If you read my post about affirmative support last month, this piece might at first seem like little more than a rewrite. It treads similar ground. But since I wrote that, LifeLine Chat has been all over the news following allegations that a much-loved celebrity visited the service on an airplane. My head is absolutely teeming with thoughts on the matter, having read all of the drama in response to both the story and LifeLine's press release. In this article, I'll talk about some of the tangential implications of the fallout. And it might be a tad more aggressive than any of my responses so far. Prepare for a rambling and shocking literary rampage... all offense intended.

Personally...

Last week, one of my cutest students walked into my classroom with his top two shirt buttons undone, his tanned face and chest glistening with sweat. He's a tall boy who has clearly just started puberty, yet maintains a face so beautiful it's almost painful to look at. His muscles are starting to develop the slightest claims to definition, neither entirely childlike nor resembling those of an adult. He looked stunning beyond belief that day. I desperately wished I could have unbuttoned his shirt, unzipped his pants, and given him a blow job.

Of course, we all sometimes want to do things we can't and shouldn't given the circumstances. That is not exclusive to MAPs. Thankfully, most of us have a degree of self-control; I I personally have quite a healthy dose of it. I'm responsible around my students. Yes, even as one of those evil pedophiles!

So why share that story here, when some of my non-MAP readers will be halfway between vomiting and foaming at the mouth? Because it illustrates that MAP sexual attraction is no different to any other form of sexual attraction.

While reading discussions about MAP activism, including the recent drama over LifeLine Chat, I've come across all kinds of silly comments about MAPs being attracted to power, or innocence... basically anything other than it being a state of physical and romantic attraction. Critics will point to children's undefined sexual features, as if everyone should be attracted to massive breasts, giant cocks, or Brazilian butt lifts. That's as absurd as saying that all men must be attracted to women. The attraction I feel toward a young adolescent boy is no different to that which a straight dude feels for his wife's well-endowed friend.

As for consent? Even if the "children can't consent!" argument is taken at face value here... would all the women the straight dude looks at consent to sex with him? Think about that extremely carefully until you actually get the point. Really, ponder it deeply until you go "ahh!"

Others will ask how someone can fall in love with a person who is 'just a child', citing their generally weaker intellectual skills. It's amusing that those very same people are barely capable of stringing more than a couple of sentences together, and seemingly allergic to developing any ideas or beliefs of their own. While a 12-year-old is probably not going to have written a PhD thesis, I imagine most of the adults raging about MAPs online are not doing so either, nor are they giving a partner the kind of intellectual stimulation they might imagine. On the contrary, I've learned quite a lot of cool stuff from my YFs here; they come from a different world, and spending time with them allows me to recapture some of the childlike wonder that so many adults have lost. I deem that massively more valuable, and indeed more interesting, than listening to some dumb American chick feign insight over the vain bullshit she read on Instagram.

Contrary to the pure nonsense spread by haters, I don't want to be in a position of power over a boy. It's not his innocence or weakness that excites me. Nor have I suddenly morphed into a MAP because I "can't get a girlfriend". To me, boys look absolutely stunning in a way that other people just don't. Those attracted only to adults can't understand that, but well... I can't understand how the hell they don't see it. I also don't get being attracted to adults or females. A gross and hairy man, or a female body? No fucking way! I have absolutely zero sexual interest in them. Nothing at all. If you wish you could shoot me for that, then I probably wish I could shoot you for being such an intolerant cunt.

The public will paint my feelings as a serious mental illness, ask what went wrong, picture me as a dysfunctional shut-in barely able to get dressed in the morning. Sadly for them and their silly little stereotypes, I work as a teacher, maintain a group of YFs, and have to work hard to keep other adults at a distance because I can't trust or be real with them. It's also worth noting that unless a person acts on their sexual attraction to children, or feels distressed by it, they do not qualify for a diagnosis of 'pedophilia' under the DSM-V. With those caveats applied, my sexual orientation is not a mental illness even by definition.

Everyone is attracted to 'children'

Sadly, we now live in a world where everyone plays pretend about their feelings. Nobody over the age of eighteen can disclose an attraction to someone under the age of eighteen, under threat of extreme repudiation.

But social acceptability doesn't determine sexual orientation. Evidence shows that pretty much everyone is attracted to adolescents, and many to pre-pubescent children. Show me an adult-attracted man who claims he isn't interested in seventeen-year-olds, and I'll show you a filthy fucking liar.

The concept of eighteen being a magic number is an extremely recent one; indeed, most countries have an age of consent lower than eighteen. Fourteen or Fifteen is a common age of consent across Europe, including in countries that are not known as havens for 'pedophiles'. Sadly, anglo puritanism is poisoning the entire world, and it has now escalated so wildly that its broccoli-haired zoomers are freaking out over legal age gaps, in addition to almost everything else. Even a thirty-year-old with a college student is a huge no-no. It's the very definition of a moral panic, and one that should stay firmly in the failed anglo shitholes where it belongs.

That said, being exclusively attracted to children and teens, as I am, is a little more unusual. That's perhaps one reason why as much as the west constantly obsesses over 'pedophiles', few people can actually conceptualize an exclusive attraction to kids as a real thing. And yet... it is a thing.

