Why are pedophiles considered mentally ill?

Pedophilia is not the same as homosexuality. You can be a pedo and not be gay and you can be gay and not be a pedo. As for pedo being labeled a mental illness, yeah, that's cute and all for those who cling to it. Before I go on my rant, lemme state for the record, I'm all for not following the rules of the many to break away from the norm. I have no problem with that. If you wanna smoke weed, sniff coke, drink liquor, fuck bitches, get fucked by bitches, whatever your fancy go for it. I personally have an issue with pedo's. I may not have morals but I do have standards. There are some things that are clearly wrong and you should not do. You should not have sex with a child that's younger than 16 when you're 21 and older. Period. Children, as smart and cute as they can be, are not mature enough to make adult decisions like consent to sex. No debating. Children need protection from adults so that they're not taken advantage of. That's why there's child labor laws. Having a child put together iPhones for $5 an hour is not ok just cause the kid can do it and agrees to it. Same thing with sex. Just because a child may technically know what sex is for whatever the reason is does not mean it's ok to have sex with said child. If you really wanted to, you can have sex with donkeys and horses too, doesn't make it cool and OK, but you can do it. I don't have any kids so I may be lax in my way of thinking, but I'm pretty sure if I found out my 12 year old daughter was getting pounded by a 28 year old man I'd go to jail for cruel and unusual punishment and manslaughter. Hell, that scene from Tokyo Tribe that I post all the time is funny/creepy in a way but that's much more acceptable than an adult fucking a child. I don't even see how people can defend pedo's as if they don't know what they're doing. The friend that admitted that he's a pedo is great for recognizing the problem. Now he needs to address it and fix it. To me, it's not ok to fuck children. That's someone's baby boy, baby girl, niece, nephew, baby cuz, lil sis or bro. Again, that's nothing like Homosexuality. Adult homosexuals generally have consent and are either trying shit out, dating or in love. They're going at it like adults or like any other straight couple, with all the bumps and troubles too. In what way is homosexuality and pedophilia similar outside of 1 adult making a conscious decision to do something, primarily having to do with sex? please, explain that to me if you can cause I just don't fucking see it.

Ephebophilia ;D Im learning lols

I feel like people keep misunderstanding me. I am not saying that the act of having sex with children is acceptable. I'm saying that judging someone who can't help it if he feels attracted to children, but still doesn't act on the urges, seems wrong to me. In my opinion it's okay to judge a man who has tried or succeeded in having sex with a child as something bad. I think that there is an actual difference between child molestors and pedophiles, and the problem as i see it is that other people can't see this difference. The part where I compare homosexuals to pedophiles isn't meant to say tht they are the same, but I meant to say that they seem similar from a completely logic and non-biased point of view. Both are people with a different sexual attraction than the social or natural norm. The natural norm is that a grown man is attracted to a grown woman and the other way around. Saying that homosexuality isn't an illness but pedophilism is seems to me like a contradiction, since neither are natural norms.

I would make the point that it is within the realm of logic and reason to associate some forms of sexual attraction with an unbalanced mental state. In a normal homosexual relationship both partners are consenting adults and they can enjoy a healthy relationship, fully aware of the risks and benefits. If a person were to have a need to fulfill sexual urges by killing someone or watching them suffer, this would be wholly unacceptable to our society. They would be a psychopatic sadist. While no where near as dramatic, these principles can be applied to pedophilia. The reason we have laws protecting minors is that we have determined they do not have the complete mental capacity to understand the rammifications of their choices and they are at a MUCH higher risk of coercion. Both pedophilia and homosexuality may not be the "norm" but only one poses a significant threat to health and safety should it be acted upon. It is important to know that human beings can and will often act on urges. Substance abusers, alcoholics, problem gamblers, and even pedophiles know this. To pretend that it could never happen is the most dangerous part. Finding ways to manage it is the best.

I guess I see the point. I just still feel bad for people when they are judged immediately. Imagine if your best friend, who you would do anything for, and who has been by your side through all the important events of your life suddenly turned out to be a pedofile. Would you be able to go from "You are my best buddy ever, you are really an awesome dude, Bros for life" to "holy shit, your a disgusting pig, I don't ever want to see you again" I guess to sum it up, I feel bad for pedofiles because people often see past the fact that they are still humans, pedofile isn't their entire existence

I guess it can be considered a mental illness if it's due to child abuse/trauma. It's not normal, and by normal I mean, most human population are not intimately attracted to kids. I might eventually have kids someday would probably try to reduce my interaction with the person. I'm being honest here. I just don't want it to go as far as when I get kids he'll get the chance to interact with them or come near them just because we're friends. You can trust him as a friend and all, but you can never trust just how strong his self-control is. He may not do it now, but who knows till when he can keep up with his urges. No offense meant just speaking my mind >.<

It totally depends on the person. I think there is a certain presumption that people have, that all pedophiles are sadists who are constantly fighting a sick urge to rape your children. Now, just like there are plenty of men who will do anything to get a girl in bed, regardless of her emotions, there are plenty of selfish and even sadistic pedophiles. But not all pedophiles are like that. Also, there are plenty of female pedophiles too (it's not just a man thing). There are also pedophiles who would never think of harming a child. Also we need to distinguish between rape and sex/intimacy. Rape is the need to dominate/control or even hurt someone, usually to make yourself feel powerful. Rape is often used as a weapon, in war for example. Women and children may be raped by an opposing army even though such soldiers are not particularly pedophiles. In parts of Africa where rape is common, there have been rumors that you can get rid of AIDS by having sex with a virgin (in the more superstitious and ignorant parts, from what I've read), so children 12 and younger being raped is very common. I doubt that all the men involved are what we would think of as pedophiles from the perspective of long-term sexual preference. But they act out as rapist-pedophiles because of their fear, frustration, rage and such. My point is that, not all pedophiles rape children, and not everyone who rapes children is a true pedophile. But it's understandable for people to feel the way they do.

Thanks for your input everybody. This discussion has shown me a lot of different sides on the case and a lot of opinions, which in my opinion is what a discussion is all about. I think that people can move towards understanding and acceptance through healthy communication and discussion, and so, i hope that all of you also managed to reconsider and contemplate on the subject. Not neccesarily change your mind, just see things from a new perspective. I still feel sorry for the people who i believe are unfairly judged by most people, but i can see and understand most of the points that has been made in this discussion, and i feel enlightened, so thanks everybody ^^

as for your question Klausiboy, my aunt's ex husband is a pedophile, he abused my little cousins/ my aunt's children. He is lucky he is in prison or my dad or grandpa would have beaten him to death, as would have I.