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| <TITLE>What Can Science Tell Us about Man/Boy Love?</TITLE> | |
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| <H2 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Positive and Beneficial Experiences</FONT></H2> | |
| <CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=2 WIDTH=576></P></CENTER> | |
| <P><B>Consensual intergenerational experiences of younger people are often | |
| quite positive and beneficial for the participants, regardless of their | |
| ages. In contrast, non-consensual experiences, when the wishes of the youngster | |
| are disregarded, can be very damaging. These clearly are the lessons to | |
| be drawn from <A HREF="#studies">recent scientific studies of sexual experiences | |
| between men and boys</A>. Studies conducted by victimologists and people | |
| who seek to regulate the sexual behavior of others have obscured and hidden | |
| these facts from the public.</B></P> | |
| <P><B>A major study of over 8,000 German youth who had been reported as | |
| "victims" in criminal cases was conducted by Michael Baurmann | |
| for the German state police agency (similar to the FBI in the US). Using | |
| the opinions of the youth, the opinions of experts, and standard psychological | |
| assessments, Baurmann found that none of the boys had been harmed. Boys | |
| under 14 years of age were between 10% and 15% of the total cases studied. | |
| However, other factors were at work in the experiences of girls. Click | |
| here for <A HREF="baurmann.htm">the English summary of Baurmann's findings</A>.</B></P> | |
| <P><B>The outcomes of sexual experiences between adults and younger people | |
| primarily depend upon whether the sex was consensual. Also, sexual experiences | |
| are powerfully influenced by expectations and the attitudes toward sex | |
| which have been passed on to younger people by their parents and social | |
| environment. Rigidly anti-sexual attitudes and fears can predispose anyone | |
| to harm. Boys often approach sex with great interest and enthusiasm, so | |
| that their <A HREF="money1.htm">consensual sexual experiences</A> are <A HREF="hertoft.htm">not | |
| harmful</A>.</B></P> | |
| <P><B>Once sexual experiences have become known to others, secondary harm | |
| to youngsters can be induced by the reactions of parents, police, social | |
| workers, lawyers and other adults, where no apparent harm results from | |
| the sexual contact itself.</B></P> | |
| <P>I<B>f people are not taught to despise their bodies and fear sex, if | |
| their sexual choices are not forced on them by others, and if they are | |
| not subjected to harsh or stigmatizing reactions to their sexual choices | |
| and experiences, they will not be harmed by having sex, regardless of how | |
| old or young they are or with whom they have sex.</B></P> | |
| <CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=2 WIDTH=576></P></CENTER> | |
| <H3 ALIGN=CENTER><A NAME="studies"></A>SELECTED REFERENCES</H3> | |
| <P>Adam, Barry "Age, Structure, and Sexuality: Reflections on | |
| the Anthropological Evidence on Homosexual Relations," <I>Journal | |
| of Homosexuality</I>, Vol. 11, No. 3/4, pp. 19-34, Summer 1985. (Also published | |
| as <I>The Many Faces of Homosexuality: Anthropological Approaches to Homosexual | |
| Behavior</I>. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1986.)<BR> | |
| Compares data from 19 different named cultures, and many more not named, | |
| where man/boy homosexual relationships are institutionalized, to support | |
| the view that the kinship structures of a society largely determine the | |
| prevalent modes of sexual expression in that society, whatever they may | |
| be. </P> | |
| <P>Baurmann, M. C. <I><A HREF="baurmann.htm">Sexuality, Violence, | |
| and Psychological After-Effects: A Longitudinal Study of Cases of Sexual | |
| Assault which were Reported to the Police</A></I>. Wiesbaden: Bundeskriminalamt, | |
| 1988.<BR> | |
| A massive longitudinal study of all reported victims of sex offenses against | |
| minors in the German State of Lower Saxony during a four-year period from | |
| 1969-1972, with six to ten year follow-ups, under the direction of the | |
| German Ministry of Justice. The total sample is over 8,000, including over | |
| 800 boys up to age 14. Violence and/or coercion were present in roughly | |
| half the reported offenses against girls, and were correlated with negative | |
| outcomes. <B>None of the boys experienced force or coercion</B>, and <B>no | |
| negative outcomes were observed for any of the boys</B>. The study used | |
