Are Some Men Born Pedophiles? New Science Says Yes, But Sexologists Say Not So Fast

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/are-some-men-born-pedophiles-new-science-says-yes-sexologists-say-not-so-fast




Pope Benedict’s legacy will be forever tied to it. Penn State’s lawyers are offering legal settlements over it. Adults who knew perpetrators for years still struggle with it. And now new research suggests that some people are born with brains ‘wired’ for sexual attraction to children—or pedophilia—a propensity that’s further shaped by life experiences and often cannot be controlled.

“Whatever the chain of events is, the chain begins before birth,” said James M. Cantor, a University of Toronto professor of psychiatry whose research team has made a series of startling correlations finding that pedophiles are likely to share physical attributes, such as slightly lower IQs, shorter body height, left-handedness and less brain tissue.

“There is no way to explain the findings that we get for pedophelia without mentioning or without including biology,” he recently told Canada’s Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. “It is inescapable at this point. We cannot rule out psycho-social influences, but we cannot have a complete theory that cannot explain these non-obvious but but exquisitely important biological findings.”

Cantor’s findings have become big news not just because pedophilia is seen as one of the worst crimes—and its scandals and cover-ups don’t seem to end, whether in the Roman Catholic church or football-protecting universities. The idea that moral—and immoral—behavior has a basis in biology is the latest twist in the age-old debate of whether nature or nurture drives human action. For much of the 20 th century, psychologists looked more to the nurture side of the equation. But 21 st century science, with brain-scan imaging and computing power to analyze big data, are suggesting that both factors—one’s genes and one’s upbringing—shape human sexuality.

[loli phabay]

1. i think ones sexuality is hard wired at birth. we may not just know it or society bends us to its n

Norms. In my experience people may have an epithany about their sexual preferences but it has always been there just hidden until either the opportunity or self awareness arises.

[kentuck]

2. The ex-cop from Colorado Springs was sentenced to 70 yrs in prison yesterday.

I do believe that the sex drive in many men, perhaps most, is the strongest natural urge to control and some are unable to do so. Is is more of a sickness or a crime or can it be separated?

This guy may have been a DUer? (just a hunch)

[loli phabay]

3. depends on if you you believe a high sex drive is a sickness or not. I dont we are all different

I believe i have a very high sex drive. Does this drive me to commit sex crimes NO it does not. We have seperate the crime and the sex drive as many people with lower drives commit crimes and many with high drives dont.

Wondering why you think the guy is a duer as im not sure what the story is about.

[kentuck]

4. Just my opinion ..

but I think some people cannot control it. The evidence, with priests and other respected professions, indicates it is not something done merely by choice. Just my opinion.

[loli phabay]

7. yup and you are entitled to it. i just dont think its a sex drive issue when it comes to these crim

Crimes. I believe its more the hard wired preferences i spoke off. When its a simple case of something not illegal but something that some.judge immoral then its society hindering the individuals free expression of their sexual preferences. Having a high sex drive does not mean that you cant control it but if you try to supress it due to being told its not normal is when you get into difficulties.

[Aerows]

13. I don't think a high sex drive is a sickness

I'm female, and well, let's just say I have a healthy appetite. LOL. It doesn't drive me to commit sex crimes, either. I just love women.

Sex crimes aren't about sex, anyway, really. They are about power. I think it is bullshit to suggest that people are born to be pedophiles and rapists. I honestly believe that something happens to them that they feel the need to have power over someone.

[bettyellen]

14. yep, some people don't have any empathy and only concern themselves with their own wants...

I don't think a high sex drive comes into it at all.
If you have no conscience or care for others and are only attracted to those you can very easily exploit like kids, it does't matter how strong your drive is. But you have to be a bit of a sociopath first to be able to act on those impulses.

[uriel1972]

5. The trouble lies in using brain scans of children to jail people before they commit a crime I think.

can you be guilty of a crime that hasn't been committed yet?

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. Do they have "criminal faces?"

Can we draw out their brain regions?





It's amazing that we're still stuck in 19th century nonsense. Our "machines" have gotten better, but the underlying theory is just as stupid.

[ismnotwasm]

10. Lol

Good one

[no_hypocrisy]

8. I've wondered if some adult pedophiles

originated as being drawn to children when they themselves were children and that urge is arrested despite their aging into adults. In other words, it isn't so much an adult being sexually attracted to a child as much as it's something that's always been with a person.

Thoughts?

[DirkGently]

19. I suspect that experience and genetics are both involved.

Not a psych expert, but somewhere out there is the precise idea you articulate -- that abused children "freeze" in their perceptions and wind up with a distorted view of sexuality that sexualizes kids. We do know that abused kids often become abusers themselves. I remember reading a heart-wrenching account by a woman who recounted being abused by a family member, and later turning the same type of abuse on a younger male relative.

I think our sexual psyches are both inherited and constructed. If we want to address destructive behavior -- as well leaving consenting adults alone -- we need to recognize that.

[randome]

11. I don't understand why MindPilot's post was hidden.

We should all be interested in the truth and the science of things no matter where the path leads.

[oldhippie]

12. It was alerted upon and hidden .....

.... due to the use of the terms "pedophile" and "Homosexual" in the same post.

[SwissTony]

15. Even though (s)he said paedophile != homosexual??? NT

[loli phabay]

16. it was a dumb hide of an interesting post

[DirkGently]

17. That's a disturbing and dishonest reason to hide an astute post.

"Hard-wiring" or genetic predisposition has been a central pro-gay rights argument forever. Why would we assume a different sexual predisposition couldn't possibly be "hard-wired" as well?

It doesn't make sense, and the post above dismissing the notion as antiquated as phrenology is also ludicrously disingenuous.

The moral aspect is a separate issue entirely. I've always thought it didn't matter if homo / heterosexuality was "hard-wired" because we're talking about the sexual conduct of consenting adults. I avoid commenting on the issue generally because some in the gay community think it is extremely important that nothing undermine the notion that homosexuality is not a "choice," but the lack of *harm* in private sexual conduct among adults is the bottom line for why it's not a crime, nor even anyone's business but those involved.

But this issue is too important to fart around with political sensitivities. Of course abusive and predatory sexual proclivities are hardwired. There may be psychological / experiential components as well, but it's not like non-pedophiles abstain out of a sense of decency alone. Most people are utterly repelled by the thought of it.

We would be stupid to be so determined to condemn a sexual predisposition that rightfully horrifies us that we have to deny that some people are clearly saddled with some kind of internal drive the rest of us simply do not have and cannot comprehend.

Recognizing a reason for something is not the same as excusing it. Surely we are smart enough to deal with that.

[oldhippie]

18. "Surely we are smart enough to deal with that "

Recognizing a reason for something is not the same as excusing it. Surely we are smart enough to deal with that.

Ya' think? Not so much around here.