Psychologist Claims "Everybody Has Some Sexual Interest In Children" In Lecture On Understanding Pedophilia
The term minor-attracted persons (MAPs) was recently introduced to our society in an attempt to normalize pedophilia, and now a psychologist named Ian McPhail claims in a lecture that everyone has some kind of sexual attraction to children.
For as long as we can remember, pedophilia was known as a vulgar crime that should not be tolerated whatsoever. But in recent years, there have been more and more people in academia who attempt to normalize pedophilia, as if it's just as valid of a sexual preference as heterosexuality. We were introduced to the term minor-attracted persons (MAPs), which refers to people who are sexually attracted to children. In August 2022, a video emerged showing a licensed therapist advocating for pedophiles and lamenting over the fact that they are "vilified" and "marginalized." In 2021, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University discussed online the importance of removing stigma against pedophiles. He wrote a book called The Long Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity. Sadly, these examples are just a few of the many incidents in which we see people attempt to normalize pedophilia.
Psychologist Claims "Everybody Has Some Sexual Interest in Children" in Lecture on Understanding Pedophilia
In a 2022 conference at Université de Montréal, Ian McPhail, a psychologist who is a postdoctoral fellow in the Centre International de Criminologie Comparée (CICC), gave a presentation titled "Pedophilia: Recent and emerging research." He claimed that there isn't actually anything uncommon or abnormal about pedophiles. In fact, he claims that everyone struggles with sexual attraction to children.
"So with pedophilia there are three main options, or possibilities, I should say for latent structure," he says in front of a PowerPoint presentation. "It's a dimension, which means—I'll say this very controversially—that means everybody in the room has some amount of sexual interest in children. Some of us will have very little—most of us will have very little—and some people have quite a bit of the sexual attraction to children."
He goes on to say there are two possibilities for understanding pedophilia. The first model is that there are two groups: people who are sexually attracted to children and people who are not. There's another option that identifies a latent structure with three different categories of sexual interest in children.
Many people in the comment section are quick to point out that McPhail's research is done in an attempt to prevent child sexual abuse, not encourage it. However, the idea that everyone has some kind of sexual abuse to children raises concerns about potentially moving away from the idea that pedophilia is immoral and depraved. Wouldn't claiming that everyone has some kind of sexual attraction to children mean that it could be considered normal?
It sounds like a dangerous, slippery slope to try and claim that everyone struggles with sexual attraction to children, especially when there are probably countless people out there who can say honestly that they have never had a sexual urge towards minors.
There are more than 42 million survivors of sexual abuse in the US. 1 in every 3 girls and 1 in every 5 boys are sexually abused before they reach the age of 18. This is a devastating issue that is seriously affecting the wellbeing of our youth. According to McPhail's biography, "his research at the CICC focuses on understanding psychotherapeutic change process in sexual offender treatment." He has a program of research that focuses on "understanding pedophilia and psychological risk factors for sexual offending against children" and he has worked in different mental health settings.