I spoke about this a bit in class, but found the talk about pedophiles at the SSTAR conference to be the highlight of my learning there. Dr. Cantor has been working with pedophiles to better understand the distinct brain patterns of those with pedophilic tendencies, once again highlighting the differences between those who act and those who have the sexual interest and do not act. Similar to how Kinsey's work started with an overly-technical medical explanation to make the subject of sex more socially acceptable, this seminar described pedophilia as the cultural horizon of modern sex therapy, needing first to be medically explained in order to bring the conversation to the public in a less divisive way, and also to build therapist compassion. Unfortunately, there aren't really any treatments that have shown efficacy yet.
Thanks also to the paraphilia group for your illuminating presentation and wiki page!
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