Glossary
This page lists definitions for common terms that you may find used on this website.
- Anti-Contact or anti-c: A MAP who believes that sexual activity between adults and minors is harmful.
- Chronophilia: Used to describe age-based sexual orientations.
- Examples: Nepiophilia, Pedophilia, Hebephilia, Ephebophilia, Teliophilia, Gerontophilia.
- CSA: An acronym for “Child Sexual Abuse”.
- CSEM: An acronym for “Child Sexual Exploitation Material” which describes content involving a child or depiction of a child in a sexual pose or situation. The broad scope of this term has generated pushback from child-protection organizations.
- Ephebophile: Someone with ephebophilia. Experiences attraction to late-pubescent and/or post-pubescent minors.
- Exclusive: A MAP who is only attracted to minors.
- Gerontophilia: sexual preference for the elderly.
- Hebephile: Someone with hebephilia. Experiences attraction to early-pubescent minors.
- MAP: An acronym for Minor-Attracted Person, which refers to anyone with a primary or secondary attraction to minors. It is an umbrella term used by researchers in the academic field encompassing nepiophiles, pedophiles, hebephiles, and ephebophiles.
- Mesophilia: sexual preference for middle-ages adults.
- Nepiophile: Someone with nepiophilia. Experiences attraction to babies and/or toddlers.
- NOMAP: An acronym for “Non-Offending Minor-Attracted Person”, which describes a MAP who is not engaging in illegal sexual activity with a minor or consuming CSAM.
- Non-Exclusive: A MAP who is also attracted to people their age in addition to being attracted to minors.
- Paraphilia: the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation).
- Examples: Podophilia (foot fetish), Sexual Masochism, and Sexual Sadism.
- Paraphilic Disorder: A mental disorder in which an individual experiences clinical distress due to a paraphilia or acts on a paraphilia in a way that causes or risks harm to others. Having a paraphilia does not automatically mean somebody has a paraphilic disorder.
- Pedophile: Someone with pedophilia, an attraction to prepubescent children. The media and most people in society often incorrectly use this word as a synonym for child molester. Not all child molesters are pedophiles and not all pedophiles are child molesters. These terms are not interchangeable.
- Pedophilic Disorder: A condition where someone with pedophilia experiences clinical distress due to their attractions and the stigma surrounding them or acts on their attractions in a way that causes or risks harm to a child.
- Note: Having pedophilia does not automatically mean somebody has pedophilic disorder.
- Teleiophilia: sexual preference for adults.