|
Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence
|
|
Adult Sexual Contact with Children: Definitions 4
|
|
|
|
|
Pederasty
This detail of an ancient Greek vase painting shows the adult lover (Erastes) kissing the adolescent beloved (Eromenos).
|
|
|
Before proceeding further, it may be useful to clarify not only the term “pedophilia, but also some other terms often heard in this context:
|
|
Pedophilia: Recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (age 13 years or younger).
Hebephilia (from Gr. hebe: young): The sexual attraction of an adult - usually male - to young people around the age of puberty. Sometimes used as a synonym for “ephebophilia”.
Ephebophilia (from Gr. ephebos: adolescent): The sexual attraction of an adult - usually male - to young people after puberty. Sometimes used as a synonym for "hebephilia."
Pederasty (from Gr. eran: to love): The sexual attraction of an adult - usually male - to adolescents after puberty (ages 14-17). This term is often misused, but it is helpful to recall its original meaning: In ancient Greece, paiderastia was a socially approved custom, in which an adult male lover (the Erastes) courted an adolescent male and made him his beloved (the Eromenos). While this relationship usually involved sexual contact, it served, above all, an educational purpose.
|
|
|
These terms clearly distinguish between pre- and postpubescent young people, and, by implication, they provide a definition of childhood that is accepted in medicine, psychiatry, psychology, biology, ethnology, sociology, and history (but not always in criminal codes): Children are girls and boys before puberty. Only the desire for sexual contact with them should be called “pedophilia”. It is unrealistic and unwise to ignore this distinction. Pedophilia is rare. Hebephilia is more common and should be judged differently.
|
