Banned Books discussion
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Tricky Topic: A Pedophiles Guide to Love: A Child Lover's Code of Conduct
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It appears Bradley may have even molested her own children!
I'm stunned, appalled, sickened and angry. But worst of all is that the punishment for these heinous crimes is so minimal! For the first conviction of child molestation he just got probation! I don't think he got much of anything for the second and for the third, your stepson, he was only given 3 years. What kind of deterrent is it for a pedophile to know they will only get probation for molesting a child? Hopefully the penalties are stiffer now but I don't know.
Anyway, Breen published a book called Greek Love advocating pederasty and this was not a warning sign to anyone, apparently. It got me thinking again about how complicated this issue is. Is it censorship if a publisher refuses to publish a book advocating something that in society is a crime and perceived to hurt others severely? What about if the editors force the author to redact portions of the book or heavily edit? Isn't that what editors do anyway?
So what really constitutes censorship? I am just not sure it's censorship if no one agrees to initially publish a book. Publishing companies make that decision all the time because books are just bad. So why not because they offend the publisher's and society's moral code? Yet we condemn publishers of the past who wouldn't print books we now see as seminal or classic works.
My head hurts, I'm going to bed. Happy New Year everyone.
Factors Behind the Antisexual Attitudes Okami (1992) notes that the increasing concern with negative aspects of human sexuality is reflected in the Psychological Abstracts. In 1969 there were no index categories for sexual abuse, sex offenses, sexual harassment, rape, incest, sexual sadism or pedophilia — these were all included under the category of sexual deviations which listed 65 journal articles. However, by 1989, these categories were added and 400 articles were listed, a 20-fold increase. In terms of the category, child abuse, not only has there been a 34-fold increase in the number of articles listed between 1969 and 1989, but in 1989 between 75% and 85% were concerned with sexual rather than physical abuse of children. Okami comments that this supports the observation that the term child abuse has come to mean child sexual abuse.
Mosher (1991) describes the concept of the moralistic intolerance of the left and the analysis of "claims makers" who create new problems and then make their career out of manufacturing the answers. He traces the development of the view of children presented in the history of American child-saving: "The rebellious child became the deprived child who became the sick child who has now become the victimized child" (p. 15). This aspect of antisexuality is accepted without criticism by the professional societies and accorded respectability in the professional community (Money, 1991b).
Money (1991a) sees the antisexuality of the child sexual abuse system as a reaction to the sexual revolution of the 60s and a response to the fear generated by AIDS. Okami (1992) also believes there is a "covert moral crusade" against the "sex positive" changes occurring in this era. In addition, he adds the component of historical social political feminism to the explanation for this phenomenon (Okami, 1990).
Victor (1993, and this issue) also sees a moral crusade as underlying the belief in a satanic cult conspiracy. He believes the satanic cult scare arises from deep-seated frustrations and anxieties by people about modern society. He views the moral crusaders as basically rational and decent people who are attempting to deal with confusing and ambiguous problems of everyday life. The moral crusade arises out of the need to identify scapegoat deviants to blame.
Money (1991a) discusses the antisexuality evident in the prevention programs and the sexual terror induced by good touch/bad touch presentations (1991b). The sexual abuse prevention programs which have proliferated throughout the country are based on empowerment theory. The orientation of empowerment theory is political ideology which has at its core antisexuality (Krivacska, 1991b). This antisexuality may be seen in the language of sexual abuse that has its own peculiar, idiosyncratic usage of terms such as "hurt," "touch," "feel funny," "body parts," "yucky," and "uncomfortable." The system does not use direct language about sexuality but instead uses circumlocutions such as "parts covered by a bathing suit." This communicates to children that sex is viewed negatively and cannot be talked about freely and openly. When a young child is questioned repeatedly about deviant sexuality, that child has been taught a negative view of sexuality. This focus on parts of our body and genitals teaches a genitalized and partial view of sex that will hinder the development of concepts of intimacy and sexuality (Krivacska, 1990; Nelson, 1978). (For a more detailed analysis of the antisexuality in the child sexual abuse prevention programs, see Krivacska 1991a, 1991b, 1991c, and this issue).
Another possible factor in the need for the repetition of the horror of child sexual abuse is the concept of reaction formation. This concept describes the titillation and reinforcement of a covert prurient interest by the apparent aversion but nevertheless continued pre-occupation with the overtly despised behaviors.
References
Bass, E. & Davis, L. (1988). The Courage to Heal ()(). New York: Harper & Row.
Best, R. (1983). Fun and games in the primary grades. In We've All Got Scars: What Boys and Girls Learn in Elementary School ()() (pp.109-125). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against Our Will (). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Cantwell, H. B. (1988). Child sexual abuse: Very young perpetrators. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12(4), 579-584.
