The Paraphilia of Pedophilia

    
Mary Beth-

       In Chapter 3 of Bergner's, The Other Side of Desire, he introduces us to Roy, a forty year old pedophile. I was surprised at first that pedophilia would be considered a paraphilia. Yet, after reading Chapter 3, I am not sure why this was my initial reaction. I had always regarded pedophilia as a psychological illness and a criminal act to be frowned upon, rather than a mental disorder based upon sexual preference.
      I was surprised to find that even after reading about sadomasochism, a man who ejaculated at the site of feet, as well as an amputee lingerie model, I was taken back most by the pedophile. For some reason, I just felt that his inappropriate conversations with his stepdaughter were just inexcusable and wrong. Yes, he was only expressing his paraphilia like the others, but I feel that my issue with it was due to the fact that he chose his stepdaughter as his object of desire. In doing so, he was neglecting to uphold his role as a stepfather, who should guide her and protect her from harm rather than subjecting her to it. He was the only paraphiliac that took advantage of his object of desire without consent.
          The only place in which I sympathized with Roy was in the fact that his paraphilia was one that is deemed illegal and possesses many negative stigmas. After being indicted for charged with being a pedophile, Roy's reputation was permanently tarnished. He needed permission by his therapist in order to go anywhere, especially to locations where there would be children, even if they were public. This severely limited him and later on, his marriage to his second wife as well.
       I witnessed a different view on pedophilia within Chapter 3, but it does not change my negative views pertaining to it, or my belief that pedophiles should be held legally accountable for their actions.