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In the sixteen months since I posted The Trouble with “The Trouble with Being Born” and Netflix’s “Cuties:” The Sexual Exploitation of Children for Profit, they have become two of the most frequented blog posts I’ve authored. Unfortunately, I suspect the reason is that, since they deal with minor girls used as a sex objects, they are attracting rather unsavory characters euphemistically known as “minor attracted persons.” For that reason, I’m permanently deleting these posts. I do not want to be a party to satisfying the desires of people who would abuse children to gratify themselves.

I didn’t pull the term minor attracted person out of thin air. I found an article at Campus Reform called Old Dominion University criminal justice professor defends pedophilia.

The photo of Assistant Professor Allyn Walker is included here. In an interview with Prostsia Foundation, Walker explained that an adult who is considered a “minor attracted person” isn’t (necessarily) a pedophile/sex offender. Walker further states:

“From my perspective, there is no morality or immorality attached to attraction to anyone because no one can control who they’re attracted to at all. In other words, it’s not who we’re attracted to that’s either okay or not, okay. It’s our behaviors and responding to that attraction that are either okay or not okay.”

To further spread this opinion, Walker wrote a book called A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity. Dignity?

The book, published last June, even found its way to Amazon. Of the four global ratings, two were reviews, one five-star and the other one-star.

Azita, who issued the five stars, said:

This is a must-read for all , especially for mental health service providers and students in all areas of mental health. This book challenges stereotypes around one of highly stigmatized groups in our society and has been written by an academic, social worker. Highly recommended.

The blurb on Amazon states:

Challenging widespread assumptions that persons who are preferentially attracted to minors—often referred to as “pedophiles”—are necessarily also predators and sex offenders, this book takes readers into the lives of non-offending minor-attracted persons (MAPs). There is little research into non-offending MAPs, a group whose experiences offer valuable insights into the prevention of child abuse. Navigating guilt, shame, and fear, this universally maligned group demonstrates remarkable resilience and commitment to living without offending and to supporting and educating others. Using data from interview-based research, A Long, Dark Shadow offers a crucial account of the lived experiences of this hidden population.

“…who are preferentially attracted to minors—often referred to as “pedophiles”—are necessarily also predators and sex offenders.” They are in ‘pursuit of dignity’ but what dignity is there in finding minor aged boys and girls the object of a person’s sexual desires? Also, people tend to act upon their desires, even when they are frowned upon by society and even when they are illegal and victimize others.

According to Rainn.org:

One in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault at the hands of an adult.

Also according to Rainn sourcing Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, (2014):

In 2013, there were 161,000 state inmates incarcerated as punishment for sexual violence crimes—that’s about 12% of all state inmates.

Citing the United States Sentencing Commission:

In FY 2018, 69,425 cases were reported to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. 1,414 of these involved child pornography.

Actual children were used in the creation of these images, so just viewing said-images isn’t “innocent.”

I can concede that there may be “MAPs” who have not and may never act upon their attractions (possibly even to the point of not viewing child pornography), but that doesn’t make them any less troublesome. Imagine your children or grandchildren at a playground. Now imagine seeing a man watching them with apparent “attraction” evidenced on his face. That person may not be “acting” upon their attraction, but they’re still fantasizing about having sex with those children.

While the production of both “Trouble” and “Cuties” was controversial, they made it to the public eye, the former in movie theaters and the latter on Netflix. The creators of those productions defended them, using one rationale or another. Yet they are also fodder for MAPs, fueling their sexual desires and potentially leading them to the next step: victimizing a child.

I can’t stop people like Walker from writing books or expressing their opinion, but I don’t have to even inadvertently participate in whatever game they’re playing. I’ll keep looking for older content on my blog that could be used by these people and then shut it down.

That includes “The Girl from Svay Pak” published on my blog in 2017. While I used such stories to criticize a society increasingly devaluing children and sexually objectifying minors, I have accidentally served up said-minors to the people who would prey upon them.

No more.