| both subjective and multiple standardized objective measures. <B>It is | |
| by far the most in-depth large study and the largest in-depth study in | |
| this field.</B> </P> | |
| <P>Best, Joel <I>Threatened Children: Rhetoric & Concern about | |
| Child Victims</I>. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.<BR> | |
| A highly recommended, pioneering survey of <B>a constellation of social | |
| problems</B> and their recent magnification. Provides thorough statistical | |
| evaluations and analyses of the most common fears and prejudices underlying | |
| society's concerns about child abduction, sexual abuse, and other urban | |
| myths, from a sociological perspective. Describes media pandering to public | |
| fears.</P> | |
| <P>Constantine, Larry L. "<A HREF="constantine.htm">Effects | |
| of Early Sexual Experiences: A Review and Synthesis of Research</A>," | |
| in Constantine, L. L., Martinson, F. M., (eds.) <I>Children and Sex: New | |
| Findings, New Perspectives</I>. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1981.<BR> | |
| Reviews 30 studies, most of which include child-adult contacts. Breaks | |
| down experiences by outcome for the younger partner as: positive, neutral, | |
| or negative. Examines relationships between several variables and observed | |
| outcomes.</P> | |
| <P>Constantine, Larry L. "Child Sexuality: Recent Developments | |
| and Implications for Treatment, Prevention, and Social Policy," <I>International | |
| Journal of Medicine and Law</I>, 1983 No. 2, pp. 55-67.<BR> | |
| Reviews findings of the above article. Discusses implications for treatment, | |
| prevention, and social policy. Includes proposals for legal revisions. | |
| <BR> | |
| Among the findings of this major literature review:<BR> | |
| <B>"The most important determinant in the outcome of childhood incest | |
| or adult-child sexual encounters is the child's perception of freedom of | |
| choice in participating.</B>" Among the observed implications:<BR> | |
| <B>"The research to date points to the child's subjective experience | |
| as the central concern. If it is the child's person which is to be protected | |
| from being violated against the child's will, then it is the child's will | |
| which governs the determination.</B>"</P> | |
| <P>Freedman, Estelle "Uncontrolled Desires": The Response to | |
| the Sexual Psychopath, 1920-1960." Journal of American History vol. | |
| 74 no. 1 (June 1987). Pp. 83-106.</P> | |
| <P>Gagnon, John "Female Child Victims of Sex Offenses," | |
| <I>Social Problems</I>, Vol. 13, pp. 176-192, 1965.<BR> | |
| Investigates common characteristics of girls who have experienced various | |
| kinds of sexual contact with adults, based upon a large sample from the | |
| original Kinsey study.</P> | |
| <P>Gay, Judith "`Mummies and Babies' and Friends and Lovers | |
| in Lesotho,"<I> Journal of Homosexuality</I>, Vol. 11, No. 3/4, pp. | |
| 97-116, Summer 1985. (Also published as The Many Faces of Homosexuality: | |
| Anthropological Approaches to Homosexual Behavior. New York: Harrington | |
| Park Press, 1986.)<BR> | |
| Examines institutionalized woman/girl love in southern Africa, noting the | |
| key role of these relationships in providing the girls with emotional support | |
| prior to marriage and providing a network of support for women in new towns | |
| or schools.</P> | |
| <P>Jones, G. P. "The Study of Intergenerational Intimacy in | |
| North America: Beyond Politics and Pedophilia," <I>Journal of Homosexuality</I>, | |
| Vol. 20, pp. 275-295, 1990.</P> | |
| <P>McClintock, Martha K. and Gilbert Herdt "Rethinking Puberty: | |
| The Development of Sexual Attraction," <I>Current Developments in | |
| Psychological Science,</I> Volume 5, No. 1 (December, 1996).</P> | |
| <P>Money, John "Juvenile, Pedophile, Heterophile: Hermeneutics | |
| of Science, Medicine and Law in Two Outcome Studies," <I>International | |
| Journal of Medicine and Law</I>, 1983 No. 2 pp. 39-54.<BR> | |
| An unusually detailed investigation of two consensual long-term "pedophiliac" | |
| relationships. This long-term, prospective case study finds the relationships | |
| to be non-harmful and possibly beneficial for both partners. Money is among | |
| the most widely cited American authors on pediatric sexology and sexual | |
| and gender development.</P> | |
| <P>Nelson, Joan "Incest: Self-Report Findings From a Nonclinical | |
| Sample," <I>Journal of Sex Research</I>, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 463-477, | |
| Nov. 1986.<BR> | |
| Nelson looks at the experiences of 100 subjects who have had sex with relatives. | |
