Disclaimer: like most pedophiles, I have never approached a child with anything sexual or otherwise inapporpriate, and I don’t plan ever to do so. I recognize the harm in such actions, and I don’t want to hurt the very people I love. If you expect AMA with a child molester, this ain’t it.

The account is a throwaway, hope you’ll understand this decision given the sensitivity of the topic.

Edit: Thank you for keeping civil and genuine in your questions. I did envision hostility, yet here you are, amazing as always. Lemmy is a wonderful place to be, thanks to you all!

Edit 2: Apparently we have another brave pedophile here in the comments, and he came with a good note I should include in the post: if you find yourself attracted to minors, that’s okay. Acting on your desires is dangerous, but having them isn’t. If you’d like to have some support and/or community that would help you get your bearings or just listen without any prejudice (we’re all in the same boat), there are places that can help you. Visit VirPed (18+) or MAP Support Club (13+; scroll down for details), or refer to other resources through the MAP Resources website.

  • @Cold_Brew_Enema
    14•7 months ago

    This thread is making me realize there are a lot more pedophiles than I thought.

    Do you have any friends with kids, and do they let you around them?

    • @[email protected]English
      18•7 months ago

      I’m not OP, but I’m also a pedophile. I am out to friends with kids and they trust me around them. My friends know me deeply and believe that I am a good person and that I am trustworthy.

      I understand the why of your question, but it still stings. This is like asking straight friends do people let you around women (or men, depending on which gender they’re attracted to). I’m not a danger to anyone, just like you aren’t in danger of sexually assaulting any attractive adult you might see or be alone with. I recognize that this answer may have you brand my friends as naive for trusting me. Maybe you think that all pedophiles will always eventually touch a kid, or that merely having an attraction I didn’t choose makes me a risk and a danger. I hope that you’ll examine that belief, maybe even take the time to get to know some of us. It’s not true that we all hurt kids, but thst societal belief does make us think it’s true. Before I found Virped and MAP Support Club I thought I was the only one, and I thought it would just be a matter of time.

      This article talks about all the pedophiles you may know who aren’t out and who you’ll never find out about because we don’t do anything:

      https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KpMNqA5BiCRozCwM3/social-dark-matter

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      7•7 months ago

      In my case, I am not out, since it adds a lot of risks for me, and I’m generally careful on who I’m out to - there’s always a chance a person can use that against me, or just freak out and out me knowing I’m attracted to children.

      But I do sometimes babysit children, and I’m considered to be an excellent person to trust children to among friends and family - someone who will entertain kids, properly care about them, follow all the requests parents may have. Children love and trust me too - I pay a lot of attention to their needs and always listen up on anything that’s on their mind; I also mediated several conflicts between kids and parents, and earned a reputation of a person who can solve things in a way that makes both sides happy. At the end of the day, both parents and kids see me as a close and trusted friend.