The Legality of Philias

One of the coolest things I’m known for is the ability to diagnose my friends.  Everyone will pile into my tiny Manhattan apartment for my famous drinks and dessert party, we shoot the shit and before you know it, my DSM is out and I’m pointing out the histrionic, the bipolar, or the psychopath in the group (all of which are me).  The DSM is by far one of my favorite books.  Sure its more a text book than anything else, but if you’ve ever cracked one open, you might as well be reading a set of short stories about random disorders that you never even knew existed.

The other day, I was watching my Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit (favorite show ever), and it was the episode where Stabler finds out his daughter’s picture is on a pedophile website and he flips his shit.  Naturally, I pulled out my DSM to look up the disorder known as Pedophilia.  I flipped through other deviant behavior getting to the page (fetishism, sadism, etc) detailing the behavior.

I mean, the real reason I looked it up was because the extreme stigma attached to the disorder.  Most, if not all people regard this as one of the most disdainful behaviors in the world.  But of course, being as impartial as I possibly could, I started to think about these people. 

I can’t judge them the way that I am.  There is a reason that Pedophilia (and all philias) is listed in the DSM.  Simple neuronal misfires and abnormal brain development could be simple explanations for such deviant behavior.  And sure, it isn’t right, but we treat all kinds of things like cancer, HIV, and the like.  Can we really judge them for being who they are?  If they are just hard wired like that, it’s not their fault.  Sure, it’s gross disgusting, but if they can’t help it, then its like saying a cancer patient could avoid cancer. 

I mean, and this extends beyond pedophilia.  What about the other philias?  S&M is revered with underground dungeons (stay tuned for a future piece on my experience as a dungeoness).  Voyeurism is all across the Internet with spy cams etc.  If all philias are lumped into one category, then technically all are deviant acts that should be shamed upon.  Right?

I guess what I’m trying to figure out is why these behaviors are all lumped together when there is a clear distinction between what is legal hard wired behavior and what is illegal hard wired behavior.  It should really be all or none. 

Before we all get our panties in a bunch about what is a true sexual dysfunction and what isn’t, I should mention that there is a new version of the DSM coming out.  I don’t know the details about what is changing, but there are certainly changes, so who knows.  Maybe my concerns will be alleviated and I won’t go through life wondering if my S&M behavior should be classified as illegal. 

What I’m really interested in knowing is what my reader’s opinions are.  Do you think that pedophilia should be classified as a separate behavior?  Do you think it’s a hard-wired behavior or a learned behavior?  Do you think it’s treatable?  What about other philias?  Where does that leave the vast majority of people who live by legal philias?  Is it fair?  Leave a comment or 12.