Subject: Re: Critical paper on sex offenders?
From: Albert DiChiara (dichiara@MAIL.HARTFORD.EDU)
Date: Mon Jan 10 2000 - 08:48:49 CST
Pedophilia is a good topic for critical criminologists as it can take us in
several important directions.
First, pedophilia is not individual. It is a socially constructed category
of behavior that is colored by professional, religious, political historic,
and other interests. While is may seem "common sense" that people
shouldn't have sexual relations with a child it is the job of the
sociologist to discover how and why such a common sense idea developed.
Second, pedophilia is an interesting behavior is a society like the US that
has made a fetish of youth, especially young females. For example, just
take a look at television shows (e.g., The Profiler, or the recent James
Bond flilm) and movies where young women are cast (miscast) in roles as
seasoned professionals. In many cases the actor is far too young to
convincingly portray a person who has earned either the professional degree
or the experience necessary to qualify for the job. The cultural processes
by which women are made to feel miserable about aging reflects on our
notions of the importance of youth. Similarly with pedophilia it is
interesting that the so called "age of consent" can vary so widely in the
US and across the globe.
Al DiChiara
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