on the mainstream news are calling Jeffrey Epstein the most notorious pedophile in history.

Epstein is called a pedophile in political cartoons and all over the interwebs.

Pedophiles have a sexual attraction to prepubescent children infancy to ~10 years of age.

Hebephiles have a sexual attraction to pubescent girls and boys ~11-14 years of age.

Ephebophiles have a sexual attraction to adolescent girls and boys ~15-19 years of age.

I’m not defending Epstein or other slimy men of his ilk who have trafficked vulnerable teenagers for their sexual pleasure, but I’m troubled with people calling them pedophiles.

As recently as my grandmother’s and mother’s eras, it was not uncommon for adolescent girls to date and then marry men a decade older than themselves - because those men were established and ready to support a wife and children.

I’m certainly glad that we now typically give girls a lot more time to grow up before marriage is on the table - although marriage before 18 is lawful in several states still with parental consent - but I’m troubled to see many people on the interwebs talk about the pairings of my grandparents as though they were pedophilic relationships (is that even a thing?) because of the age differences between two sexually mature human beings.

It isn’t pedophilia to be attracted to sexually mature adolescents. It’s best not to act on the attraction, but we can all agree, can’t we, that it isn’t perverse like sexual attraction to a prepubescent child?

[Joe Guy]

Although it maybe technically wrong, I believe most people define pedophilia as a sexual attraction to children below the age of consent. Epstein just might be the most notorious pedophile in history in that context.

I can't even think of another notorious pedophile but I could probably do a search and might be reminded of someone. I just don't want to do a search for notorious pedophiles.