Have you ever wondered how the public perception of "pedophiles" became so distorted, perhaps even more so than MAPs as a wider group?

Have you ever sought a simple way to explain how we arrived at the present situation, and why it never seems to change?

Here, we will try to provide you with the answers to these questions. The post will also serve as a useful resource to share with others who come with the same queries.

There are many debates over the historical causes of pedo-hysteria, with religion, feminism, conservatism, neoliberalism, etc, often ending up on the hook. But it can also be helpful to put aside the divisive blame-gaming and instead take a look at some of the ongoing social processes that allow this state of affairs to sustain itself.

Introducing the benign pedophile

To understand how the myth sustains itself, let's first create a character who defies all the common stereotypes of what it means to be a pedophile. A man who has an erotic or romantic attraction towards children that is a variation of human sexual interest, no more, no less. To avoid complicating the matter, his interest is not characterized by any tendency to benefit from the infliction of pain or suffering on others. He is not interested in objectifying or fetishizing children, nor is he aroused or titillated by the idea that wider society sees his feelings as sexually "deviant".

We will call him the benign pedophile. Most pedophiles are in fact rather "benign" in character, just like him.

But benign pedophiles are erased from public view by what can only be described as a "perfect storm", or a confluence of circumstances.

Deviancy Amplification and Social Screening: A push-pull dynamic of erasure

To fully understand the de-centring and erasure of the benign pedophile, we need to look not only at the way he willingly hides himself from public view, but the cardboard monsters others put up in his place.

Aggressive demonical caricatures and groomer-libel are pushed at our benign pedophile by malign individuals - media and influencers with a vested interest in whipping up hate. Pedophilic men who do not see themselves reflected in those images, scramble to pull themselves from public view. Not only does the tiny window of public visibility move as a result, but the societal benchmark for "men like this" becomes all the more distorted.

To reiterate in more detail, firstly, he is pushed away and "replaced" by a process known as Deviancy Amplification.

According to sociologist Stanley Cohen, deviancy amplification usually starts with attention given to some "deviant", usually "criminal" matter. It can also involve lawful matters, such as sexualities considered morally repugnant.

With the media now focusing on an issue, misinformation about it can start to take hold. Hidden, extreme and marginal examples are reported and amplified regardless of how unrepresentative they are. Reported cases of such deviance are often presented as "just the ones we know about", or the "tip of the iceberg". This assertion - while it sounds scary, is nearly impossible to prove or disprove. Judges and magistrates then come under public pressure to deal out harsher sentences and politicians pass new laws to increase their popularity by giving the impression they are dealing with the perceived threat. The responses by those in authority tend to reinforce the public's fear.

This self-reinforcing confirmation of a pattern was first documented by Stanley Cohen in Folk Devils and Moral Panic.

Secondly, he pulls himself voluntarily from public view, via the process of Social Screening.

Understandably, our benign pedophile now has to react in his own self-interest, or self-preservation even. He has a life to live, and can't allow it be ruled over by amplified social caricatures he cannot control. In other words, he makes the deliberate and calculated decision to socially screen himself from the negative impacts of amplified perceptions. For the vast majority of benign pedophiles, this will mean entering the closet.

Social screening allows amplified misinformation to thrive, since those who peddle lies can take their target's silence for granted. The target is left unable to represent himself, stifled by an all-consuming fear induced by the identity-hijacking and slander of hostile parties.

The "No Sane Person" dilemma...

We are then left with a situation where no "sane" person would attempt to present themselves voluntarily as a pedophile. When only the criminal and "insane" 1% are ever worthy of the term, the benign 99% will predictably just try to get along, living their best possible life in the closet. Their input is after all, not valued, as it suits no one's self-interest. Not their own, nor that of their adversaries.

Instead, in this hollowed-out reality, "chancer" pedophiles emerge from the shadows, attempting to take centre stage. They are a motley crew; perhaps self-martyring madmen, perhaps the tragically deluded - convinced they are credibly "pure" or "virtuous". Just as in cycling road races, these "breakaway attempts" always go off early, and always end up failing and hitting the rocks.

High-quality individuals leave the building, as the myth of the vicious pedophile feeds off its own fallout, only growing stronger. The result is a grossly distorted and stereotyped public image based on the fears of the many and the malign agitations of a few. The real person behind the myth is erased in a barren landscape devoid of nuance.

And that is in short, the self-fulfilling tragicomic upshot of benign pedophilia and social screening. It offers no solution, but at least provides an answer to those who wanted to know. And while the damage might seem impossible to undo in a lifetime, fully grasping its magnitude and nature can perhaps help us understand what might constitute a credible plan for change, or outlook for life.

A glimmer of light

To avoid ending on a depressing note, there is always a sequel to these stories. While the severity of public opinion, and sentencing for men suspected and convicted of "pedophile" crimes has only intensified, the total number of arrests and convictions, is now embedded in a long, secular downtrend. This trend began well before the pandemic; it never fully recovered, and prison populations are only now starting to reflect it.

The long-term cure to pedo-hysteria, is if anything pedo-hysteria itself. Overreach will always lead to eventual reaction, as the pedophile slur is further disarmed by its own conspicuous use in partisan political discourse.

The road may be long, and while the possibility of the present moral panic "burning itself out" is deserving of its own post, we encourage readers to console themselves with these facts.

The here and now you are a part of, is just one tiny piece of the never-resolving puzzle that is history.

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