Ephebophilia

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This article is about the sexual preference of adults for adolescents. For the sexual preference of adults for prepubescent children, see Pedophilia.
An Ephebe Kisses A Man
Tondo from an Attic kylix, 5th c. BCE by the Briseis painter. At the Louvre.

Ephebophilia is a word indicating sexual preference for mid to late adolescents.[1] In research environments, specific terms are used for chronophilias: ephebophilia to refer to the sexual preference for mid to late adolescents, hebephilia to refer the sexual preference for pubescent persons, and pedophilia to refer to the sexual preference for prepubescent persons. The term pedophilia, however, has also been used colloquially to refer broadly to all three of these preferences (that is, any sexual interest in minors), regardless of their level of physical development. Clinically, ephebophilia is rarely regarded as a mental disorder unless it affects the ephebophile's life in a destructive way. Ephebophilic relationships are illegal in some circumstances.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

The term comes from the Greek: ἔφηβος (ephebos) variously defined as "one arrived at puberty", "a youth of 18 who underwent his dokimasia and was registered as a citizen (Athens)", and "arriving at man's estate;" and φιλία (-philia) "love".[2][3] It has been used by Dutch psychologist and pro-pedophile activist Frits Bernard as far back as 1950,[4] reprinted in 1960 in the gay support magazine Vriendschap under the pseudonym Victor Servatius,[5] also crediting it to Hirschfeld though giving no exact date.[6]

The term has been described by Frenchman Félix Buffière in 1980[7] and Pakistani scholar Tariq Rahman,[8] who argued that "ephebophilia" should be used in preference to "homosexuality" when describing the aesthetic and erotic interest of adult men in adolescent boys in classical Persian, Turkish or Urdu literature.

[edit] Characteristics

Because most late adolescents have physical characteristics near (or in other cases, identical) to that of full-grown adults, some level of sexual attraction to persons in the age group is common among adults of all sexual orientations.[9] The term ephebophilia is used only to describe the preference for mid to late adolescent sexual partners, not the mere presence of some level of sexual attraction.

Such a distinct preference for individuals in mid or late adolescence is not generally regarded by psychologists as a pathology when it does not interfere with other major areas of one's life. Ephebophilia is not listed by name as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), or the ICD-10, nor is it listed as a paraphilia. This is as opposed to pedophilia, which is categorized as a specific disorder in those systems with its own diagnostic criteria. However, ephebophilia can sometimes be diagnosed as a disorder if it results in dysfunction or exploitative behavior, either under the DSM specification 309.2, "Paraphilia Not Otherwise Specified", or under the ICD-10 F65.8 "Other disorders of sexual preference".[10][11]

Researchers state that hebephilia, erotic interest in which centers on pubescents, has not come into widespread use, even among professionals who work with sex offenders, and may have been confused with the term ephebophilia, "which denotes men who prefer adolescents around 15–19 years of age".[12] It is concluded that "few would want to label erotic interest in late — or even mid — adolescents as a psychopathology, so the term hebephilia may have been ignored along with ephebophilia".[12]

[edit] Legal matters

In most countries, if the adolescent is not over the age of consent, engaging in an ephebophilic relationship is a crime which may lead to prosecution. If the adult is in a position of authority, it may be seen as a form of exploitation or coercion, and may be prosecutable in some countries and circumstances;[13] for instance, teacher-pupil relationships in schools are against the law in the United Kingdom.[14]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blanchard, R., Lykins, A. D., Wherrett, D., Kuban, M. E., Cantor, J. M., Blak, T., Dickey, R., & Klassen, P. E. (2008). Pedophilia, hebephilia, and the DSM–V. Archives of Sexual Behavior. DOI 10.1007/s10508-008-9399-9.
  2. ^ Rahman, T. (1988). Ephebophilia: the case for the use of a new word. Forum for Modern Language Studies, 24(2), 126-141.
  3. ^ Human sexuality: Definitions of terms involving the sexual abuse of children, Retrieved May 25, 2007
  4. ^ sexology
  5. ^ Bernard, F. (1998). Selected publications of Dr. Frits Bernard - An international bibliography. Rotterdam: Enclave.
  6. ^ Servatius, V. (1960, March 15). Ephebophilie en wetenschap [Ephebophilia and science]. [http://www.ihlia.nl/documents/pdflib/Vriendschap/1960/1960-04.pdf Vriendschap, 35-35.
  7. ^ Buffière, F. (1980). Éros adolescent : la pédérastie dans la Grèce antique, Paris, p.11.
  8. ^ Rahman, T. (1990). Boy-Love in the Urdu Ghazal. Annual of Urdu Studies, 7, 1-20.
  9. ^ S. Berlin, Frederick. "Interview with Frederick S. Berlin, M.D., Ph.D.". Office of Media Relations. http://www.usccb.org/comm/kit6.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-06-27. 
  10. ^ "Disorders of adult personality and behaviour" (JSP). ICD-10. http://psyweb.com/ICD/ICD10/f60f69.jsp. 
  11. ^ Foley, Sharon R.; Arthur, K.; Kelly, B. (2006). "Psychiatric sequelae of Parkinson disease: a case report". European Psychiatry 21: 211–213. 
  12. ^ a b Blanchard, R., Lykins, A. D., Wherrett, D., Kuban, M. E., Cantor, J. M., Blak, T., Dickey, R., & Klassen, P. E. (2008). Pedophilia, hebephilia, and the DSM–V. Archives of Sexual Behavior. DOI:10.1007/s10508-008-9399-9 here
  13. ^ [1] Due Process and Victims' Rights, page 196
  14. ^ [2] Art teacher facing jail after affair with pupil
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