I most certainly would like to help these two in their apparently legitimate quest to understand a topic that they are well aware has been treated with little objectivity over the past three decades when it first emerged as an "issue" for society. I do agree that their desire to understand rather than follow the herd mentality is good, and I think a detailed study of us will shed much light on why the particular society we live in - with its particular value systems and power structures - has recently chosen us as the "Other" figure to be condemned. That, in effect, will ultimately raise many questions about the society we live in.

I agree with what you say here, Paradis, so kudos! :-) On the other hand, I also agree with Neut's concerns, so I hope to build a bridge between the legitimate desire to understand us and how we may fit into society, and the equally legitimate and important desire to understand what it is about the type of society we live in today that seems to require some group of people to be demonized in order to hold its basic power structure & institutions together--and what it is about this society's development over the past three decades that caused MAPs to take the place of witches, communists, polygamists, and homosexuals as the 'Cultural Boogeyman' figure (alongside the nebulously defined "terrorist" in the U.S.).

A few questions I think Annika and Sascha should consider as they conduct their study:

1) What exactly is the cultural conception of the child - and young adolescents who share their legal status - in today's Western and Northern society that may have contributed to the mindless hatred and condemnation of MAPs?

2) Since pedophiles and hebephiles have always been around in human history (even if not under those specific names until the 19th and 20th centuries respectively), and world cultures have obviously been aware of it, why did our existence suddenly become a global "concern" a mere three decades ago?

3) There may be no direct connection between adult attraction to minors and violent or sociopathic behavior, but is there something about societal attitudes towards youth sexuality that may cause our culture to create and propagate such social mythology?

4) What is it about the basic nature of this society and its accompanying cultural paradigms and belief systems that seem to require a hated 'Boogeyman' figure of some sort (varying from one decade to another) to hold its favored institutions, power structures, and legal system together?

5) How is everyone in society outside of the few obvious and direct beneficiaries of the hatred and hysteria (e.g., in the fields of social work, law enforcement, the media) ultimately affected by this hysteria and the laws that rise up as a direct or indirect result of it?

Thank you for listening, and I will be in touch!