Dolan, Y. M. (1991). Resolving Sexual Abuse (). New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
Duchschere, K. (1992, December 18). Their love was illegal. Star Tribune, pp. 1A, 9A.
Friedrich, W. N., Grambsch, P., Broughton, D., Kuiper, J., & Beike, R. L. (1991). Normative sexual behavior in children. Pediatrics, 88(3), 456-464.
Gundersen, B. H., Melas, P. S., & Skar, J. E. (1981). Sexual behavior of preschool children: Teachers' observations. In L. L. Constantine & F. M. Martinson (Eds.), Children and Sex: New Findings, New Perspectives () (pp. 45-61). Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.
Hartman, C. R. & Burgess, A. W. (1988). Information processing of trauma: Case application of a model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3(4), 443-457.
Haugaard, J. (1990). Letter to the Editor. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 294-295.
Haugaard, J. J. & Tilly, C. (1988). Characteristics predicting children's responses to sexual encounters with other children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 209-218.
Herman, J. (1981). Father-Daughter Incest (). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Howard, J. A., Blumstein, P., & Schwartz, P. (1986). Sex, power, and influence tactics in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(1), 102- 109.
Johnson, T. C. (1988). Child perpetrators-Children who molest other children: Preliminary findings. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12(2), 219-229.
Johnson, T. C. (1989). Female child perpetrators: Children who molest other children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 13(4), 571-585.
Kincaid, J. R. (1992). Child Loving (). New York: Routledge.
Krivacska, J. J. (1990). Designing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs (). Springfield, IL: C. C. Thomas.
Krivacska, J. J. (1991a). Child sexual abuse prevention programs: The need for childhood sexuality education. SIECUS Report, 19(6).
Krivacska, J. J. (1991b, June 9). Child sexual abuse prevention programs: The prevention of childhood sexuality? Presented at the Seventh Midcontinent Annual Conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex.
Krivacska, J. J. (1991c). Sexual abuse prevention programs: Can they cause false allegations? Child Abuse Accusations,
Langfeldt, T. (1981). Sexual development in children. In M. Cook & K. Howells (Eds.), Adult Sexual Interest in Children () (pp. 99-120). New York: Academic Press.
Lachnit, C. (1991, October 26) Children who molest children: A growing trend. The The Orange County Register, p. B1 and B5.
Logg, C. (1990). Trend of younger sexual offenders on increase. Bellingham Herald, July 11, 1990. p. A1 and A2.
Martinson, F. M. (1981). Eroticism in infancy and childhood. In L. L. Constantine and F. M. Martinson (Eds.), Children and Sex: New Findings, New Perspectives () (pp. 23-35). Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.
I don't support banning books as a general rule, but if someone were to build a 'how to rape someone' book or 'how to kidnap' someone book I would support the banning whole heartedly. I understand that these issues need to be talked about, but as my family has been deeply affected by these issues, I have an emotional reaction and that is deep disgust.
Books that are guides to harm others are tools. This is beyond sick, I would hope every book store would refuse to carry it
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I don't have an answer to the question. Even the thought of a book on how to abuse a child raises my anxiety tremendously.
Refusing to publish something isn't necessarily the same thing as censorship. A publisher can refuse to publish something for any reason. In this case, the publisher is Amazon. I am normally opposed to genuine instances of censorship but I do think there is a certain line that should not allowed to be crossed. Lolita is a fictional story. However, I get the impression that this was non-fictional "how to" book. I can understand the reasons why a publisher would refuse to publish any book that clearly offers advise on how to do something that is not only illegal but generally considered a heinous crime.
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Is there any update on Amazon and if they have some screening process for these extreme types of books?I read about this back in 2010, I was completely horrified when it first happened. That someone would write this kind of book and then have the audacity to publish it in a public arena. Also, that Amazon hesitated to remove it and that it was published in the first place! It's bed enough these crimes are committed to begin with. But to expect people to accept it, that's unbelievable.
I'm so glad this book is banned, it's a great example of what the true purpose of banning books is. I think books should be banned if they corrupt public morals in some way. Of course, this is widely open to interpretation. But with an open mind and acceptance, it should be fairly common sense? You don't have to agree with all the ideas, but allow others the freedom to express them.
My stepson was sexually molested numerous times over several years by a "family friend." It does do damage, Heidi, enormous psychological damage, just as women who've been raped suffer from. The fact that they move on with their lives doesn't mean no damage was done, even though it may not be as obvious as, say, an amputated limb. And the people who cause such damage need to be locked away from decent people so they can't do such things again.
As for books like this, I don't think censorship is the answer. I believe in education campaigns, which I believe Heidi is very much in need of. People have choices. There are zillions of books written by good authors who don't believe in hurting innocent people. Readers should spend their money on those books and leave the hurtful ones to wither and die.