What would you do if you woke up one morning and realized you were a pedophile?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Inspired by this thread. It really got me doing some deep thinking about the issue of pedophilia. I’ve never talked to anyone who was attracted to children. I can’t even imagine what it’s like. But I’m trying to imagine. I’m trying to think about how it must feel to be locked into a sexual orientation where the only thing that turns you on is little boys or girls, and knowing that if you were ever to act on your sexual desires, you would face the most dire consequences, not to mention seriously traumatize the child. And I imagine that it must be kind of torture to live this life.

I mean, if, somehow, I woke up tomorrow morning and all of a sudden I was only attracted to little girls - I couldn’t get aroused by adult women at all - I don’t know what I would do. I guess if there was something I could take to eliminate my sex drive, I would do it, because I wouldn’t want to go through life desiring something I could never have.

What would you do in this situation?

2

I’d become celibate. Simple as that. I don’t believe the sex drive - or MY sex drive, which is admittedly low - is unsurmountable. I’d buy stock in Duracell and masturbate to my heart’s content to meet my orgasm needs, but I wouldn’t have a sexual relationship with a child. If I could find another asexual or celibate person, I might consider a partnership for all the other things one gets out of a marriage - a support structure, shared expenses, cuddle time and all those other non-sexual things.

3

What an awful fate to have any mental condition that renders you socially unacceptable. What a lousy roll of the dice to be born broken, untreatable, uncurable.

That said, I’ve never understood why people have to use other humans to work out their sexual desires on. There’s plenty of toys, books, etc. that whatever your issue, be it simply a lack of suitable candidates to something as serious as a disorder like this, that one never need go without an orgasm if one really wants one.

So that these people don’t find other ways to deal with their desires isn’t impressive, but then it seems there’s plenty of straight people who will go in search of another human for sexual satisfaction and will settle for whatever (hookers, the last woman in the bar, whatever) so it’s not a situation reserved for pedophiles.

I don’t blame them - nobody wants to be born broken and hateful; I feel sad that they are in bad situations. Worse, even if they try to live ok lives, they encounter hate - I recall a pedophile posting to a message board I was on to explain that there are indeed many pedophiles who do live celibate lives, try to find and support others in their situation, and try to let the public know that not all of them actually do harm kids. The message was not accepted and they were vilified.

Imagine living like that. I can’t - it would be horrible.

Still, I gather, they try to work with pedophiles as sort of twelve-step sponsors to help each other keep on the straight and narrow.

Like WhyNot, were I to discover I was one, I’d retreat to my home with my toys. And maybe get involved somehow, if I could, in whatever research might be investigating causes, treatment, or cure for this awful condition. Or maybe I’d go be a scientist in the Arctic or someplace where I could be far from the society that hated me even if I never did lay hand on a kid.

4

I’d restrict myself to fantasies/masturbation and never tell anyone. And no, I wouldn’t feel guilty; just irritated.

5

What happens when you register to Peadophiles Anonymous? Do they pass your info to the police right away? How do you go about seeking treatment without putting yourself on every hate-list out there?

Married with children means that my sex life is on the wane, right now (I am here posting, am I not?). I would say “go without sex for the rest of my life”. Then again, I don’t imagine a paedophile having the benefit of a sex life on the wane, replaced with the fulfillment of family life. Tough stuff for those who must suffer that fate.

6

It’d depend on whether I felt I could control it.

If I weren’t at least 99% certain I could control it, I’d kill myself.

7

This would really suck. However, because I feel that pedophilia is not really the fault of the pedophile, I feel that the Supreme Court Ruling stating that computer generated child pornography is protected by the First Amendment is an important and fair decision.

I’m not a believer in thought crime, and I assume a lot of pedophiles would be able to not act on their desires. After all, I don’t get laid nearly as often as I’d like, but I don’t feel any compulsion to be a rapist. As others have said, I’d hope I’d be able to indulge in my fantasies without harming anyone. This is one of the most difficult and socially unacceptable sexual deviations to live with, and I’d probably be miserable.

8

Move to Bangkok? Honestly, I have no clue what I’d do. Most likely take a vow of celibacy and try and see if sex therapy worked. If I didn’t feel I could control myself, castration might be an option :eek:

9

Well, I’d probably make some significant changes to my TiVo Wishlist and my Netflix queue, for starters.

10

Find a short, flat-chested, childlike woman.
I’m not sure pedophilia is a mental disorder as much as a much maligned sexual fetish (that should be never be indulged, of course) and in that sense it shouldn’t influence other areas of my life so much. It would probably ruin my sex life but when’s the last time you had sex with your physically ideal woman anyway? If I was absolutely incapable of being aroused by anything other than children, then I’d probably buy a realistic sex doll and make due.
Sex isn’t everything and even as someone with fairly typical sexual tastes, I would hope there are other aspects of my life that would bring me meaning and fulfillment. As a pedophile, I would know I shouldn’t look to sex for any of it.

11

Buy a decent car
Get a country club membership
Become active in local politics
Join the LDP

Just going by what the rest of them around here seem to do.

12

You forgot: Become a school teacher.

13

Either that or an economist.

14

Or a priest.

15

I suspect that the great majority are able to restrain themselves. I suspect that there are quite a few more pedophiles than it looks like, and even more people with pedophiliac tendancies who are also interested in more normal sex. I think that the vast majority simply either repress their urges, or find a small flat chested girlfriend who likes to play sex games like The Schoolgirl And The Naughty Priest. The ones who actually assault children are those who either can’t or won’t control themselves, which is a minority ( I think ).

16

What if you found out that your roommate was a pedophile — and was using your Internet account to download child pornography? This happened to me.

17

ANyone remember the Psycologist who used to be on the Kansas City AM radio? I presume he was the model for Fraiser Crane. Great guy.

So I’m driving my car. The Doc takes a call.

“Hi doc, I have a problem and need your help. I have a good wife, a good job, had it for 25 years, go to church more often than not. We have a daughter, she is 20 now, and a new baby granddaughter. So our daughter flew to california for a job interview and left the granddaughter with us. She is about eighteen months old. Well, I was standing next to my wife as she changed the little girl’s diapers and I found myself getting aroused …”

Doc: “Tell me, have you ever had these feeling before? With your own daughter years ago?”

Guy: “Heck no doc!”

Doc: “You ever park your car and watch the girls go by while you masturbate?”

Guy: “Gee never!”

Doc: “OK, you have to get out of the house while the little girls is there, go rent a hotel room …”

Not that it matters years later the doc killed himself with a shotgun in the parking lot of a hospital. A patient accused him of molesting her.

Great guy. Great show. What was his name?

18

Marshall Saper

19

I would never leave the house.

Side question- have any studies been done to determine if paedophilic urges are stronger than other normal sexual urges? For example, if I’m not able to secure sex, I don’t go crazy and rape somebody. Is it the same with a paedophile, or does one “have” to go out and find a child when struck with the urge? Could a paedophile be around a child important to them, such as a niece or nephew, and think “I’m not touching my sisters kid, regardless” and then be able to not do it?

20

Being celibate hasn’t killed me so far, so I guess I would continue that way.