Ephebophilia

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Erastes (lover) and Eromenos (beloved) kissing. Tondo of an Attic red-figured cup, c. 480 BC Kiss Briseis Painter Louvre G278 full.jpg
Erastes (lover) and Eromenos (beloved) kissing. Tondo of an Attic red-figured cup, c. 480 BC

Ephebophilia is the primary sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19. [1] The term was originally used in the late 19th to mid-20th century. [1] It is one of a number of sexual preferences across age groups subsumed under the technical term chronophilia.Ephebophilia strictly denotes the preference for mid-to-late adolescent sexual partners, not the mere presence of some level of sexual attraction. [1] It is not a psychiatric diagnosis. [2]

Contents

In research environments, specific terms are used for chronophilias: for instance, ephebophilia to refer to the sexual preference for mid-to-late adolescents, hebephilia to refer to the sexual preference for earlier pubescent individuals, and pedophilia to refer to the primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children. [1] [2]

Etymology and definitions

The term ephebophilia comes from the Ancient Greek : ἔφηβος ephebos (from epi "upon" + hebe "youth", "early manhood") defined as "a youth of eighteen to twenty, particularly one who underwent his dokimasia and was registered as a citizen (Athens)", and φιλία -philia 'love'. [3] It has been used in publications by Dutch psychologist Frits Bernard in 1950, [4] and reprinted in 1960 in the gay support magazine Vriendschap under the pseudonym Victor Servatius, [5] crediting the origin of the term to Magnus Hirschfeld with no exact date given. [6] The word was in fact first published in French (éphébophilie), from Georges Saint-Paul's 1896 book, Tares et Poisons: Perversion et Perversité Sexuelles. [7]

The term was described by Frenchman Félix Buffière in 1980, [8] and Pakistani scholar Tariq Rahman, [9] who argued that ephebophilia should be especially used with regard to homosexuality when describing the aesthetic and erotic interest of adult men in adolescent boys in classical Persian, Turkish, or Urdu literature. The term was additionally revived by Ray Blanchard to denote men who sexually prefer 15- to 19-year-olds. [1] The typical ephebophilic age range has also been given as ages 15–16. [10] Women's sexual interest in adolescents has been studied significantly less than men's sexual interest in adolescents. [10]

Although ephebophilia is not a psychiatric diagnosis, [2] the term pedophilia is commonly used by the general public and the media, at least in the English-speaking world, to refer to any sexual interest by significantly older adults in minors below the local age of consent, regardless of their level of physical or mental development. [11] [12] [ unreliable source? ]

Characteristics

Mid-to-late adolescents typically have physical characteristics near or identical to that of legal adults. [10] Because of this, scholars Skye Stephens and Michael C. Seto argue that ephebophilia contrasts what a paraphilia entails since "older adolescents are reproductively viable and the fact that typically men are sexually attracted to older adolescents, as reflected in self-report, psychophysiological, and pornography use studies." [10] Psychiatrist and sexologist Fred Berlin states that most men can find persons in this age group sexually attractive, but that "of course, that doesn't mean they're going to act on it. Some men who become involved with teenagers may not have a particular disorder. Opportunity and other factors may have contributed to their behaving in the way they do". [12] According to psychologist and sexologist James Cantor, it is "very common for regular men to be attracted to 18-year-olds or 20-year-olds. It's not unusual for a typical 16-year-old to be attractive to many men and the younger we go the fewer and fewer men are attracted to that age group." [13]

Ephebophilia is used only to describe the preference for mid-to-late adolescent sexual partners, not the mere presence of some level of sexual attraction. [1] Generally, the preference is not regarded by psychologists as a pathology, as long as it does not interfere with other major areas of one's life. It is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) or the ICD-10. [2]

Blanchard et al. stated that hebephilia , erotic interest which centers on young pubescents, has not come into widespread use, even among professionals who work with sex offenders, and may have been confused with the term ephebophilia, which denotes a preference for older adolescents. [1] They reasoned that "few would want to label erotic interest in late—or even mid—adolescents as a psychopathology, so the term hebephilia may have been ignored along with ephebophilia". [1] Although Stephens and Seto argue that, in contrast to ephebophilia, "conceptually, hebephilia is a paraphilia, reflecting an atypical (statistically rare) sexual age interest in pubescent children", they also state hebephilia has not been widely accepted as a paraphilia or mental disorder and that there is significant academic debate as to whether it should be classified as either. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraphilia</span> Atypical sexual attraction

