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Roy Moore

What is a Pedophile? Hint: it is not Roy Moore

The news cycle in 2017 has become otherworldly and I’m not sure that anyone can keep up with it in the absence of a fully staffed newsroom. Even then there seem to be some discrepancies. So I thought I’d pop in here and do what I do best: perseverate on the minutiae.

Nothing that has been revealed in the media points to Roy Moore being a pedophile.

This will be upsetting to many people. You see, in order for folks to feel comfortable with the human condition, Roy Moore grinding on a fourteen-year-old child while he’s in his 30s should be a medical/mental disorder. Unfortunately, it’s garden variety predatory behavior. Ask any woman who has been fourteen and she’ll roll her eyes and let you know that men like fourteen-year-old girls. The like seldom goes in the other direction.

edophilic disorder is characterized by recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving prepubescent or young adolescents (usually ≤ 13 yr); it is diagnosed only when people are ≥ 16 yr and ≥ 5 yr older than the child who is the target of the fantasies or behaviors. (See also Overview of Paraphilic Disorders and Sexual abuse.) Pedophilia is form of paraphilia that causes harm to others and is thus considered a paraphilic disorder. Sexual offenses against children constitute a significant proportion of reported criminal sexual acts. For older adolescents (ie, 17 to 18 yr old), ongoing sexual interest or involvement with a 12- or 13-yr-old may not meet the clinical criteria for a disorder. However, legal criteria may be different from psychiatric criteria. For example, sexual activity between a 19-yr-old and a 16-yr-old may be a crime and not a pedophilic disorder, depending on the jurisdiction. Diagnostic age guidelines apply to Western cultures and not to the many cultures that accept sexual activity, marriage, and childbearing at much younger ages and accept much greater age differences between sex partners than Western cultures do. Most pedophiles are male. Attraction may be to young boys, girls, or both. But pedophiles prefer opposite-sex to same-sex children 2:1. In most cases, the adult is known to the child and may be a family member, stepparent, or a person with authority (eg, a teacher, a coach). Looking or touching seems more prevalent than genital contact. Pedophiles may be attracted only to children (exclusive form) or also adults (nonexclusive form); some are attracted only to children who are related to them (incest).

Pedophilia is defined as the attraction to prepubescent, preadolescent children by someone 16 or older and more than five years older than the child. So you know, Roy Moore assaulted a fourteen-year-old girl and unless she looked very young, very childlike, that doesn’t qualify him as a pedophile.

Which is upsetting. Roy Moore is just the creepy guy down the street who looks up girls’ skirts. He’s just the dad who you never let drive you home, and lives in the house you never want to babysit at. Roy Moore is the guy who grabbed your ass when you were folding clothes at the Glen Clothing Company when you were seventeen… oh wait… that was a celebrity whose name rhymes with… nevermind fuckit. Let someone else deal with his shit, he’s half dead anyhow and pissing on his grave will be my joy.

I know that men won’t understand how much this matters but Roy Moore is just like all the guys. I remember once being around a guy who was hitting on a sixteen-year-old girl and I sat at the table with him as she excused herself and went to the restroom and commented on the complete inappropriateness of it. His response?

If there’s grass on the field, play ball!

No.

I’m a fan of choosing your words wisely and I’m troubled that Roy Moore, the sexual predator is being confused with Roy Moore, the pedophile. Because they’re two different things, and they’re two different dangers.

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