| Results indicate that outcomes vary from negative to positive.</P> | |
| <P>Okami, Paul "Self-reports of 'Positive' Childhood and Adolescent | |
| Sexual Contacts with Older Persons: An Exploratory Study," <I>Archives | |
| of Sexual Behavior</I>, Vol. 20, pp. 437- 457, 1991.<BR> | |
| Examines how contacts are perceived by the younger partner in later life. | |
| Investigates relationships between "positive" self-assessment | |
| and several variables.</P> | |
| <P>Okami, Paul "Sociopolitical Biases in the Contemporary Scientific | |
| Literature on Adult Human Sexual Behavior with Children and Adolescents," | |
| <I>in</I> Feierman, J. (ed.) <I>Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions.</I> New | |
| York: Springer-Verlag, 1990.</P> | |
| <P>Okami, Paul "`Child Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse': The Emergence | |
| of a Problematic Deviant Category,"<I> Journal of Sex Research</I>, | |
| Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 109-130, Feb. 1992.<BR> | |
| Okami discusses the nature and origins of recent attacks against sexual | |
| expression by young people, and finds much of the literature on the subject | |
| of sexual contacts between minors to be scientifically unsound. Highly | |
| recommended reading.</P> | |
| <P>Okami, Paul and Goldberg, Amy "Personality Correlates of | |
| Pedophilia: Are They Reliable Indicators?" <I>Journal of Sex Research</I>, | |
| Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 297-328, August, 1992.<BR> | |
| A critical and extensive review of the literature. Okami finds that " | |
| ... <B>professionals in the field continue to express belief in a 'typical' | |
| psychological profile for pedophiles ... Empirical support is equivocal | |
| and in certain cases absent</B>(p. 306). <B>... With the exception of the | |
| tautological diagnosis of "sexual deviate," little clinically | |
| significant pathology was found among either "pedophiles" or | |
| "sex offenders against minors." </B>( Abstract)</P> | |
| <P>Rind, B. and Bausermann, R. "Biased Terminology Effects and | |
| Biased Information Processing in Research on Adult-Nonadult Sexual Interactions | |
| - An Empirical Investigation," <I>Journal of Sex Research,<B> </B></I>Volume | |
| 30 No. 3 (August 1993), pp. 260-269. Includes tables, references.</P> | |
| <P>Rind, B., Tromovitch, P., and Bauserman, R. (1998) "A Meta-Analytic | |
| Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples", | |
| <I>Psychological Bulletin,</I> 124, 22-53.</P> | |
| <P>Rubin, Gayle "<A HREF="thinking.htm">Thinking Sex: Notes | |
| for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality</A>" in Abelove, | |
| Barale, Halperin, et al, (Eds.), The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. (1992). | |
| </P> | |
| <P>Sandfort, Theo "Sex in Pedophiliac Relationships: An Empirical | |
| Investigation Among a Nonrepresentative Group of Boys," <I>Journal | |
| of Sex Research</I> Vol.20, No.2, pp. 123-142 May, 1984.<BR> | |
| <B>"The sexual contacts were found to have had no negative influence | |
| upon the boys' sense of general well-being, nor did the boys perceive in | |
| these contacts a misuse of authority by the adult."</B> (Quoted from | |
| the Abstract)</P> | |
| <P>Sandfort, Theo <I>The Sexual Aspect of Paedophile Relations</I>. | |
| Amsterdam: Pan/Spartacus, 1982.<BR> | |
| A detailed presentation, explanation, and discussion of data from a study | |
| of 25 ongoing consensual long-term relations between men and boys. Recommends | |
| that future legislation should observe young peoples' right of sexual self-determination.</P> | |
| <P>Sandfort, Theo <I>Boys On Their Contacts With Men</I>. Elmhurst, | |
| New York: Global Academic Publishers, 1987.<BR> | |
| Summarizing Sandfort's earlier studies, this book also contains extensive | |
| quotes in context from the boys interviewed. </P> | |
| <P>Tindall, R. H. "The Male Adolescent Involved With a Pederast | |
| Becomes an Adult," <I>Journal of Homosexuality</I>, Vol. 3, No. 4, | |
| pp. 373-382, 1978.<BR> | |
| A longitudinal study of nine cases covering a span of over thirty years | |
| which finds the relationships to be non-harmful, with positive benefits | |
| in some cases.</P> | |
| <CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=2 WIDTH=576></P></CENTER> | |
| <P><A HREF="index.htm"><IMG SRC="m0p7nau7.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=58 WIDTH=58></A><FONT COLOR="#800000">Copyright | |
| © NAMBLA, 1999. All rights reserved. </FONT></P> | |
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