I've unfairly been pegged as a chronic troll here in the commune, and for that reason, I'm posting on something very serious.

Here's an interesting line of thought:

1. Decades ago, it was thought that homosexual preferences were a mental disorder and something to try to correct.

2. Present day, it's part of a massive civil rights struggle that has led to homosexuality being more or less accepted by the mainstream. A main component of this is "born this way" notion.

3. Present day, it's thought that pedophilic preferences are a mental disorder and something to try to correct.

4. In 50 years, will pedophilic preferences be the next great civil rights battle? Will there be a notion that they are just "born this way" with accusations of being pedophobic thrown towards anyone who opposes it?

Some people will read this as putting down homosexuality as being some kind of fucked up whatever. That's not the case.

Instead, I'm suggesting [the perhaps more outrageous opinion] that pedophilia (the preference, not the act) in and of itself is not fucked up.

Here's a fun read about a young guy who realized he was a pedophile and has taken steps to try to get support and build support for others who are in a similar situation as himself. It also discusses the problems that self-identified pedophiles face when trying to get help to make sure that they do not hurt someone: https://medium.com/matter/youre-16-y...w-e11ce4b88bdb

The topic of child porn laws also came up in a different thread, and that's kind of relevant here as well.