Is being a pedophile a choice or genetic

[starburst]

Well there is a long thread about weather being homo is a "lifestyle choice" or something genetic. Well, if your sexual attraction is genetic, then wouldn't those that see people under the age of 18 as sexually attractive fall under the same provisions as those that are gay. Many people now feel that this pedophilia cannot be cured. And there have now been studies that show 20% of all males may have a attraction to those under age. So how should they be treated.
So what are we to do about the millions of men, and women, that have affection for those under the age of 18?

[SW85]

Pedophilia is not specifically love for anyone under the age of 18. It's perfectly legal, for instance, for a 21-year-old to have sex with a 17-year-old in most states, and where it's illegal, it is banned on grounds of statutory rape, not pedophilia. (My native Maryland, I think, prohibits an adult from having sex with anyone under the age of 18 if there is an age difference of more than 5 years). Nor does it bespeak mental illness for, say, a 45-year-old man to be sexually aroused by an attractive 16-year-old girl (it may be illegal for him to act on those desires, but it's perfectly normal to experience them). It really crosses the line into pedophilia when an attraction exists for someone who has not yet fully developed the basic physical features of thier sex.

As for what you say, well, there is already a small movement, following in the footsteps of homosexuality, demanding the legalization of other aberrant sexual practices on the basis that the practitioners do not choose who they're attracted to. Peter Singer has made such arguments in favor of bestiality, and I don't think I need to remind anyone of NAMBLA.

[palerider]

Pedophilia has nothing to do with 16and 17 year old girls, pedophilia has to do with pre pubescent children and I believe that in all likelyhood, a genetic component for this disorder will be found.