Age-appropriate.I was upset to see that Christie Ayotte, in her article "Thanks a Lot, Foley" [November 7], made no distinction between pedophilia pedophilia, psychosexual disorder in which there is a preference for sexual activity with prepubertal children. Pedophiles are almost always males. The children are more often of the opposite sex (about twice as often) and are typically 13 years or age or younger; and ephebophilia and that you apparently did not try to correct her. Strictly speaking, a pedophile pedophile Forensic psychiatry A person with pedophilia; there are an estimated 500,000 pedophiles in the world. See Child prostitution, Megan's law, Pedophilia. has "recurrent, intense sexual urges or sexually arousing fantasies of engaging in sexual activity with a prepubertal prepubertal /pre·pu·ber·tal/ (-pu´ber-tal) before puberty; pertaining to the period of accelerated growth preceding gonadal maturity. child" (Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 28th ed.). Mark Foley is therefore not a pedophile but an ephebophile, or one who is similarly interested in adolescents. This does not make him any less culpable Blameworthy; involving the commission of a fault or the breach of a duty imposed by law. Culpability generally implies that an act performed is wrong but does not involve any evil intent by the wrongdoer. , but it puts the onus in the correct camp. The distinction was repeatedly made by doctors during the height of the priest scandal, but evidently, the media weren't listening, as this misattribution persists. However, I would have thought that the gay media would be hyperaware of it and insist on making it. T. ROGERS New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. Congressman Mark Foley is living proof that those who live in the closet die in the closet. But rather than add to the blame game and the vitriol vitriol: see sulfuric acid. , I want to suggest a fundamental solution to the Foley page scandal: Quit hiring minors as pages! Hire 18- to 22-year-old college undergraduates. Upon their 22nd birthday, or upon earning their bachelor's degree, their page position expires, whichever happens first. They get a great learning experience, a college education, and will be old enough to deal with their employers and coworkers as adults. So much for future scandals. STEVEN L. KENDALL Seattle, Wash. |
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