# FTR: Ephebophilia != pedophilia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914 "2014-08-29T23:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/21 "2014-08-30T01:17:56Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > You feel good about yourself for jacking off alone in your basement? Did I miss something? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/22 "2014-08-30T01:45:44Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > The Catholic CHurch holds that Virgin Mary was 14 when Jesus as born! No. It does not. There is rampant speculation among people who think the issue is relevant to anything, but the RCC has not made a declaration regarding Mary’s age at the time of her pregnancy. There is at least one apocryphal book that gives her age as 14, but it is not scripture and is not held to be authoritative on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/23 "2014-08-30T01:46:46Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > God, that rolleyes smiley is awful. > > ETA: Not your fault of course, **ddsun.** But it makes you look like you’re agreeing with the guy it’s directed at. Agreed, but I think there are multiple threads on that. I hereby resolve not to use it again. (I hadn’t fully understood why before now I must admit.) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/24 "2014-08-30T01:51:35Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > You feel good about yourself for jacking off alone in your basement? I feel good about myself when I have mutually satisfying sex in a loving relationship, but hey, your way has it’s charms, I guess. [You are in violation of forum rules.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=4749265#post4749265) Knock it off. = = = EVERYONE, Let’s leave the juvenile sex jokes out of it. [/Moderating] ============================================= Eh. I formed a post and got called away before hitting Submit. I’ll let the IMHO Mods decide how low this thread should be allowed to sink. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/25 "2014-08-30T01:52:59Z")
As a medical diagnosis, “Pedophilia” is defined as sexual desire for a prepubescent child. If the child has passed puberty, it’s not pedophilia. There are reasonable social reasons for limiting sex between adults and teens (adults may be in a position of power, and the teens are not usually emotionally equipped to deal with the complexities of a sexual relationship), but the law tend to make blanket terms and it’s up to the prosecutor to determine what should be prosecuted, so things are applied unevenly. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/26 "2014-08-30T01:53:38Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > You feel good about yourself for jacking off alone in your basement? I feel good about myself when I have mutually satisfying sex in a loving relationship, but hey, your way has it’s charms, I guess. > [@zoid](#): > > Did I miss something? **Brainglutton** is male; it’s a standard way of insulting a male to accuse him of masturbating. It implies “he can’t get a real woman”, like accusing him of being a virgin. It’s a gender targeted insult, like calling a woman fat or ugly. And accusing someone of living in a basement is _another_ standard insult. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/27 "2014-08-30T02:15:15Z")
Yeah I don’t think finding a 16 or 17 year old girl attractive in a purely physical sense is pathological in any way. Physically speaking they are all woman. Dating them, on the other hand … um I’m 24 and quite fond of a 17 year old friend, but it would be pretty creepy if I was 40 or something. I think the age gap matters just as much as the age of consent itself as to whether it’s acceptable or not. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/28 "2014-08-30T02:46:43Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I’ll agree with this as long as it’s clear we’re talking about teenagers who are fully sexually developed physically. Yeah, I meant to say something like this, but somehow it didn’t get included. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/29 "2014-08-30T02:58:46Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It’s strange – we live in a culture that hypersexualizes pre-pubescents (in kiddie-pageants, etc.) while simultaneously infantilizing teenagers. Kiddie pageants are in no way an accurate representation of our culture at large; they’re more like cults. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/30 "2014-08-30T03:00:25Z")
I’m glad I got the meaning of “ephebophilia” from context, **BrainGlutton** , but it’s a word I was unfamiliar with. Don’t you think you could have made the distinction between it and pedophilia in your OP so as make your point more clearly? Especially since you originally posted this in Great Debates in the first place where it’s more expected to set out the terms of your debate? Never mind that it was moved here. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/31 "2014-08-30T03:03:55Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, I meant to say something like this, but somehow it didn’t get included. I figured it’s what you meant but in cases like this is seems prudent to be specific 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/32 "2014-08-30T03:54:16Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > […] And accusing someone of living in a basement is _another_ standard insult. Not if one actually does, of course. This reminds me of the MZB thread. IMHO, of course. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/33 "2014-08-30T09:00:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > For thousands of years of human history in cultures across continents it was the normal age for a woman/girl to bear her first child. “For thousands of years of human history in cultures across continents it was […] normal” is no argument for anything, actually. I mean, I’m actually with you on say 15 or so being a better age of consent, but the argument you put forward for it here is just wack. And fallacious. Having your first kid at 15 is medically riskier than at, say, 18. Just because women historically didn’t have much choice, is no reason to advance the practice as acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/34 "2014-08-30T11:18:21Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > EVERYONE, Let’s leave the juvenile sex jokes out of it. Juvenile sex jokes? Really? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/35 "2014-08-30T12:16:45Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There are reasonable social reasons for limiting sex between adults and teens (adults may be in a position of power, and the teens are not usually emotionally equipped to deal with the complexities of a sexual relationship) Hell, many teens are not emotionally equipped to deal with the complexities of _high school_. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/36 "2014-08-30T12:27:41Z")
I’m fine with you fucking a teenager, just so it’s _your_ teenager. Keep these things in-family, k? ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/37 "2014-08-30T17:37:09Z")
The age of consent in the vast majority of the industrialized world is 15-16. Nothing controversial about this. It’s we Americans who are the misandrist, neo-Puritan weirdos. It’s 16 in many states in the US as well. The variability of AOC from state to state creates a situation where perfectly legal conduct in one state becomes a serious felony in another state. This also criminalizes perfectly normal human behavior - fifteen and sixteen year olds having sex. [http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm](http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/38 "2014-08-30T18:55:24Z")
Aside from being inactive for at least a dozen years, the site you linked to seems to be set up so as to be useful, deliberately or not, to sex tourits—men who travel to other countries in hopes of having sex with kids who would be too young to legally have sex with here in the U.S. Does being bothered by that concept make me a “misandrist, neo-Puritan weirdo”? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/39 "2014-08-30T21:05:36Z")
I do think 16 is a more reasonable age of consent than what we have now. ---
**Author:** ![Bouncer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Bouncer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bouncer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914/40 "2014-08-30T21:56:45Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > This should go well. I gots hot buttered, caramel, chocolate drizzled and parmesian/romano cheese popcorn! Sea salt and black or red crushed pepper also available! Regards, -Bouncer- [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ftr-ephebophilia-pedophilia/696914.md?page=3)