pedophiles who hate themselves just like you hate them

## pedophiles who hate themselves just like you hate them

#### 10 November 2014
from celibate pedophiles

### ethan edwards

| Some pedophiles molest children. Others, like me and many others at Virtuous Pedophiles, accept that adult sexual activity with children is wrong. Ethan Edwards is the co-founder of Virtuous Pedophiles. Blog posts reflect his personal views, and are not statements from the organization. Types of pedophiles: Some pedophiles molest children and have no regrets about it unless they are caught. They make the news, and they are the example that comes to mind when people think "pedophile". Others are celibate, but loudly argue for a change in society's attitudes and laws so that sex with children should be accepted. They see no inherent problem with the activity. Others, like me and many others at Virtuous Pedophiles, accept that adult sexual activity with children is wrong. We can hope we seem less alien than the two types above because with respect to our views of the nature of children and what sexual activity is likely to be harmful for them, we are much like the average person. However, we feel OK about our attractions. Attraction to children is just part of who we are, and as long as we never engage in such activity, we think we're good people. That may still seem alien. A large class of pedophiles you may not have considered are self-hating pedophiles. A great many write to us at Virtuous Pedophiles. The basic message is, "I know I am never going to abuse a child, but I am attracted to children and I hate myself for having that attraction." Now, some ordinary people hate themselves — they might have serious depression or self-esteem problems arising from a troubled childhood or difficult life experiences. But there is no reason to think that these pedophiles have any psychological problems. As far as we can tell, they hate themselves for one thing only: that they are sexually attracted to children. I bring them to your attention to show that pedophiles aren't all that different from the rest of society: Much of society hates pedophiles simply for their thoughts. Lots of pedophiles hate themselves simply for their thoughts. Once more, we cover the same range as other people. Given the natural tendency of people to think well of themselves (known as [self-serving bias]) it wouldn't be surprising if a lower percentage of pedophiles hated themselves than the percentage in the population at large who hate them. But there are still a lot who hate themselves. In the list of categories above, only the first abuses children. There is another category of interest: offenders who also hate themselves. I think in society's mind, the pedophile child molester is at best someone who doesn't care about children or think what he has done is wrong. But those who work with them also report a great many sex offenders who know what they did was wrong and want to stop. They didn't control themselves when they should have. They are also in the category of self-hating pedophiles. Like someone who commits armed robbery to support a drug habit or someone who kills in the heat of a passionate rage, their desire led them into serious crime — but they think their action was wrong just as much as you do. I would like pedophiles to stop hating themselves for their attractions, just as I would like non-pedophiles to stop hating them. The groups are alike in sharing beliefs I would like to change. About the author: Ethan Edwards is a pseudonym. I am a pedophile, always celibate, and I have never seen child pornography. My attraction is strongest to girls around 4 years old, but I am also attracted to girls and women up through their 30s or beyond. Now in my late 60s, I'm divorced and living alone. I was married for over 10 years and was heavily involved with raising my 3 daughters. For most of my career I was a successful software engineer. I am very unusual for a pedophile in that I didn't realize that I was one until I was in my 50s—but it was there all along. I am angry that we all must remain silent or risk losing everything. That was my mindset when I co-founded Virtuous Pedophiles in 2012. I soon learned of the the terror of the typical pedophile who realizes as a teenager that his attraction isn't going to go away, who has nowhere to turn for help. The injustice I am most passionate about is the harsh legal penalties imposed on pedophiles who passively view illegal images of children. I stepped down from my role as a director of Virtuous Pedophiles early in 2024 and am delighted to pass the mantle on to a younger generation. This content was taken from Ethan's longstanding blog, Celibate Pedophiles. Some of the titles and taglines have been edited for their inclusion at thepword. You can see an earlier version of the blog at the wayback machine. |

other relevant items

other relevant items

poem: van de graaff, 1990 |  | science proves you like sex just as much with a condom |  | emma, a female pedophile
benjamin harker At height on a plastic box, / feet off earth, your hand / spanned that chromy globe |  | ethan edwards (In case there is any doubt, the title is sarcastic). |  | emma artless When I first joined and I did see that there were testimonials and stories from other women who had grown up with the same experience as me, I actually started crying.

poem: van de graaff, 1990 benjamin harker At height on a plastic box, / feet off earth, your hand / spanned that chromy globe
science proves you like sex just as much with a condom ethan edwards (In case there is any doubt, the title is sarcastic).
emma, a female pedophile emma artless When I first joined and I did see that there were testimonials and stories from other women who had grown up with the same experience as me, I actually started crying.