The Difference between LGBT+ and Pedophilia

On Twitter, I see some people argue that ‘if we admit the rights of LGBT+ people, we then should admit the rights of people with pedophilia to do sexual things to children‘. Many people oppose such argument by saying that ‘LGBT+ and pedophilia are totally different‘, but few of them clearly state the reason why.

My answer is simple: LGBT+ people can respect the autonomy of the object of sexual desire, while people with pedophilia cannot. I can treat my girlfriend as an equal, independent individual as she is an adult and therefore fully autonomous. She can say yes or no freely when responding to my sexual desire.

Children cannot do the same as they are still in their developmental stage and therefore not fully autonomous. When an adult loves an child, there is no equal relationship: children cannot say yes or no out of their free will. Thus, adult doing sexual things to a child is a serious crime like rape and sexual abuse.

Japanese famous gourmet, Rosanjin, wrote that ‘Cooking is like medical examination.’

Rosanjin (1883-1959)

…you should not force someone to eat meals you cook. You should consider the person and cook adequate meal which can fulfill the needs of the person. You should take it into account things such as what the person prefers, whether the person is hungry, what the person ate before, how the person feels now, and so on.

Like this, we should not force our sexual orientation/desire to someone. We should consider the person well and fulfill the needs of the person. I believe it is as fundamental principle of human society as the principle of ‘not to kill’… as sexual activities done to a person without the autonomous consent of the person kills their soul.

[Written by: Chihiro]