Enter Lifeline

Those attracted mostly to adults, with a lesser interest in children, probably don't need a lot of support. They can go about their normal lives, hold down adult relationships, and try not to pay too much attention to their attraction to children. In fact, I would advise them to do that, and to stay away from any kind of content or behavior (even if legal) that might get them in trouble. If you're mostly interested in adults, don't unnecessarily indulge in the part of yourself that will lead you to sociolegal hell.

People attracted primarily or exclusively to children are another matter entirely. It's our primary or sole sexual orientation, not something that can be buried or ignored as much as possible. We can't realistically have a partner without turning our life into some massive charade, one which would also be unfair to the other person in the 'relationship'. And we cannot be magically converted into an adult-attracted person, no matter how much 'therapy' we might seek; the attraction itself is not a mental illness that can be 'cured' (despite the claims of that one dude who obviously had P-OCD).

This is where LifeLine comes in. To introduce the resource, and understand how it helps people with a primary or exclusive attraction to children, let's start with their press release, issued in response to claims that a celebrity visited them:

LifeLine is aware of mainstream media coverage following its alleged use by a TV celebrity on an airplane. Since the news broke, we have been overwhelmed with visitors both well-intentioned and otherwise. We make this statement to clarify our purpose and explain the need for such a service.

LifeLine operates a support chat room for people attracted to children and adolescents. We have strict rules against any kind of illicit behavior, including the sharing of criminalized images. Those who violate the rules are swiftly banned and their messages removed as soon as possible.

Many commentators ask why a place like LifeLine even exists. It exists because most people attracted to minors are fully capable of behaving responsibly, yet extremely distressed by the stigmatization of their feelings. They need a place to talk, ensuring better mental health, leading to more positive outcomes for themselves and their local communities.

As a support service, we do not encourage users to feel shame over a sexual orientation that can never be changed. We believe that affirming their feelings, while encouraging responsible and lawful behavior, is the best way forward. To this end, we allow messages that the public may consider “offensive” so long as they do not cross legal boundaries or put anyone at risk of harm. And via this methodology, we have successfully diverted users from making bad decisions that would have endangered themselves or others.

Unfortunately, there is no safe way for minor-attracted people to access professional support in the majority of cases. There is a severe risk of being reported to authorities simply for disclosing one’s feelings. Who would seek therapy under the very real threat of being outed and shunned as a “pedophile”? The metaphorical lynching of the celebrity who allegedly visited our chat illustrates this clearly.

LifeLine exists precisely because the world is so incredibly hateful and punitive that minor-attracted people have no other means of support. This desperately needs to change. Those who would argue otherwise do not have anyone’s best interests in mind.

That press release was reported by TMZ and others, leading to quite a debate across various sites. Many were negative. Some were surprisingly insightful. Others were conflicted. But I think one quite awful video is really worth focusing on, for it beautifully illustrates a point I made back in June.

Responding to criticism

A day or two ago, Andy Signore posted a scathing attack of LifeLine's press release on his YouTube channel. He mocked and belittled MAPs seeking support, imitating a whining voice much like a high school bully would. He claimed that professional resources to help MAPs do exist. He asked why LifeLine didn't focus on protecting children.

First of all, he is correct that other resources purporting to support MAPs do exist. LifeLine did not claim otherwise. LifeLine correctly explained that there are no safe options for support.

Your life is not a game. If you contact those organizations and tell them you're attracted to children... you can kiss your career and potentially your freedom goodbye. Your therapist technically shouldn't report you simply for being attracted to children, but there's a very good chance they will. Any MAP with the slightest sense of self-preservation knows this. That is why sites like LifeLine, which allow users to maintain anonymity, are needed.

To be fair, there is actually one other decent option. Our detractors never mention it because it doesn't seek to shame or 'convert' MAPs. B4U-ACT maintains a list of professionals who offer affirming counseling, respecting the person's sexual orientation while helping them to lead more fulfilling and responsible lives. However, sessions are still not truly anonymous, and high fees keep those services out of reach for many.

For most MAPs, it's LifeLine or nothing. And LifeLine is a hell of a lot better than the darknet.

When a visitor came to LifeLine not long ago stating that he'd booked a trip to Southeast Asia for the purpose of child sex tourism, volunteers were able to persuade him that it was a bad idea and he should cancel his ticket. Could he have done that with a professional counselor? No; they'd have been forced to report him, so he wouldn't have even mentioned it. Talking to peers who understood and respected him - yet still pushed back firmly against his plan - prevented a man traveling to Southeast Asia to have sex with children who likely would have had no choice in the matter. And if you choose to mock that, or make light of it, you're a disgusting piece of shit who should be thrown off a building. Peer support works; it just doesn't demean or belittle in the way bullies would like.

The claim that LifeLine is disinterested in protecting children is quite ridiculous. The press release made reference to "diverting users from making bad decisions that would have endangered themselves or others". It explained that MAPs "need a place to talk, ensuring better mental health, leading to more positive outcomes for themselves and their local communities." Mr. Signore is either playing dumb or denser than a neutron star.

