Fordham


IHSP

MainAncientMedievalModern

Subsidiary SourcebooksAfricanEastern AsianGlobalIndianJewishIslamicLesbian/GayScienceWomen

Special ResourcesByzantiumMedieval MusicSaints' Lives
Ancient Law
Medieval Law
Film: Ancient
Film: Medieval
Film: Modern

About IHSPIHSP Credits

People with a History: An Online Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History

Section X Frequently Asked Questions

Editor: Paul Halsall

Contents:

Section X: Frequently Asked Questions

Go to the following pages for other parts of People with a History

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Please do not write to me before you have looked through here. If the answer to any question is on this site, I shall not respond.

Gay and Lesbian General Interest Questions

Gay and Lesbian Hostile Questions

  • Gerbils [At QRD]
    Gay men do not put gerbils in condoms into their rectums. People of all sexual orientations do, in fact, put an amazing variety of objects inside themselves, but the Gerbil myth has been especially common. There is no basis in fact for the story.
  • Pedophilia
    There is no topic more controversial than the issue of inter-generational sex. There are many web pages on the net which promote "boy love". I will not link to them. GLAAD and the ILGA [International Lesbian and Gay Association], about as mainstream LGBT organizations as one can find, take a specific stance Against Pedophilia and NAMBLA [Jan 16, 1994, At GLAAD]. Other non-pedophile gays have argued that the issues at least deserved to be raised - for instance the Ad Hoc Spirit of Stonewall group at Stonewall 25. Judged by the boos the pedophile groups meet at LGBT Pride Parades, they have little support in the LGBT community.
    There is nothing specifically homosexual about pedophilia - some pedophiles are attracted to children of the same sex, others to children of the opposite sex, and some to children in general. There is little doubt, furthermore, that the vast majority of cases of childsex involves men, usually fathers or stepfathers, with girls.
    One final point: although historic formulations of homosexual eros often are called "pederasty", as in Greece and Rome, these formulations were NOT about adult-child sex. The proposed younger partners were what we would now call "older teenagers", i.e. young sexually mature adults, not "boys". The advent of industrial society has created a situation in which people reach sexual maturity before they reach social maturity, but this was not the case in the periods when age-dissonant homosexuality was the norm.

Back to Contents

This page is part of  People with a History. People with a History is a www site presenting history relevant to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people, through primary sources, secondary discussions, and images.. People with a History: An Online Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project.

Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.


The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of  Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University.  Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.

© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 2 January 2020 [CV]