Ephebophilia and hebephilia - what are they and sexual disorders?
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Ephebophilia and hebephilia are sexual preferences that adults show towards people younger than themselves. These concepts are used for both heterosexual and homosexual relationships. They belong to the group of chronophilias, that is, paraphilias, in which there is an age disproportion between two people. They can be included in the list of diseases and in the classification of mental disorders. What is ephebophilia and hebephilia, what is it and can it be dangerous?
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1. What is ephebophilia?
Ephebophilia is a type of sexual preference in which an adult tends to relate to much younger people - minors or just entering adulthood. Usually these are people 15-19 years old. The term ephebophilus was originally defined as homosexual menwho put their feelings into young boys (late teens). This preference in homosexual women is called corophilia.
1.1. Is ephebophilia a disease?
By law, ephebophilia is neither a mental disorder nor a disease. It is not in any medical classification. This does not apply to ephebophilia, which is associated with sexual abuse or is based on creating a relationship that benefits only one of the partners. Then it is considered as nonspecific paraphilia and is referred to as DSM 302.9.
1.2. Ephebophilia to pedophilia
Ephebophilia as a sexual preference associated with young people (usually boys) may be associated with pedophilia, that is, the sexual exploitation of children for the purpose of sexual gratification. However, it is important to know that this is basically a normal relationship that can sometimes have repercussions if the other party is not interested in an intimate relationship.
In addition, a person with ephebophilic preferences can also be happy in a relationship with a person of his age or older and achieve the same sexual satisfaction with him.
2. What is hebephilia?
Hebephilia is another sexual preference belonging to the chronophilia group. It appears when an adult experiences sexual attraction to teenagers in early adolescence, that is, between the ages of 11-14. In this situation, the sexual attraction to very young people is stronger than to mature people - older than Gebefil or his age.
Hebephilia can affect both women and men, homosexuals and heterosexuals.
2.1. From hebephilia to pedophilia
The difference between hebephilia and pedophilia is based on the age of the sexual objects. In the case of pedophilia, we are talking about people who have not yet reached puberty, i.e. about kids. Different classifications of diseases differently give the age of onset of puberty.
2.2. Is hebephilia a disease?
The definition of hebephilia as a sexual deviation depends on many factors, mainly on the classification of diseases according to ICD-10 and DSM-5.
The International Classification of Diseases and Health Problems ICD-10 states that pedophilia includes persons who impose their sexual desire on persons under the age of 14, and in the DSM-5 classification of mental disorders, they include persons under 13 years of age. from XNUMX.
The definition of hebephilia as a disease or disorder is an individual matter and must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
3. Ephebophilia in everyday life
Ephebophilia does not interfere with daily life. At the same time, signals indicating the presence of this preference in this person are most often not visible. Sometimes such people openly talk about it, and sometimes it is impossible to tell whether they are attracted to people who are on the verge of maturity.
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4. Controversy around ephebophilia
Many consider ephebophilia a sexual deviation or even a mental illness. However, this is a false assumption, and those who prefer relationships with young people are perfectly healthy. The problem arises, however, if sexual attraction to persons 15-20 years old is associated with the promotion of sexual intercourse, coercion to continue the relationship, assertiveness or harassment. Then it is illegal and is treated as a sex offense or crime.
The world knows cultures where marriage between an adult and a teenager or a young person is something natural and normal. relationship between two peoplewhile the feeling is mutual and the relationship is based on love.
In the Middle Ages, the mating of adult males with adolescents had an additional economic dimension - the husband's task was to ensure the welfare of his wife and protect property in the event of his death. Today, of course, there is no such practice, and ephebophilia is treated as a sexual preference related to the realm of feelings.
Unfortunately, it is still perceived pejoratively and is seen as a kind of sexual disorder. This is true for people who choose both younger and much older partners. Interestingly, both forms are more often applied to men who find their feelings in either much younger or much older partners.
5. Hebephilia Controversy
While ephebophilia, i.e. The location of sexual desires in adults is not so badly perceived in society, sexual attraction to very young people is most often interpreted as a sexual deviation.
If there is a suspicion of sexual harassment of minors, the appropriate institution should be notified of the alleged crime (molestation, rape of minors). However, sometimes an adult and a teenager fall in love with each other, and neither party is sexually abused. Then this is a rather complicated situation, which needs to be approached very individually.
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Anatoly
Guys first start liking girls when they are 12-13 years old. And they like people the same age, or even a little younger, that is, 11-12 years old. Guys have their first sexual experience at the age of 14, and sometimes earlier. And people, as you know, do not change, just as their preferences do not change. And when this guy becomes a man and even an old man, for many nothing changes in this regard. They still like the girls most of all who they liked then, for the first time. He has aged in body, but not in soul. Hence the attraction for teenagers. Deviation? Don't think. It’s just that a person morally does not want to grow old. Is it good or bad? It’s bad for him, because his dreams can no longer come true. Is he sick or not? Perhaps the youth of the soul. Does he need to be treated for this? Society believes yes. I have a different opinion. Moreover, there is no cure for youth in the soul. Unless, of course, it is related to violence. But violence at any age is unacceptable.