If a middle-aged man pursues an under-aged girl, he is called a pedophile. Some people see his pedophilia as a unique sexual orientation separate from heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or asexuality. Even those who consider the man to be a heterosexual do not claim that his sexual orientation was the cause of his pedophilia.
However, what happens if this hypothetical man goes after an under-aged boy instead? According to organizations such as Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and other conservative Christian organizations,in this situation, the man is a homosexual, and his paedophilic proclivities are a direct result of his sexual orientation.
Don't'cha just love double standards?
While the whole Mark Foley scandal has been amusing in some ways - watching the "good, moral, family values" crowd falling over themselves in an effort to blame this on the Democrats, liberals, gays, even trying to claim it was Clinton's fault somehow - it's also another way for the aforementioned crowd to once again tote the line that homosexuality and pedophilia are one in the same, and that gay people prey on innocent children.
Now then, a lot of research has actually been done on this supposed link between homosexuality and pedophilia. There are still holes, of course. Simply determining the percentage of the population that is homosexual can be problematic. They have to be confident enough to be out of the closet, for starters. And where does one place, for example, men who regularly have sex with other men but who self-identify as heterosexual? How does one figure in the instances of child molestation and abuse that are not reported?
Despite these handicaps, a lot of headway has been made on the subject. Enough for scholars to state that there is no connection between homosexuality and pedophilia.
It's one thing to just state, "I'm right, they're wrong, and that's all there is to it." It's another to actually sit down at the library and pick apart every argument and source cited by these anti-GLBT organizations. I've got a decent amount of research material on hand to make a start at it, but this guy blows me out of the water.
This is the kind of post I wish I could write. Organized, eloquent, detailed, professional. Everything properly quoted and cited. No claim left unexamined. No snark or overt sarcasm. (Much as they're fun to read, they do make piece seem less mature. They may also turn away someone who does not have a strong opinion on the matter.)
The above link leads to a shorter essay that tackles a recent statement by Tony Perkins (of the Family Research Council) on the supposed homosexuality-pedophilia link. For a longer, more in-depth look at the subject, the same author has compiled Are Gays A Threat To Our Children? that is definitely worth a read.
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piasharn
