This blog is called "Celibate Pedophiles". The core message is that many pedophiles never engage in any illegal activity. But then there are the other pedophiles, the ones who are not celibate.

Ethan Edwards is the co-founder of Virtuous Pedophiles. Blog posts reflect his personal views, and are not statements from the organization.

This blog is called "Celibate Pedophiles". The core message is that many pedophiles never engage in any illegal activity and pose no danger to children. As a result we deserve civil liberties and respect — and if we dare to hope for more, compassion and assistance. But then there are the other pedophiles, the ones who are not celibate. If I took a narrow view, I could distinguish us as vigorously as possible from them. Perhaps I could win favor by suggesting even more draconian punishments. We are OK, but they are evil monsters.

I can't do that because I don't think it's true.

Yes, there is the occasional horrific pedophile who does unspeakable things to a Jeff or an Amber or a Megan. The best way to think about those men is as psychopaths who also happen to be pedophiles. Similarly horrific crimes against adult women are far more common, and we do not focus on the perpetrator's sexual attraction to adults as the key factor.

There are also plenty of pedophiles who commit crimes that are less serious — though still serious. If you think pedophilia is an evil, alien force that robs a person of his essential humanity, then there is no limit to how harsh a punishment is appropriate. Our ancestors burned witches — and if all the facts and theology had been as they thought, it made sense. But once you know that pedophilia is a sexual attraction that is set early in life and cannot be changed, and that the people who have it are essentially normal in all other respects, then it is no longer evil and alien. If you actually know what it is like to be sexually attracted to a young child, as I do, then you naturally feel compassion for a pedophile offender in one key respect — you get the fundamental motivation. You see them as people who made bad choices, just like other criminals. And you then want society and the legal system to treat them by the same standards as they treat any other criminals.

I am opposed to sex offender mandatory minimum sentences, civil commitment, sex offender registries, and post-release restrictions on residency. I think criminal penalties for many sex offenses against children are too harsh. I'll probably get to all those topics in time, and more as well.

In addressing such topics, I take the risk of diluting my fundamental message — that lots of pedophiles never break the law. But a sexual attraction is something important I share with pedophiles who break the law, and I can't just ignore them or demonize them.

About the author: Ethan Edwards is a pseudonym. I am a pedophile, always celibate, and I have never seen child pornography. My attraction is strongest to girls around 4 years old, but I am also attracted to girls and women up through their 30s or beyond. Now in my late 60s, I'm divorced and living alone. I was married for over 10 years and was heavily involved with raising my 3 daughters. For most of my career I was a successful software engineer. I am very unusual for a pedophile in that I didn't realize that I was one until I was in my 50s—but it was there all along. I am angry that we all must remain silent or risk losing everything. That was my mindset when I co-founded Virtuous Pedophiles in 2012. I soon learned of the the terror of the typical pedophile who realizes as a teenager that his attraction isn't going to go away, who has nowhere to turn for help. The injustice I am most passionate about is the harsh legal penalties imposed on pedophiles who passively view illegal images of children. I stepped down from my role as a director of Virtuous Pedophiles early in 2024 and am delighted to pass the mantle on to a younger generation. This content was taken from Ethan's longstanding blog, Celibate Pedophiles. Some of the titles and taglines have been edited for their inclusion at thepword.

You can see an earlier version of the blog at the wayback machine.

This content was removed from blogspot in 2020 because the platform banned the author's account, giving only a vague reason.

the p word is a collection of 319 articles, blogs, podcasts and threads in the voices of pedophiles and others who oppose adult child sexual contact and sexual exploitation of children. Despite our mainstream views, this content is frequently removed from social media or blog sites because openly discussing pedophile attractions or avowing them are not tolerated. Our side of the conversation continues here.

editor at the p word net | Except where stated, all images are AI and do not depict real people. | Download the whole site.

virtuous pedophiles

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An introduction to VirPed, started in 2012

ChatGPT answers questions about pedophilia differently depending on what and how you ask it.

The first time I had a suicidal thought I was in 4th grade. That means I would have been 9 or 10.