{"id":1030,"date":"2025-02-25T16:29:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/?p=1030"},"modified":"2025-02-25T16:29:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:29:34","slug":"%f0%9f%87%ba%f0%9f%87%b8-en-understanding-identities-in-online-communities-for-minor-attracted-persons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/?p=1030","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 EN \u2013 Understanding Identities in Online Communities for Minor-Attracted Persons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


The Results of a Master Thesis Carried out by Celine for the Swedish Lund University with partly Interviews from a broad variety of the MAP Community are out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/lup.lub.lu.se\/luur\/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9183658&fileOId=9183659<\/a>

Here’s a few interesting Quotes


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The online presence of individuals with a sexual preference for children is often regarded as a
significant threat to children’s well-being. As early as 2002, Tremblay observed that online
communities for MAPs may lead to two potential outcomes. One possibility is that these
communities encourage MAPs to engage in sexual intimacy with children by promoting certain
attitudes and justifications (Holt et al., 2010; Kr\u00e4hnke et al., 2023). Alternatively, they could
serve as a preventive measure by offering support and a sense of belonging, which may deter
sexual offences. Contemporary studies indicate that participation in MAP online communities
enhances resilience (Walker, 2017), aids in identity formation (Blagden et al., 2018), fosters
supportive connections (Nielsen et al., 2022; Cranney, 2017), reduces suicidal ideation
(Bekkers et al., 2024), and influences beliefs about adult-child intimacy (Cantor et al., 2022;
Roche et al., 2022). Involvement in online communities for MAPs has enabled collective
identity negotiation, inspiring actions both online and offline.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

While popular culture often portrays MAPs as solely responsible for the sexual abuse of
children, research indicates that the most common CSOs are individuals within a child\u2019s
domestic environment (Cowburn & Dominelli, 2001; Cromer & Goldsmith, 2010; Seto, 2017).
Prominent scholars in psychology have emphasised that not all MAPs engage in CSA, and
conversely, not everyone who commits such offences identifies as MAPs. Thus, most
individuals who engage in CSA lack an attraction to children (Cohen et al., 2018; Grady &
Levenson, 2021). Seto (2018) further notes that approximately 35\u201350% of convicted CSOs are
MAPs, while the remaining 50\u201365% are domestic offenders without an attraction to children;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

I was warned against sharing personal information and
posting images that could be misused. This belief deepened as people I knew shared their
experiences of sexual victimisation, at times by family but not exclusively. The media also
reinforced these ideas. Every interaction seemed to confirm this stereotype. I held a bias,
believing that being attracted to children meant sexually abusing them<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Despite the ethical concerns raised by this study, the need for this type of research was
considered far greater, following the research criteria outlined by the Swedish Research Council
(2017).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Participants were commonly aged between 20 and 30, wherein younger
participants were more likely to identify as nonbinary, transgender, or queer, while older
participants (40+ years) were primarily cisgender men and women. The majority used the labels
MAP or paedophile<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Paedophiles are, in the same way, “child abusers” like “normal” men are
“woman rapists”. Merely their sexual preferences do not reveal anything about
a person\u2019s moral character or how they act. \u2013 Steve<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

In their study, Hiebert and Kortes-Miller (2023) similarly noted how online
communities served as a refuge for gender and sexual minority youth in their search for
acceptance and belonging.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

When referring to the process of joining online communities for MAPs and revealing one\u2019s
sexual identity, MAPs used the phrase \u2018coming in\u2019 because this disclosure occurred in the
backstage of their lives, a space free from stigma (Goffman 1963; Kloess & Van Der Bruggen
2023). The expression \u2018coming out\u2019 instead referred to the process whereby participants
disclosed their sexual identity to someone in the offline world<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

During my preliminary investigation, I gathered contact information for forums and public
figures within the online community for MAPs accessible on the open web. Participants were
identified based on one podcast, blogs, and forums. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Bing were
used to locate and contact ten blogs, four international and one German-speaking forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I initially came into contact with moderators and administrators of various forums. Due to their prominent status in the online
community\u2014achieved through dedication and hard work\u2014much of my data came from notable
figures. Many participants advocated for various causes by establishing organisational
structures and engaging in activism within these communities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

LGBT+ beings have a lot of rights today, including that there are laws against
discrimination in employment, housing and services for being LGBT+. If you
are open homosexual or transgender, you are still allowed to adopt and care for
a child. MAPs should too. If you are open homosexual or transgender, you are
still allowed to work with children. MAPs should too. But we will be
discriminated against today, because of \u201cthe safety for children\u201d. \u2013 Mae<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Mae\u2019s comparison of MAPs with
LGBT+ individuals is not a suggestion that children can consent but an argument that reinforces
the external others\u2019 status as discriminatory based on conflating attraction to children with acts
of CSA. In their study, Walker (2020) notes that the use of LGBTQ+ identity labels among
MAPs was embraced, yet it caused an identity conflict arising from the use of such labels.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Having emotions, viewing children as people, and not wanting to take ownership over children
was central to how MAPs maintained an identity as protectors of children. Participants
legitimised this claim by citing the prevalence of empathetic capacity among online community
members, supported by scientific findings, like those by Konrad et al. (2018) which recognise
empathy as a psychologically meaningful component of MAPs’ attraction to children. However,
a few participants noted that their emotional fondness first came to light after joining an online
community for MAPs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Boundaries also reflected participants’ desire to protect themselves from hypothetical
accusations later in their lives, as the mere suspicion of being a MAP might lead to criminal
accusations, even in the absence of criminal actions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Although participants found children sexually attractive, the
emotional dimension of their attraction to children came to the foreground. It was believed that
children should not engage sexually with adults. This led MAPs to identify within a framework
that recognised the harm of adult-child sex.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

