intro.htm

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
   <TITLE>BOYS SPEAK OUT ON MAN/BOY LOVE</TITLE>
   <META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="NAMBLA's goal is to end the oppression of men and boyswho have mutually consensual relationships.   Our membership is open to everyone sympathetic to man/boy love in particular and sexual freedom in general.">
   <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="NAMBLA, NORTH AMERICAN MAN/BOY LOVE ASSOCIATION, MAN/BOY LOVE, BOYS, BOYS SPEAK OUT ON MAN/BOY LOVE, WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT NAMBLA AND MAN/BOY LOVE, POEMS OF LOVE AND LIBERATION, NAMBLA BULLETIN, NAMBLA TOPICS, NAMBLA JOURNAL, AGEISM, YOUTH, GAY YOUTH, INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION, ILGA, INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH ORGANIZATION, DAVID THORSTAD, MICHAEL ALHONTE, MICHAEL C. BAURMANN, ALLEN GINSBERG, CRIS GUTIERREZ, PREBEN HERTOFT, JOHN MONEY, WALT WHITMAN, CAMILLE PAGLIA, JANE RULE, THE AGE TABOO, PAT CALIFIA, JIM KEPNER, HARRY HAY">
   <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Mozilla/3.01Gold (Win16; I) [Netscape]">
</HEAD>
<BODY TEXT="#904050" BGCOLOR="#FFFFE8" LINK="#1F74CF" VLINK="#0070FF" ALINK="#0070E3">

<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><B><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">BOYS SPEAK OUT</FONT></U></B></H2>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><B><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">ON MAN/BOY LOVE</FONT></U></B></H3>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>Introduction</I></H3>

<H4 ALIGN=CENTER>by David Thorstad</H4>

<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=3 WIDTH=600></P></CENTER>

<P>Boy-lovers are sometimes accused of speaking for boys, rather than allowing
boys to speak for themselves. This accusation has always struck me as unfair.
If boys ~ and children in general ~ are denied a voice about matters of
concern to them, this is not the fault of boy-lovers, but of the heterosexual
authorities, and even of the adult lesbian and gay movement, which often
formulates its goals as though gay children did not exist. Nobody ever
bothers to ask children what they think about government efforts to cut
back on child advocacy and child welfare programs, to set an arbitrary
age at which they are allowed to have sex, to draft them to die in far-off
wars, and so forth. Children are never consulted about sex education, efforts
to censor books in school libraries, the right of young people to employment
and a fair return on their labor, or whom they wish to live with. Children
are powerless. A diminishing segment of American society, they are denied
the vote and say-so over their own lives.</P>

<P>Adults are always presuming to speak for children. Nobody bats an eyelash,
for instance, when adult feminists speak for young girls, asserting that
this is their right since they are addressing their own past experiences
as girls. Perhaps in some measure they have a right to do so. But by the
same token, why should not men be able to address the experiences of boys,
since after all they were once boys themselves? Often, critics of boy-lovers
appear to follow a double standard designed to deny the validity of the
boy-lover's experience just because he is a man. In reality, being male
gives one a special insight into the experiences of other males, whatever
their age. The arrogance here lies with the critics of man/boy love, not
with boy-lovers. A more tolerant and understanding population would be
difficult to find.</P>

<P>The North American Man/Boy Love Association has always provided a platform
for boys to voice their views on the issue of man/boy love. With the exception
of gay youth organizations, probably no other group has made a greater
effort to do this. Boys have participated in our conferences, on panels,
in public forums, on the radio, in NAMBLA contingents in demonstrations,
and in interviews with the press.</P>

<P>Nevertheless, while NAMBLA listens to boys, and struggles against ageism
within its own ranks, it is true that most adults and state institutions
turn a deaf ear to their voices. This pamphlet is a modest effort to correct
that. NAMBLA will consider expanding the pamphlet in future editions if
more boys are stimulated by it to send us statements about their own experiences.
</P>

<P>The statements presented here are in the boys' own words. They have
not been edited, except for minor punctuation and spelling alterations.
Some of the boys requested that their name and address be given. However,
NAMBLA has decided not to give addresses, and names have been changed,
so as to protect the boys and their friends from possible harassment by
police or other heterosexual emissaries of the state.</P>

<P>Man/boy relationships are very widespread, and go on in virtually every
American neighborhood. We make no claim that this compilation is &quot;representative&quot;
of all boy experiences of the man/boy love relationship ~ though in many
ways the experiences they describe are typical. Barely a dozen statements
are published here. Some of the authors are gay- identified, others are
not. The authors are multi-racial, and span the teenage years, but none
are younger than 13. They tend to be concentrated on the East Coast of
the United States. All the authors have been sexually active with men,
so they do not address the thoughts and problems of the boy who would like
to, but has not had the opportunity to, enjoy sex with a man. Perhaps these
letters will communicate a sense of hope and self-worth to such boys, who
may read them and realize that their fantasies and desires are indeed shared
by others.</P>

