The Meaning of “Pervert”
To kick off the new year, PervScan searched Google News for the term “pervert” and tabulated 55 pages of results. Results unrelated to sexual pathologies — for example, references to “pervert the course of justice” and the astonishing number of references to troubled singer Amy Winehouse — were discarded. Retaining only sexual perversions, the news stories utilized “pervert” to refer to individuals engaging in:
Google News updates itself automatically, so exact results may vary at any given time. However, this is more or less the distribution you get when you search for “pervert.” Clearly there is something interesting going on here. Since when did pervert become synonymous with pedophile? It’s worth noting that, in the lone incest story, two of the three victims were underage. And the five pederasty stories might reasonably have been included in the pedophilia category.
There are some obvious social factors to explain the correlation of pervert and pedophile. Since the early 1990s or so, pedophilia has risen in the public consciousness. (Perhaps the murder of JonBenet Ramsey in 1996 was the watershed moment.) The subsequent rise of the internet has given pedophiles new means of exploiting children. The Dirty Old Man has given way to the cyberpredator and the creepy uncle to the pedo priest. Meanwhile, homosexuals have ceased to be considered perverts, and no one seriously stigmatizes masturbation as “self-abuse” anymore. The definition of pervert has changed. As it has lost some connotations it has veered toward others. But still, why are pedophiles but not rapists so frequently called perverts?
It may not be accurate to go so far as to say that pervert has become synonymous with pedophile. If you say to a friend, “Oh, you’re such a pervert,” you probably don’t mean that your friend is a child molestor. And yet, given the voluminous correlation between the two terms in the news, how long will it be before pervert really does imply pedophile?
You hit the nail on the head when you pointed out that so many “deviant” sexual kicks aren’t seen as perverted any more. Nowadays, the woman who doesn’t do anal is seen as odd, homosexuality is seen as within normal, and exhibitionism is no big deal, eccentric rather than “perverted”.
At the same time, pedophilia, which until recently was just NOT DISCUSSED in polite company, has increasingly been exposed to the light of day with even sex tourism viewed as problematical. Pedophilia is nothing new, every civilization we know of has had a seedy underside, but the Victorian invention of childhood as a protected and idealized state of innocence and it’s gradual extension to all underage people rather than just the upper crust, has kept a constant spotlight on an ages old problem. Pedophilia in all it’s aspects has become the one thing our world will not tolerate.
Meanwhile, you can see most perversions portrayed in the media that aim towards a younger crowd. Anybody else watch Family Guy? Necrophilia, pederasty, homosexuality, electric stimulation, autoerotic asphixiation, bestiality, satyrism, b&d, sadism, exhibitionism, transvestism, it’s all there. Familiarity breeds comfort, as we’re exposed to these things, we grow increasingly less disturbed by them. They have been very careful with their use of pederasty, with the character portrayed as an impotent old fool, but nevertheless, portray it they do, and so far with relative impunity even in this time of the revival of stone age ethical values.
When it becomes a thing of pride to walk down the street with your t shirt proclaiming for all to see that you’re a pervert, we have to rethink the very idea of perversion.
I too watch “Family Guy”. They do have a lot of pervresions discussed there, and they handle them in a light and casual manner. You’re right though about the branch of pedophelia called pederasty. The man who possesses this trait is portrayed as an old fool so no one takes him seriously. Everyone referres to him as some disgusting or stupid old man. I guess that’s good considering this sort of thing should not be encouraged. I enjoy watching “Family Guy”, and I enjoy seeing it mentioned in PervScan and seeing it examined in an interesting way in PervScan. It’s all good.
I agree that there are acts that are not considered perverse anymore. I am sure besides homosexuality, which was considered perverse once, there were other acts that are not considered perverse anymore. I am sure they include oral sex, and also pre-marital sex. Rape is not considered a perverse act because it is not really a sexual act as much as an act of physical coersion and great intimidation that just happens to involve the sex organs, but that element of “weird confusion” that one may experience in pedophelia isn’t there. It is mainly an element of a great intrusion on one’s space and privacy, that is also forceful and causes great emotional and physical pain. Rape is not really so sexual.
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