In Brief: Listening to other sexual minorities

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/index.php/2007/11/27/in-brief-listening-to-other-sexual-minorities/

[Anglican Mainstream] 28.11.07--‘Since he was a child Ashford has always had a deep attraction to young girls but never acted on his urges or knew they had a name. It wasn’t until five years ago, at the age of 30, that Asford realised why his brief marriage and his countless flings across the United States and Europe always ended the same. Ashford is a pedophile … “I am tired of being forced into the shadows by society. I have committed no crime, therefore there is no good reason that I should have to hide myself. As long as pedophiles continue to hide, there is no chance of them ever being accepted” … Ashford, 35, … is part of a pioneering group of pedophiles from around the world who also believe pedophilia is not a sexual disorder that can be cured by medication and psychotherapy. He believes, rather, that it is a sexual orientation with which he was born, and therefore, cannot deny … Pedophilia “has all the same characteristics as homosexuality, transvestism, fetishism, etc.”, said Dan Markussen, spokesman for the 100-member association [the Danish Pedophile Association], which was founded in 1985. “Sexual orientation is defined as a lifelong attraction, which pedophilia obviously is.”‘