A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human partner. Paraphilias are contrasted with normophilic ("normal") sexual interests, though the definition of what makes a sexual interest normal or atypical remains controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual fetishism</span> Sexual arousal a person receives from an object or situation

Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual fixation on a nonliving object or body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish for that object is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a non-pathological aid to sexual excitement, or as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. Sexual arousal from a particular body part can be further classified as partialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Money</span> New Zealand psychologist and sexologist (1921–2006)

John William Money was a New Zealand American psychologist, sexologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University known for his research on human sexual behavior and gender. Believing that gender identity was malleable within the first two years of life, Money advocated for the surgical "normalization" of the genitalia of intersex infants.

Hebephilia is the strong, persistent sexual interest by adults in pubescent children who are in early adolescence, typically ages 11–14 and showing Tanner stages 2 to 3 of physical development. It differs from pedophilia, and from ephebophilia. While individuals with a sexual preference for adults may have some sexual interest in pubescent-aged individuals, researchers and clinical diagnoses have proposed that hebephilia is characterized by a sexual preference for pubescent rather than adult partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Freund</span> Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist (1914–1996)

Kurt Freund was a Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist best known for developing the penile plethysmograph, research studies in pedophilia, and for the "courtship disorder" hypothesis as a taxonomy of certain paraphilias. After unsuccessful attempts to change men's sexual orientation, he advocated against conversion therapy and in favor of the decriminalization of homosexuality.

Penile plethysmography (PPG) or phallometry is a measurement of blood flow to the penis, typically used as a proxy for measurement of sexual arousal. The most commonly reported methods of conducting penile plethysmography involves the measurement of the circumference of the penis with a mercury-in-rubber or electromechanical strain gauge, or the volume of the penis with an airtight cylinder and inflatable cuff at the base of the penis. Corpora cavernosa nerve penile plethysmographs measure changes in response to inter-operative electric stimulation during surgery. The volumetric procedure was invented by Kurt Freund and is considered to be particularly sensitive at low arousal levels. The easier to use circumferential measures are more widely used, however, and more common in studies using erotic film stimuli. A corresponding device in women is the vaginal photoplethysmograph.

The term chronophilia was used by psychologist John Money to describe varying forms of romantic preference and/or sexual fixation limited to individuals of particular age ranges. Some such fixations, specifically those towards prepubescents and those towards the elderly, constitute types of paraphilia. The term has not been widely adopted by sexologists, who instead use terms that refer to the specific age range in question. An arguable historical precursor was Richard von Krafft-Ebing's concept of "age fetishism". Importantly, chronophilia are technically not determined by age itself, but by human sexual maturity stages, such as body type, secondary sexual characteristics and other visible features, particularly as measured by the stages of the Tanner scale.

Gerontophilia is the primary sexual attraction to the elderly. A person with such a sexual preference is a gerontophile or gerontosexual.

The lovemap is a concept originated by sexologist John Money in his discussions of how people develop their sexual preferences. Money defined it as "a developmental representation or template in the mind and in the brain depicting the idealized lover and the idealized program of sexual and erotic activity projected in imagery or actually engaged in with that lover."

Paraphilic infantilism, also known as autonepiophilia and adult baby, is a sexual fetish or non-sexual fetish that may involve role-playing a regression to an infant-like state. Paraphilic infantilism is a form of ageplay. People who practice paraphilic infantilism are often colloquially referred to as "adult babies", or "ABs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androphilia and gynephilia</span> Sexual orientation to men or women

Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation, as an alternative to a gender binary homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to men and/or masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to women and/or femininity. Ambiphilia describes the combination of both androphilia and gynephilia in a given individual, or bisexuality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Blanchard</span> American-Canadian sexologist (born 1945)

Ray Milton Blanchard is an American-Canadian sexologist who researches pedophilia, sexual orientation and gender identity. He has found that men with more older brothers are more likely to be gay than men with fewer older brothers, a phenomenon he attributes to the reaction of the mother's immune system to male fetuses. Blanchard has also published research studies on phallometry and several paraphilias, including autoerotic asphyxia. Blanchard also proposed a typology of transsexualism.

