Ephebophilia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ephebophilia has been defined as a sexual preference in which an adult is primarily or exclusively sexually attracted to postpubescent adolescents. It comes from the Greek: έφηβος (ephebos) variously defined as "one arrived at puberty", "a youth of 18 who underwent his dokimasia and was registered as a citizen (Athens)", and "arriving at man's estate"; and φιλία (-philia) "love".^[1] Despite this classical etymology it is a term of recent coinage, created by psychologist John Money in the late twentieth century.^{[citation needed]} It has been used by the Frenchman Felix Buffiere in 1980 and described at length by Tariq Rahman who argues that it should be used in preference to 'homosexuality' for describing grown men's aesthetic and erotic interest in adolescent boys when classical literatures in Persian, Turkish or Urdu are under discussion.

Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Legality 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Characteristics

The nature of ephebophilia is unresolved, and a variety of perspectives are held. Some regard ephebophilia as merely a milder form of pedophilia, in which the object of attraction is closer to what is "normal" than with a true pedophile.^{[citation needed]} According to one theory, ephebophilia is a chronophilia, i.e. a paraphilia in which the paraphile's sexual/erotic age is discordant with his or her actual chronological age, and is instead concordant with the age of the partner. It might also be caused by a refusal to "age" and instead, a desire to "reconnect" with one's youth.

Attraction to adolescents is not commonly regarded by psychologists as inherently pathological, only when it interferes with other relationships, becomes an obsession adversely affecting other areas of life, or causes distress to the subject.

Sexual desire that includes adolescents along with older individuals is common among adults with either a heterosexual or a homosexual orientation;^{[citation needed]} this is not labeled "ephebophilia" because the attraction to adolescents is not exclusive of adults. In some cultures, for adults to include adolescents among their sexual interests is considered normal, such as those in which adolescent girls have routinely been married to adult men. In certain Middle-Eastern cultures, as reflected in the literature written in Turkish, Persian and Urdu, the expression of love for good-looking adolescent boys is a literary norm in classical literature. In Urdu, for instance, it may be a metaphor for the mystic's quest for an immanent deity; a lover's desire for a woman who, being a veiled lady or a courtesan, are impossible to own; or, in some cases, boys who take the place of women in gender-segregated societies (Rahman 1989). The desire for adolescents, boys or girls, is not seen in these cultures as requiring an essentialist categorization in terms of abnormality, deviancy or mental health. Nor is it seen as being effeminate or unmanly. It is merely seen as a possibility, a taste and, in the case of boys being the objects of desire, sinful. However, it is not seen as 'homosexuality' as in the West with essentialist connotation (Rahman 1988). These cultural assumptions have been under assault since the advent of modernity and have changes in the cultures in which the languages mentioned above are spoken. Nonetheless, an open attraction to adolescents may be ridiculed or disparaged in some cultures as inappropriate or unhealthy, compared to forming a relationship with "someone your own age"; an attraction to adolescents is something one is expected to "grow out of". In Japanese society, the attraction of men towards teenage girls (high-school students) is a visible cultural phenomenon. The manifestations of such attraction, such as lolicon art, school uniform fetishes, and sexual relations with teenage girls (e.g. enjo kōsai) are tolerated more than in much of the Western world.

In fairytales, adolescent girls are made the object of limerence. However, the average age of such girls was around 15. The males seeking their love were mainly adolescent boys of around the same age if not slightly older. However, ephebophilia, which is adult men fall in love with teenage girls rather than with women their own age, is suggested in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera version of the Snow Maiden and also in the fairytale Sadko and in Vasilissa the Beautiful, hence the bearded merchant and the Sea Tsar's youngest of his many young daughters. The youngest being seen as most desirable. This is parallel to the gerontophobia in fairytales as well.

[edit] Legality

While ephebophilic desire is not regulated by any statute, aspects of sexually expressed ephebophilia may be against some laws. Depending on the age of consent in a given jurisdiction, an adolescent may be capable of giving legally-recognised consent to sexual activity. If the younger partner is below that age, it is commonly criminalised as statutory rape, regardless of whether the younger partner agrees to - or even initiates - the activity. Reasons given for this include:

• Some adolescents are unable to understand the physical, emotional, and social consequences of sexual activity. According to the August 2006 issue of Scientific American, the neurological development of late adolescents is not yet complete, leading to deficits in their higher cognitive functions including judgement, attention, and response to crisis situations. However, late adolescence also includes people over 18, since neurological development is still not complete at this age.
• Adult sexual relations with adolescents can be an abuse of power, using psychological coercion.
• Sexual relations with adolescent girls can lead to pregnancy and parenthood, for which adolescents may not be prepared emotionally and/or financially.

Relationships between adults and adolescents that do not include sexual activity are generally legal, assuming no other laws regarding child welfare are violated. For example, a romantic relationship with an adolescent below the age of consent is generally legal, especially when the adolescent's age is above the age at which their parents could consent to marriage. In other jurisdictions, this may be illegal.

[edit] See also

• Age disparity in sexual relationships
• Child sexual abuse
• Child sexuality
• Ephebiphobia
• Pederasty
• Pedophile activism

[edit] References