Editorial Control: There has been some talk among the staff about having an official policy on comments. This may at first seem sensible so that our readers can be clear on what is allowed and what is not. But it is impossible to always anticipate the tone of a discussion without creating an undesirable bias. I usually like to allow readers to express themselves so long as they make cogent statements. Sometimes the comments or arguments are ones we’ve seen a hundred times and that is all right so long as they do not become too tedious. Therefore I feel it is important to make two points right now regarding comments: 1) We, the staff, have editorial control over all discussion and it is in our purview to edit, delete, censure and/or rebut any comments that are made based on our own judgment. 2) This is an educational site and readers should make remarks with that intention in mind. It is all too easy to come to hasty superficial conclusions based on emotional impulses. Belaboring these conclusions when there is scanty evidential support, at best, demonstrates arrogance and a lack of respect for the educational purpose of this site. Human beings are not well-adapted to our current post-industrial, co-ed civilization and we have a long way to go (and a willingness to handle hot-button issues head on) before it makes any sense to make policy proposals. So please remember to approach Pigtails in Paint with an attitude of a student, not a pedagogue!
The Rectification of Names: Understandably the subject of pedophilia comes up on this site. In common parlance, it is a poorly-defined term and so gets thrown around rather recklessly. However a new term came to my attention recently: ephebophile. At first, I felt this term made a pedantic distinction but, after some thought, we do need to be more precise in our use of language so that we may make some real progress in our discussions. There is an interesting article called ‘The Rectification of Names’ which helps make this distinction and, after reading it, I realized that it is not really a subject we deal with on Pigtails in Paint because it falls outside of the age range of girls we cover. But I would like to mention that ephebophilia is not merely an extension of pedophilia. Upon puberty, girls/women experience a kind of quantum leap in their sexual development, both physically and psychologically. Therefore, issues involving pubescent girls require an almost completely different set of guidelines than those governing little girls and we should take care not to confound the two ideas.
Dedicated to Child Photography: An associate brought to my attention a blog dedicated to the photographers of children. The site’s mandate is to share installments of submitted photos, offer awards and conduct monthly and annual contests. The winners are published in an ebook which visitors can download.
Considering rectification of names, speaking about pubescent girls is per definition not connected to ephebophilia, but to hebephilia. Pedophilia is regarding to prepubescnt, hebephilia to pubescent, ephebophilia to postpubescent. So, in this sense, it is also unclear which girls’ age Pigtails cover. Not 11-14,15 because of the pubescent leap?
It was simply my intent that readers educate themselves by not confounding ideas that have a different set of conditions. Because of some people’s desire to demonize sex, many groups are inappropriately lumped together and that begins to normalize the perpetuation of such ignorance, sometimes quite deliberately. This site deals with little girls and those who insist on discussing sexual pathology need to respect the fact that, for the most part, we discuss principally a narrow age range. -Ron
Naming matters and definitions matter. Regardless of ones personal views, if the terminology used means vastly different things to various people, including lawmakers and mental healthcare professionals, no sensible debate or conversation can be had.
In addition to the pedo-/hebe-/ephebo- prefixes for prepubescent children, pubescent children, and post-pubescent adolescents, it is also useful to keep in mind the meaning of the -phile and -sexual suffixes.
For example, pedophilia signifies an adult (primarily) sexually attracted to prepubescent children, whereas pedosexuality additionally implies the adult seeking and/or engaging in actual sex with said child.
The former is, depending on your viewpoint; a mental abnormality, an unfortunate or unwanted desire incompatible with society and the welfare of children, or merely an inconvenient yet harmless desire. It is however not illegal, and if medical science is to be believed, also not something one can be blamed for.
The latter is generally regarded as a conscious decision and harmful, and to the best of my knowledge illegal in pretty much every jurisdiction.
The danger of not using these words properly means that in the minds of many an adult ogling a well-developed fifteen year old girl in a skimpy bathing suit is a ‘pedophile’ just as much as someone who raped an eight year old child.
I agree that good definitions are needed if there is going to be informed debate. In other words, there are some important distinctions to make here. I was resistant to all this jargon at first because it can also be used to convey a false sense of expertise when very little exists. I find such people tiresome. Thank you for your comment, -Ron
The “names” article was…interesting, to say the least. There is a valid point to be made there but the author appears to be something of a crypto-anarchist with a definite conservative slant. It wasn’t long before he was reflexively making broad accusations against liberals and “the left,” and eventually got the homosexual agenda in there as well. It’s all a big conspiracy, you know. And some of the commenters were just movement conservatives masquerading as “rationalists.” When you have people basically saying homosexual = pedophile = “criminal psychopath,” you know you won’t be getting much rationality. For what it’s worth.
Those who want to know the exact scientific names for the various erotic age preferences (nepio- / pedo- / hebe- / ephebo- / teleio- / meso- / geronto- philia) should consult works by sexologists. There is no point duplicating this clarification on this blog. But anyone can email me for an explanation.
It’s also worth noting that very few people fall exclusively into one classification.