In my twenty years of experience as a MAP activist and amateur counselor of other MAPs, I understand that many sexual offenses are committed not because people are 'too horny', but because their mental health has collapsed and they just don't care any more. This could be a result of matters inherent to their sexual orientation, a consequence of the massive stigma MAPs constantly have to deal with, something else entirely, or a combination of factors. The solution is to help them work through their issues, not simply saying "thinking about kids is bad... mmkay?". Sexual offending is not a simple matter, and nor is mental health. The organization frequently recommended by ignorant bastards, Stop It Now!, says absolutely nothing about MAP stigmatization and how that might affect a person's mental health and behavior.

By keeping MAPs mentally healthier and more positive about themselves, LifeLine helps to prevent sexual offending and other negative outcomes.

A look at the critic

The aforementioned Andy Signore is quite an interesting character.

I'm going to start with a disclaimer, not that I think I should have to do so. People default to referring to MAPs as child molesters or 'predators' with absolutely zero evidence. That's no different to calling a straight man a rapist of women, or a gay man a rapist of men. Still, I like to think I'm better than the brainless zombies, so here we go...

While Signore has multiple independent accusers, he has not been found guilty of any offense. The comments below are conjecture based on claims published in the media.

Like many bullies, Signore takes his own weaknesses and projects them onto MAPs. He is an alleged sexual predator, with multiple accusers, who quite likely makes fun of MAPs for the sake of maintaining at least one sorry group 'beneath' him.

An unkempt, overweight, and obviously highly undesirable man, Signore destroyed his own family - wife and children included - by sexually harassing and assaulting other women. He has been accused of forcing women to use sex toys, taking photos of women without their consent, threatening to fire a woman's boyfriend unless she accepted his sexual advances, and a plethora of other abuses. The common man version of Harvey Weinstein, if you will. And despite having been fired over multiple allegations of sexual abuse, he has the audacity to attack LifeLine along with an alleged celebrity visitor let go for nothing more than supposedly visiting the support chat.

This really harks back to my comment in June about how our detractors attack us because they cannot contemplate having sexual feelings and not acting on them, even when it would be wrong to do so. "I like woman, and woman doesn't like me, but I fuck woman anyway" is the language they speak. If MAPs were actually like this, the world would be truly horrifying. It's a good thing that most of us are not!

In mocking MAPs, Signore and his many disgusting fans are doing nothing to prevent child abuse. They're poking and prodding at those doing their best to deal responsibly with a sexual orientation that is inherently challenging and made much more difficult by all the madness. Alas, Signore and his fans probably don't care. If they think it's OK to sexually assault and harass any woman they come into contact with, they likely think it's OK to sexually assault anyone at all (gross). Signore and his supporters are absolutely evil. They quite frankly deserve the electric chair.

Why MAPs need to exist

Here's the really controversial part.

I've written before about how MAPs are much-needed. Not because I want to be one of those creeps who claim that "kids are begging for it", but because a lot of kids do need someone to mentor and care for them. Unlike people such as Signore, who allegedly can't keep their hands (or anything else) to themselves, most MAPs - the ones you don't hear about on the news - are perfectly capable of acting as a mentor without getting all diddly. The middle classes in richer countries will laugh out loud, and ask why you can't just pay a background-checked professional to do that. Of course, those snooty motherfuckers think the whole world is the same as their cookie-cutter suburb in America. It isn't.

I've traveled through numerous poorer communities. I live in one. People struggle. Kids don't have access to the luxuries they may have in America. If parents are busy, they might not have an adult to help guide and protect them. Other adults help pick up the slack, and in my local community, one of those people is me.

I have a group of young friends who get a hell of a lot out of our friendship. There's no caveat; unlike the Signores of this world, I don't ask for sexual favors in return because I'm not a piece of shit. My YFs are the luckiest damn kids in town! I've seen other boys look enviously at them when they see all the things my YFs get treated to.

Minor-attraction is not something that should be extinguished. Its brilliant side, the one that drives altruistic love and mentoring, should be celebrated and encouraged. If anything, we need more confident yet responsible MAPs, not fewer. Anyone who disagrees is projecting their own lack of self-control.

Conclusion

Those attacking LifeLine might feel all warm and fuzzy over comments about woodchippers and checking hard drives, but they won't identify more than the thinnest sliver of our community.

Any MAP with a shred of dignity or common sense is unlikely to dox themself to an organization like Stop It Now!, nor to some random psychologist. And they shouldn't. Minor-attraction is something that must never be explicitly connected to your real name, not because it's wrong, but because people who are monsters themselves enjoy getting together and burning MAPs at the stake.

Minor-attraction is also something that cannot be changed. If it's the primary orientation, trying to ignore it is futile. Services like LifeLine, which help the person channel their sexual orientation for good, are the gold standard, even if judgmental cunts on the internet might scream about how gross it is to be sexually attracted to a child. The happiness of children, and of the MAPs who love and care about them, is paramount. We achieve this happiness by being nice, and being positive... not by setting witches on fire.