"“Apparently, I am a Pedophile:” Living and Coping as a Child-Lover in " by Andrew Extein
The term “pedophile” is among the most loaded and controversial in Western culture. In my study I seek to gain a better understanding of the men that would fall into the category of “pedophile,” a phrase that is more often than not misused and misrepresented by our society. To gain this insight I have interviewed six self-identified child-lovers or pedophiles about their life experiences with these feelings, how they came to realize their feelings, how they came to terms with their feelings, how they express their feelings, and how they cope with their feelings. The paper discusses and defines certain misused terminology, examines past research on the topic of pedophiles and child-lovers, and attempts to better represent a group that is not allowed to vocalize their feelings.