<P>Not every boy who wanted to contribute was able to do so. Not everyone,
for instance, no matter how old, feels comfortable putting innermost thoughts
down in writing. For many, perhaps all, of the contributors to this collection,
it was the first time they had ever done this. They did so because they
felt strongly about the importance of speaking out. Theirs are authentic
voices, and NAMBLA is proud to help make them heard.</P>

<P>NAMBLA is working to change public perceptions and laws about consensual
sexual relationships between adults and minors. Today, the law and public
prejudice make little or no distinction between a man who forcibly rapes
a child and one who genuinely cares for and loves a boy. Some judges have
condemned boy-lovers as being &quot;worse than murderers,&quot; even though
their only &quot;crime&quot; has been to share their body and affection
with a boy in a friendship that includes mutually enjoyable sexual experiences.
It is a shame that in American society, it is a greater crime to love a
child than it is to beat ~ or even kill ~ a child.</P>

<P>NAMBLA believes that any child, regardless of age, should have the right
to say &quot;yes&quot; or &quot;no&quot; to any person. The child should
have the right to initiate the relationship, as he often does. He should
have the right to enjoy and develop the relationship without fear of shame
or ridicule, or of harassment by parents or police. Children should have
free access to factual information about sexual relationships of all kinds,
and the right to control their own bodies without interference from adults.
No child is harmed by any consensual sexual experience, but children are
harmed by society's condemnation and persecution of their bodily pleasures.</P>

<P>NAMBLA believes that children need more than just sexual freedom, but
it also recognizes that the denial of sexual pleasure can inflict severe
and lasting pain. It is not the proper role of the state to attempt to
enforce private personal morality, nor to &quot;protect&quot; children
from themselves by denying them exposure to homoerotic or other sexual
pleasure, if they so desire. The state should stay out of private bedrooms.
Unfortunately, as the current FBI and police repression against NAMBLA
shows, the authorities do not hesitate to break up friendships between
men and boys in their vendetta against man/boy love. The state flaunts
its power over the ruined lives of innocent lovers. Only by standing up
for our right to love can we ever hope to end this injustice.</P>

<P>David Thorstad<BR>
New York, September 1, 1981<B> </B></P>

<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=3 WIDTH=600></P></CENTER>

<P><A HREF="index.htm"><IMG SRC="m0p7nau7.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=58 WIDTH=58></A><FONT COLOR="#804000">Copyright
&copy; NAMBLA, 1997. All rights reserved. </FONT></P>

</BODY>
</HTML>
	<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
	<HTML>
	<HEAD>
	<TITLE>BOYS SPEAK OUT ON MAN/BOY LOVE</TITLE>
	<META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="NAMBLA's goal is to end the oppression of men and boyswho have mutually consensual relationships. Our membership is open to everyone sympathetic to man/boy love in particular and sexual freedom in general.">
	<META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="NAMBLA, NORTH AMERICAN MAN/BOY LOVE ASSOCIATION, MAN/BOY LOVE, BOYS, BOYS SPEAK OUT ON MAN/BOY LOVE, WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT NAMBLA AND MAN/BOY LOVE, POEMS OF LOVE AND LIBERATION, NAMBLA BULLETIN, NAMBLA TOPICS, NAMBLA JOURNAL, AGEISM, YOUTH, GAY YOUTH, INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION, ILGA, INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH ORGANIZATION, DAVID THORSTAD, MICHAEL ALHONTE, MICHAEL C. BAURMANN, ALLEN GINSBERG, CRIS GUTIERREZ, PREBEN HERTOFT, JOHN MONEY, WALT WHITMAN, CAMILLE PAGLIA, JANE RULE, THE AGE TABOO, PAT CALIFIA, JIM KEPNER, HARRY HAY">
	<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Mozilla/3.01Gold (Win16; I) [Netscape]">
	</HEAD>
	<BODY TEXT="#904050" BGCOLOR="#FFFFE8" LINK="#1F74CF" VLINK="#0070FF" ALINK="#0070E3">

	<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><B><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">BOYS SPEAK OUT</FONT></U></B></H2>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><B><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">ON MAN/BOY LOVE</FONT></U></B></H3>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>Introduction</I></H3>

	<H4 ALIGN=CENTER>by David Thorstad</H4>

	<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=3 WIDTH=600></P></CENTER>

	<P>Boy-lovers are sometimes accused of speaking for boys, rather than allowing
	boys to speak for themselves. This accusation has always struck me as unfair.
	If boys ~ and children in general ~ are denied a voice about matters of
	concern to them, this is not the fault of boy-lovers, but of the heterosexual
	authorities, and even of the adult lesbian and gay movement, which often
	formulates its goals as though gay children did not exist. Nobody ever
	bothers to ask children what they think about government efforts to cut
	back on child advocacy and child welfare programs, to set an arbitrary
	age at which they are allowed to have sex, to draft them to die in far-off
	wars, and so forth. Children are never consulted about sex education, efforts
	to censor books in school libraries, the right of young people to employment
	and a fair return on their labor, or whom they wish to live with. Children
	are powerless. A diminishing segment of American society, they are denied
	the vote and say-so over their own lives.</P>

