Hebephilia and Cultural Differences in Age of Consent

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we'll be looking at hepophilia. Yes, we know about pedophilia,
but what about hepophilia. So, hepophilia is sexual attraction to
pubia tubes in youth, usually between the ages of eleven
and fourteen. It is not formally recognized in the DSM five,
but debated and forensic psych so it. Courts often face
challenges in cases involving thirteen or fourteen year olds, especially

(00:21):
across different legal systems. Clinical versus legal distinction. Clinical hepophilia
is a developmental attraction. They do not consider at the
moment as a disorder. Legally, any sexual behavior with underage adolescents, though,
is child sexual abuse, so it is it gets the law.
So for example, a thirty five year old man attracted
to a thirteen year old is not diagnosed, but if

(00:42):
he acts, he's a child molester by law. So there's
a distinction between the clinical component and the legal component
age of consent laws. This is one of the interesting
things because the global variation is pretty intense. You'll see
states like countries like Philippines and a goola could be
ranging for twelve years of age, some thirteen in Japan,
who used to be the national age was thirteen, but

(01:02):
now many prefectures raise it to sixteen to eighteen, especially
with global pressure. In the US is eighteen in about
it more than a little bit more than half the states,
but not all of them, and some of the ones
that are younger are sixteen usually have a lot of differences.
By the way. In France, for instance, I think it
was like thirteen fourteen just a few years back. But

(01:24):
also remember the president of France right now, Macran. I
think he met his wife current wife when he was
fourteen or fifteen. He was in high school when he
had an affair with her. She was married and she
had an affair with the president Macron at the time
when he was fifteen, she was his teacher, and I
think actually her student, her son was in that class.

(01:45):
She had three children in that marriage historical context, in
many pre industrialized cities, puberty signal ready to ess form marriage.
So Western countries historically had low ages of consent. Even
in the US, I was under thirteen to think of
the US and in Europe. In the nineteenth century. UK
raised its age of consent from about thirteen in eighteen
seventy five to sixteen and eighteen eighty five due to

(02:07):
child protection reform. I can't remember when the US changed.
I think it was in the nineteen tens or before that.
Actually it was before that, probably eighteen ninety when they
changed it older as well, because I think the age
of conset was like twelve or thirteen. Culture of norms
versus modern loss. Some cultures will still accept marriages of
girls at first menstruation. Globalization human rights try to condeming

(02:28):
these practices. Child marriage persists in parts of South Asia
and Africa. So hebophilia is complex attraction adolescent overlaps with
biological cues of maturity. Forensic psychologists debate whether hebophilia is
abnormal or an extension of evolved attraction. Some ore experts
argue it should be a paraphilia. Others say it's culturally constructed.

(02:49):
This is why it's complex. Western conservative criminalization. Western countries
define any sexual activity with miners under consent as abuse.
This frames hebophilia is criminal when upon regardless of cultural arguments,
a twenty year old in the US dating a fifteen
year old can face statutory rape charges even if it's consensual.
Cross cultural controversy, migranti of travelers may be shocked when

(03:11):
the local could set laws different. I had an FBI
buddy that busted somebody. He was twenty nine, the girl
was sixteen. This was about twenty five years ago. The
FBI agent asked him why he did it, and the
guy said, it's legal where I live. It's only thirty
five minutes away. And it was it was legal in
a certain area province in Canada, and he traveled over
to New York and he was arrested for it, but

(03:33):
I think they eventually released him and sent him back
to Canada. But that's one of the issues you can
have Resturners arrested abroad for relationships legal locally but legal
in their home countries. Another one, there was a law
those past twenty years ago where US citizens before this
law would go to places like Thailand and sleep with
miners thirteen fourteen, fifteen years old and have relationships with him.

(03:53):
But now if you do that, you'll get sent back
and arrested. Role of power and exploitation another big one.
Beyond consent laws, real issues equals power and balance between
adults and adolescents. Adolescents are vulnerable to grooming, coersion, and manipulation,
especially from teachers. Or coaches engaging with them, they exploit
their authority. Media often labels offenders pedophiles, though even when

(04:15):
victims are pubescent, and this is incorrect. This blurs the
distinctions and fuel stigma without nuance. Celebrity scandals off and
report as pedophilia are wrong because the victims are fourteen fifteen,
and that's again hebophilia and not pedophilia. Pedophilia is prepredescent.
Many nations are raising consent ages and tightening enforcement international

(04:35):
law pushes against child marriage and exploitation. Mexico raised its
agent consent nationally to eighteen to combat exploitation. Should hebophelia
be able to disorder paraphilia or culturally influence preference, that's
the debate that goes on. DSM five workbook group debated
adding hebophilia, but ultimately rejected it. I don't know why,
but for now that's what we do see. So hebufeel.

(05:00):
It is a tricky situation that we see out there.
It may sound simple to you if you're in the
US or the or the European country, but it's more
complicated than we thought. That's it for now.