We are not threats to children’s well-being, and there is no need to restrain
ourselves. Most people do not have difficulty avoiding sexually assaulting
those they are attracted to in casual interactions. \u2013 Owen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Participants noted that in instances of CSA, MAPs who commit these offences face much
harsher penalties than other CSOs who are not sexually attracted to children. Participants
suggested that this difference highlights a bias based on the offender\u2019s sexual identity, arguing
that current sentencing practices for CSA represent a form of sexual discrimination. It was
claimed that a MAP should not face unequal treatment in court due to their sexual preference;
instead, any offence should be treated equally. In defence of their sexual preference for children,
participants argued that MAPs should be allowed fantasies, drawings, fictional materials, or
dolls, as their sexual needs are equal to anyone else’s.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

It would be helpful if people stopped trying to ban fictional materials (writing,
drawings\u2026) and sex dolls, as if those are dangerous items. I think for many
people, those are safe outlets, and they harm no one. \u2013 Robin<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Throughout this thesis, it has been pointed out that MAPs collective identity negotiation is
insufficiently understood in contemporary science, which requires further investigation. The
analysis provides a nuanced examination of being a MAP in online communities by examining
the collective utility of oppositional identities. It highlights MAPs asserted shared solidarity
and adherence to moral universals in attempts to incorporate these identities into broader civil
themes. The analysis differentiates how MAPs negotiate their identities within the community
(against internal others) and in response to societal stigma (imposed by external others). I
suggested that these processes reflect attempts to collectively negotiate oppositional identities
as MAPs. The first part of the analysis addresses the initial research question, while the latter
part answers the second.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

The collective identity work of online MAP community members revealed a recurring theme:
MAPs sought to establish oppositional identities against societal perceptions that deem them
monstrous. By emphasising their shared humanity and solidarity towards the external other,
MAPs fostered unity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

However, distinctions
emerged as ideological stances were articulated among different factions of MAPs, unveiling
nuances in their collective identity work that separated groups of MAPs, along with their
pursued activism and boundary work from one another.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

MAPs consciously rejected any desire to exploit children, instead embracing a mission
dedicated to protecting them from harm. This mission affirmed their humanity and signalled a
moral commitment to counter societal perceptions of inherent monstrosity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

MAPs advocated for recognition of their attraction as a legitimate sexual orientation, linking their
struggle to those of other marginalised groups, such as LGBTQ+ communities, as identified by
Walker (2020). By positioning themselves as a sexual minority, MAPs resisted imposed stigma
and sought validation through shared online storytelling.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

To the best of my knowledge, spars research has considered how MAPs attempt to construct and
negotiate identities in opposition to the monstrous stigma by integrating their identities into
larger themes of shared civil and moral solidarity<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Online communities provide a space for MAPs to collectively reinforce these values and
solidify their humanity and moral worth through shared identities that reject harm done to
children, as highlighted by Cranney (2017) and Nielsen et al. (2022). The internal community
diversity, in various ways, redefined love for children as prioritising their well-being. Sacrificial
guardianship placed children’s welfare above personal desires. The identity was rooted in a
moral duty to protect children, drawing boundaries to distinguish themselves from internal
others who overestimated children\u2019s agency and societal perceptions of MAPs as monsters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

MAPs\u2019 rights to bodily autonomy and responsible sexual outlets, such as fantasies or fictional
representations that excluded real children, prompted the identity of defending human liberty.
The attraction to children was reframed as an inherent aspect of MAPs humanity, which has
previously been observed by Bekkers et al. (2024) and Houtepen et al. (2016). MAPs
emphasised a rejection of harm and moral responsibility, challenging societal narratives of
monstrosity while reinforcing an identity as individuals committed to protecting children.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

MAPs are culturally anchored in monstrosity, whereby any affection or love expressed by MAPs is dismissed or reframed as predatory. Recognising MAPs as emotionally complex individuals would, in line with Douglas (2005), challenge ingrained cultural boundaries between the pure and dangerous,
posing an integral threat to moral and social order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Future research on MAPs should examine how online communities impact identity work and
shape collective identities, moral frameworks, and stigma management. Research may explore
the influence of online interactions on MAPs\u2019 self-perception, group solidarity, and engagement
with societal norms. Additionally, researchers could explore how ideological differences
influence community cohesion. Future studies could benefit from assessing online members’
experiences of stigma related to intersecting identities like gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic
status. A comparative approach to how other stigmatised sexual identities manages societal
rejection could provide insights into MAPs\u2019 identity work, revealing shared challenges,
dynamics, and arguments. Addressing these areas, future research could enhance an
understanding of MAPs\u2019 identity work and contribute to more informed discussion while
prioritising the safety and well-being of all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Results of a Master Thesis Carried out by Celine for the Swedish Lund University with partly Interviews from a broad variety of the MAP Community are out. https:\/\/lup.lub.lu.se\/luur\/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9183658&fileOId=9183659 Here’s a few interesting Quotes The online presence of individuals with a sexual preference for children is often regarded as asignificant threat to children’s well-being. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Consuela","author_link":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1031,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030\/revisions\/1031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapblog.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}