	<P>Adults are always presuming to speak for children. Nobody bats an eyelash,
	for instance, when adult feminists speak for young girls, asserting that
	this is their right since they are addressing their own past experiences
	as girls. Perhaps in some measure they have a right to do so. But by the
	same token, why should not men be able to address the experiences of boys,
	since after all they were once boys themselves? Often, critics of boy-lovers
	appear to follow a double standard designed to deny the validity of the
	boy-lover's experience just because he is a man. In reality, being male
	gives one a special insight into the experiences of other males, whatever
	their age. The arrogance here lies with the critics of man/boy love, not
	with boy-lovers. A more tolerant and understanding population would be
	difficult to find.</P>

	<P>The North American Man/Boy Love Association has always provided a platform
	for boys to voice their views on the issue of man/boy love. With the exception
	of gay youth organizations, probably no other group has made a greater
	effort to do this. Boys have participated in our conferences, on panels,
	in public forums, on the radio, in NAMBLA contingents in demonstrations,
	and in interviews with the press.</P>

	<P>Nevertheless, while NAMBLA listens to boys, and struggles against ageism
	within its own ranks, it is true that most adults and state institutions
	turn a deaf ear to their voices. This pamphlet is a modest effort to correct
	that. NAMBLA will consider expanding the pamphlet in future editions if
	more boys are stimulated by it to send us statements about their own experiences.
	</P>

	<P>The statements presented here are in the boys' own words. They have
	not been edited, except for minor punctuation and spelling alterations.
	Some of the boys requested that their name and address be given. However,
	NAMBLA has decided not to give addresses, and names have been changed,
	so as to protect the boys and their friends from possible harassment by
	police or other heterosexual emissaries of the state.</P>

	<P>Man/boy relationships are very widespread, and go on in virtually every
	American neighborhood. We make no claim that this compilation is "representative"
	of all boy experiences of the man/boy love relationship ~ though in many
	ways the experiences they describe are typical. Barely a dozen statements
	are published here. Some of the authors are gay- identified, others are
	not. The authors are multi-racial, and span the teenage years, but none
	are younger than 13. They tend to be concentrated on the East Coast of
	the United States. All the authors have been sexually active with men,
	so they do not address the thoughts and problems of the boy who would like
	to, but has not had the opportunity to, enjoy sex with a man. Perhaps these
	letters will communicate a sense of hope and self-worth to such boys, who
	may read them and realize that their fantasies and desires are indeed shared
	by others.</P>

	<P>Not every boy who wanted to contribute was able to do so. Not everyone,
	for instance, no matter how old, feels comfortable putting innermost thoughts
	down in writing. For many, perhaps all, of the contributors to this collection,
	it was the first time they had ever done this. They did so because they
	felt strongly about the importance of speaking out. Theirs are authentic
	voices, and NAMBLA is proud to help make them heard.</P>

	<P>NAMBLA is working to change public perceptions and laws about consensual
	sexual relationships between adults and minors. Today, the law and public
	prejudice make little or no distinction between a man who forcibly rapes
	a child and one who genuinely cares for and loves a boy. Some judges have
	condemned boy-lovers as being "worse than murderers," even though
	their only "crime" has been to share their body and affection
	with a boy in a friendship that includes mutually enjoyable sexual experiences.
	It is a shame that in American society, it is a greater crime to love a
	child than it is to beat ~ or even kill ~ a child.</P>

	<P>NAMBLA believes that any child, regardless of age, should have the right
	to say "yes" or "no" to any person. The child should
	have the right to initiate the relationship, as he often does. He should
	have the right to enjoy and develop the relationship without fear of shame
	or ridicule, or of harassment by parents or police. Children should have
	free access to factual information about sexual relationships of all kinds,
	and the right to control their own bodies without interference from adults.
	No child is harmed by any consensual sexual experience, but children are
	harmed by society's condemnation and persecution of their bodily pleasures.</P>

	<P>NAMBLA believes that children need more than just sexual freedom, but
	it also recognizes that the denial of sexual pleasure can inflict severe
	and lasting pain. It is not the proper role of the state to attempt to
	enforce private personal morality, nor to "protect" children
	from themselves by denying them exposure to homoerotic or other sexual
	pleasure, if they so desire. The state should stay out of private bedrooms.
	Unfortunately, as the current FBI and police repression against NAMBLA
	shows, the authorities do not hesitate to break up friendships between
	men and boys in their vendetta against man/boy love. The state flaunts
	its power over the ruined lives of innocent lovers. Only by standing up
	for our right to love can we ever hope to end this injustice.</P>

	<P>David Thorstad<BR>
	New York, September 1, 1981<B> </B></P>

	<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=3 WIDTH=600></P></CENTER>

	<P><A HREF="index.htm"><IMG SRC="m0p7nau7.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=58 WIDTH=58></A><FONT COLOR="#804000">Copyright
	© NAMBLA, 1997. All rights reserved. </FONT></P>

	</BODY>
	</HTML>