[HPforGrownups] Re: I am so happy. There is a gay couple in canon after all.

[Lee Kaiwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 178176

colebiancardi:

> Gay people are not pedophiles.

The correct term -- and we can thank the media for getting this, along 
with so many other things, wrong -- is hebephilia (sexual attraction to 
adolescents) or, in this case specifically, pederasty (sexual relations 
between two males, especially when one is a minor). Pedophilia is 
generally defined as an attraction to pre-pubescent children.

I agree with you, however, that blanket statements -- and here I'll make 
a blanket statement :-) -- are generally offensive. Some hebephiles are 
homosexual, some are heterosexual; apparently, a large percentage are 
neither. That is, many hebephiles lack the ability to form solid 
relationships with adults of either sex, which may help explain their 
hebephilia.

 > In fact, most pedophiles state that they are straight.

I'm not disputing you here, but I would like to see the research on 
this. The problem is this turns out to be an exceedingly complicated 
question, and a lot depends on how you define your parameters. The first 
problem is that there has never been a study of a representative 
sampling of pedo- or hebephiles. The studies that have been done use 
either incarcerated child sex offenders or those who have sought help 
for their problems, neither of which can be considered a representative 
sampling.

A further problem is how we define pedo- and hebephilia. Is a hebephile 
a person who is *attracted to* pubescent children, or one who has 
sexually abused pubescent children? Not all child sex offenders act out 
of sexual attraction. Their motivations are often quite complex, and may 
not involve sexual attraction at all. Many child sex abusers are married 
and enjoy what seem to be normal sexual relations with their spouses.

 > Pedophilia has nothing to do with whether you are gay or not.

Now that's a blanket statement. The truth is, we don't know. Is the 
percentage of homosexuals higher amongst hebephiles than the general 
population? Is it lower? About the same? It may be true that most 
hebephiles are straight and STILL be true that the percentage of 
homosexuality amongst hebephiles is higher than in the general 
population. Or it may not. The answer largely depends on how you define 
"homosexual" and "hebephile".

> Also, children who are victims of pedophilia do not get trashed in any
> newspaper, rag or not. They are protected. I could not see even Rita
> Skeeter writing a piece like this.

As someone else has already pointed out -- this is exactly what Rita 
did. There simply is no other reasonable way to understand her 
references to the "unnaturalness" of DD's relationship to Harry.

--CJ