The American-Canadian sexologist Ray Blanchard proposed a psychological typology of gender dysphoria, transsexualism, and fetishistic transvestism in a series of academic papers through the 1980s and 1990s. Building on the work of earlier researchers, including his colleague Kurt Freund, Blanchard categorized trans women into two groups: homosexual transsexuals who are attracted exclusively to men and are feminine in both behavior and appearance; and autogynephilic transsexuals who experience sexual arousal at the idea of having a female body. Blanchard and his supporters argue that the typology explains differences between the two groups in childhood gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, history of sexual fetishism, and age of transition.

Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, psychiatric diagnostic criteria for pedophilia extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13. People with the disorder are often referred to as pedophiles.

Courtship disorder is a theoretical construct in sexology developed by Kurt Freund in which a certain set of paraphilias are seen as specific instances of anomalous courtship instincts in humans. The specific paraphilias are biastophilia, exhibitionism, frotteurism, telephone scatologia, and voyeurism. According to the courtship disorder hypothesis, there is a species-typical courtship process in humans consisting of four phases, and anomalies in different phases result in one of these paraphilic sexual interests. According to the theory, instead of being independent paraphilias, these sexual interests are individual symptoms of a single underlying disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cantor</span> American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist

James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias.

Frits Bernard was a clinical psychologist, sexologist and gay and pedophile activist in the Netherlands. He was also a leading member and author for the Dutch Society for Sexual Reform and established a foundation in his own name. Bernard founded Enclave Kring, which led the Enclave International Fellowship in the 1950s. This made him the founder of the first pedophile movement.

<i>Are All Men Pedophiles?</i> 2012 documentary film by Jan-Willem Breure

Are All Men Pedophiles? is a 2012 documentary film by Rwandan-Dutch media producer Jan-Willem Breure. Presented by 14-year-old model Savannah van Zweeden and covering the topics of pedophilia and hebephilia, the entire film was financed privately, mainly by the 23-year-old Breure. Are All Men Pedophiles? had its world premiere at the Queens World Film Festival in New York City on March 2, 2012 and has been screened at a number of film festivals.

Erotic target location error (ETLE) is a hypothesized dimension for paraphilias, defined by having a sexual preference or strong sexual interest in features that are somewhere other than on one's sexual partners. When one's sexual arousal is based on imagining oneself in another physical form the erotic target is said to be one's self, or erotic target identity inversion (ETII).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Blanchard, Ray; Lykins, Amy D.; Wherrett, Diane; Kuban, Michael E.; Cantor, James M.; Blak, Thomas; Dickey, Robert; Klassen, Philip E. (2009). "Pedophilia, Hebephilia, and the DSM-V". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 38 (3): 335–50. doi:10.1007/s10508-008-9399-9. PMID   18686026. S2CID   14957904.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Miller S (2018). The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 1713. ISBN   978-1496371003.
  3. ↑ Rahman, T. (1988). "Ephebophilia: the case for the use of a new word". Forum for Modern Language Studies. 24 (2): 126–141. doi:10.1093/fmls/XXIV.2.126.
  4. ↑ "Sexology". Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  5. ↑ Bernard, F. (1998). Selected publications of Dr Frits Bernard – An international bibliography. Rotterdam: Enclave.[ page needed ]
  6. ↑ Servatius, V. (1960, March 15). Ephebophilie en wetenschap [Ephebophilia and science]. Vriendschap Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , 35-35.
  7. ↑ Janssen, Diederik F. (2015). "'Chronophilia': Entries of Erotic Age Preference into Descriptive Psychopathology". Medical History. 59 (4): 575–98. doi:10.1017/mdh.2015.47. PMC   4595948 . PMID   26352305.
  8. ↑ Buffière, F. (1980). Éros adolescent : la pédérastie dans la Grèce antique, Paris, p. 11.
  9. ↑ Rahman, T. (1990). "Boy-Love in the Urdu Ghazal". Annual of Urdu Studies. 7: 1–20.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Phenix A, Hoberman H (2015). Sexual Offending: Predisposing Antecedents, Assessments and Management. Springer. p. 30. ISBN   978-1493924165.
  11. ↑ Gavin H (2013). Criminological and Forensic Psychology. SAGE Publications. p. 155. ISBN   978-1118510377. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  12. 1 2 S. Berlin, Frederick. "Interview with Frederick S. Berlin, M.D., Ph.D." Office of Media Relations. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  13. ↑ Stephenson, Wesley (30 July 2014). "How many men are paedophiles?". BBC Magazine. London, England: BBC . Retrieved 2 December 2018.
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