Human Sexuality Manifests Itself in Term Paper

He was unworthy, because he had in effect become both a woman and a prostitute. If as an adult he nevertheless went ahead and exercised his citizenship by casting his vote or speaking in the assembly, he could be put on trial and lose not only his citizenship but also his life. Such charges may not have been brought very often, but it did sometimes happen,(18) and the very possibility must have preyed on the minds of boys who knew they could later be accused (p. 183)."

So we see that the attachment of shame, social ostracizing, and even prosecution if not as the penetrator, but as the penetrated. Being penetrated by another male was deemed feminine, and women did not have the power of authority in ancient society. The pattern emerges of move in the direction of legal regulation here that can be traced to this ancient setting.

Ariela R. Dubler (2006), writing for the Yale Law Journal, explores the subject of illicit sex and the law (p. 756). While Dubler does not take the reader back in time to the first laws regulating illicit sexual activity, she does put into perspective that legal regulation of sexual practices and behavior arising out of sexual desires, urges and unions is consistent with what society held as being moral vs. immoral (p. 756). That society's perceptions of moral vs. immoral have, obviously, evolved over time and have been regulated and deregulated legally consistent with social acceptance and rejection (p. 756). In the United States, the final decider of what is sexually and socially and legal is the United States Supreme Court. The Court has had its share of work cut out for it since the late 19th century when America's morals began a sort of teeter-tottering effect in its responses to an emerging visible and public perspective on sexual relationships and activity (p. 756).

Most laws governing sexual behavior came about in consideration of the state of marriage and of marital relationships Dubler says (p. 756). Prostitution has long been the impetus behind the regulation of sexual behavior, but out of that grew laws that governed other sexual relationships: between unmarried men and women, as regards the number of wives a man can legally have, as regards the nature of penetration between two consenting individuals, even the gender of individuals engaging in sex. Many people make jokes about archaic laws that say a man cannot have sex with a certain animal, such as a sheep; or that sodomy between two consenting adults is not legal, or that oral sex is prohibited. Much has been devoted to the study of these areas of human relationships, intimacy, contact, and law. With the greater social awareness of individual sexuality and gender identity has followed an increased body of research in all of these areas. They remain areas of legal debate and challenge, and each time that a particular issue is heard before a high state court or the Supreme Court, the resulting decision is both a reflection of social acceptance and contemporary interpretation of law. As concerns women and prostitution and children, the immigration laws enacted in the United States have long been a source of regulating sexual morality and immorality (Bernstein and Schaffner, 2005, p. 168). The reach of immigration laws dating back to the 19th century have addressed the relationship that society allows adults to have with children (Bernstein and Schaffner, p. 168). All of these laws, however, arise out of concern for maintaining and securing the sanctity of the marital union.

Today, there has been a more progressive move towards regulating the relationships that can exist between a child and an adult, because globalization means the melding of cultural societies where morals and values from one nation to the next are vastly different. Thus, there is a need to establish at an international level regulation that protects children from the onslaught of predator behavior that arises from the pedophilic urges that can be met within the international community.

In society today, pedophilia is generally viewed as criminal and pathological.

Consequently different treatments are now available for pedophilic behaviors. Some are more popular than others and more effective. The different treatments include, but are not limited to, physiological treatment, psychoanalytic treatment, and family and behavioral treatment. These treatments work differently on each pedophile (Bennion, 1998). For some, one specific treatment might be better than the other, it just depends on the individual. For others, there is no cure at all.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

In a statistics report by the Counter Pedophilia Investigation Unit (CPIU) it is stated that in 2000 the number of pedophile cases for possession of child pornography had grown to 320 arrests, 299 indictments and 324 convictions; more than twice the number from that of 1992 (Counter Pedophilia Investigation Unit [CPIU], 2002). Clearly, there is reason to believe that this problem is growing. Given these facts, parents have become more alert and concerned regarding their children's safety. Programs to assist those with pedophilic tendencies have been established. Through these programs there exist different treatments depending on each case.

Often times, rehabilitation can only begin upon detection of pedophilic behavior. That behavior is commonly identified through behavior that brings the pedophile to the attention of law enforcement, even before the treatment therapy community. It is, however, difficult at best to take rehabilitative treatment to the pedophile who is moving about in society undetected. For instance, how many people would imagine that the famous author of children's books was in fact a pedophile, and that one of his most famous children's characters a manifestation of his pedophilic lust for a young girl? This author would be Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, whose famous children's character, Alice, of Alice in Wonderland, was the manifestation of his pedophilic desire for the child of one of his friends (Zornado, p. 106). Perhaps even an expression of the fulfillment of his pedophilic behavior, some allege (Zornado, p. 106-107). Even though Dodgson's friends eventually forbade his contact with their young daughter, an official report was never made against Dodgson. Victims of pedophiles often have no voice, because they are underage when the crime is committed against them. Or perhaps, because it is the behavior of the pedophile to act as though the offense is an expression of love, rather than the facilitation illicit behavior and needs (Zornado, p. 108-118).

The inability to detect the pedophile is not just confused by the pedophile's approach as being one of love and affection, but, also, because the pedophile remains obscure by definition by experts. Ron Langevin (1985) says that part of the difficulty rests in sorting out what is individually unusual vs. The conventional (p. 2). This is a valid point, which is reiterated, albeit somewhat differently, by Ron O'Grady (2001). O'Grady says that going into the new millennium, the phrase "child sex tourism," was not found in the social lexicon (p. 123). This was at the same time as globalization as emerging as a hot topic of discussion, and child prostitution was, likewise, emerging as a burgeoning tourist trade in places like Malaysia, Southeast Asia and Germany (Davis, 1993, p. 141). In her book, Making Sense of Prostitution, Joanna Phoenix (2001), never uses the word "pedophile," or discusses "child prostitution." The plight of the child as the product of sex for profit is overlooked by an expert on a book about prostitution. This suggests that the connection made between pedophilia and sexual exploitation of children is often times perhaps not recognized by experts. Like Phoenix, author Joanna Davis (1993), in her book, Prostitution: An International Handbook on Trends, Problems and Policies, does not use the word "pedophile," but does, briefly, address child prostitution as a part of sex tourism (p. 141).

At the present time, there are many ways in which the pedophile can pursue pedophilic behavior without being easily detected. The internet is not just a means by which pedophiles can exchange pornography. It is a means by which they can communicate with one another and exchange information that helps them to pursue pedophilic behavior in a fashion with the least amount of risk in being detected or drawing attention to themselves. It is a means by which they can come together as a community, and to plan goals for themselves in bringing about social changes that will help them in making the fulfillment of their urges become more acceptable to society as a whole. Pedophiles are seeking social acceptance, working to make the image of pedophilia less one that is disturbing to the public, so that, like the gay movement, the public not only becomes accepting of the behavior, but supportive of that behavior.

The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is an organization…