I want to add on that this was said by her,
Most charitably, we can assume she means to say: "LGB drop the T" and "not defending pedos" have the same root reason, being that "this group makes us look bad, so for our own survival, we must cut them off."
However, it is incredibly tone-deaf to use the community that is most often associated with being pedophiles for this. The idea that, "if you are trans, you want to prey on children," is not only logically unsound (how would every single trans person be a child predator without fail?) but would then imply "pedophile = child predator," which we know ISFF does not agree with:
Here's the thing: ISFF appears to wish to achieve worldwide understanding of two points:
Pedophile is not synonymous with child abuser or predator. That being afflicted with pedophilia does not equal action. Or, as her friend put it in that original post, quote, "thought-crimes are not real in the case of people attracted to children".
You should be, quote, "proud to be friends with a pedophile", that pedophiles are, quote, "vulnerable community members".
Point 1, in all honesty, by itself, isn't unsound. It is true, pedophilia is a medical disorder, one a person can not choose to have, just like one does not choose to have suicidal or homicidal thoughts. One should not have to feel guilty for a burden they did not choose, and it should be more understood that pedophilia is a disorder that needs attention and coping skills to manage, not shame and ridicule.
It is why the "Radqueer" community exists in many aspects: people who are abused for having this disorder they did not choose feel lost and hopeless. Therefore, the only people who will even listen to them are other disordered individuals (pedophiles, in this case). This leads to an echo chamber, which can lead to normalization of the disorder, and a higher increased chance of illegal activity and harmful behavior; the more your peers normalize and glorify something harmful ("MAP pride"), the more you internalize this notion and normalize it to yourself, the more the boundaries of what are acceptable begin to wane.
This is why point 2 is the biggest issue.
Pedophilia is nothing to be proud of. Nothing to be "ashamed" of, either, but certainly not proud. Much like how you should not be proud to be suicidal, depressed, homicidal, etc. It is not your fault you may have these things, they are just unfortunate inflictions out of your control. What you can be proud of is the hard work you put into coping.
Steering clear of things like true crime podcasts/blocking violent content to curb homicidal thoughts, picking up meditation and anger management to curb homicidal urges, letting the desires wash over you, accepting them, and move on peacefully until you get through your first argument with someone where you didn't spiral into rage or have horrific thoughts because you employed your coping skills. That is something to be very proud of!
I would not be proud of my friend for being suicidal, homicidal, etc. I would be proud of my friend for learning to manage and overcome such hardships.
Whereas here, ISFF wants to normalize and soften the impact of just how dangerous these disorders can become if they are normalized, glorified, or downplayed, the best course of action in reality is to not shame the person for what they can not change, but encourage them for how they can make things better for themselves and everyone else.
But, back to that screenshot of ISFF proclaiming, quote, "If you think that pedophiles would fuck children you're wrong and you're the problem!!"
As said, while it is true having a disorder does not mean those actions are guaranteed to land you in that spot, it does mean that the likelihood is exacerbated immensely.
People with suicidal thoughts are not guaranteed to kill themselves, but they are much more likely than a person who doesn't suffer from constant suicidal thoughts to kill themselves.
Same with homicidal thoughts. That person is not automatically going to kill people. But, the person who has urges to and fantasizes of killing people is much more likely to do it than a person who doesn't think of those things.
Even things like ASPD (colloquially and sometimes pejoratively known as "sociopathy"). These people are not guaranteed to lie, steal, cause fights, or be jerks. Some are great at coping, or at masking, or otherwise have methods to curb, diminish, or stop urges. But, the reason things like "being mean", "committing crime" and "lying" are "symptoms" of the disorder is not because everyone who has ASPD does them, but because the disorder makes you much more likely to do these things on impulse by nature of how it affects your brain. Much like all the above examples, it does not mean these people are destined to be monsters or act awful. Many live normal lives, and are normal people.
Therefore, pedophiles are not guaranteed to molest or rape children, but they are at a higher risk of doing so by nature of the disorder. Which is why what I said earlier holds true: these people need to learn coping skills, avoid triggers, and be responsible.
i-suggest-therapy above put it best:
But pedophiles inherently have a disordered view on sex. It is a disorder where you are consistently attracted to people who cannot consent to you, so there isn't this disconnect between their desires and the act of rape. The desire is rape. Additionally, while a gay person can eventually find a consensual partner, pedophiles can't! No, i don't expect gay men to force themselves on every men they meet, but I do realize they'll be inclined to explore their sexuality consensually. A pedophile will probably also feel inclined to explore their sexuality, but there is no consensual alternative.
On that note, the earlier part of ISFF's friends post:
[pedophiles] and [child abuser] are entirely separate. If you conflate those two terms to mean the same thing, you might as well say 'trans woman' is synonymous with 'misogynistic rapist'
As just said, pedophiles have the urge/desire/thoughts to rape children. They may never act on it, but they would not be pedophiles if they did not have these urges/desires/thoughts.
Therefore, by using this example, ISFF's friend is implying all trans women have the urge/desire/thoughts to be misogynistic rapists.
...To give the benefit, I don't think they thought the implications of that one through. A really, really bad blunder, nevertheless.
On the topic of establishing coping skills, this is exactly NOT what would be pushed for if you want pedophiles to be recognized as struggling with a mental health condition.
I would not give a homicidal person a gun. I would not give a suicidal person a gun. Therefore, I would not let a pedophile be around children unsupervised. In fact, it's probably best they avoid children in general, because why on earth would you argue in favor of this? It certainly doesn't help kids, and it doesn't even help the pedophiles they are attempting to "defend", because it would most likely be the number-one trigger to their disorder! To a pedophile working on curbing their thoughts and coping, I imagine that being around children would cause incredible distress and anxiety. Framing it as "protecting your property from degenerates" is incredibly bad faith. Again, I would not let my homicidal friend walk around with a gun in a populated area. Not because I think they're a "degenerate", but because I do not want them to hurt others or distress themself.
This is also why age play is very different when a pedophile engages with it versus a non-pedophile. To someone with this disorder, that can help normalize it. It's not guaranteed, but it's a much higher risk, and therefore should be avoided. Even if it is an "outlet", you are still feeding into this harmful desire, which does have negative consequences on your brain. Dopamine is a very, very dangerous tool in this case.
In conclusion: ISFF is not catching heat for simply trying to say "pedophiles have a mental health disorder, and we should try to not villainize them on having this disorder alone"; a statement while, still controversial, I believe most people can warm up to.
No, the issue here is the glorification/normalization, the promotion of softening such a disorder, of un-medicalizing it. There is a way to go about these topics, and this is not it. Certainly not tying it to the trans community when it is a completely separate issue of mental health.
...Sorry if this is derailing in any way. Here's another post of her being transphobic towards trans men, just because I didn't see it shown and I find it really distasteful:
I hope she can grow as a person from this.
