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<div style="margin-right: 25px; float: left;">__TOC__</div>'''''Paidika''''' subtitled '''''The Journal of Paedophilia''''' (1987-1995) was a scholarly journal with an unbounded approach towards the study of [[pedophilia]].

== History ==

American expatriate author [[Joseph Geraci]] developed the idea of launching a scholarly journal about [[pedophilia]] after he relocated in [[Amsterdam]] in 1986. A year later the first issue was published by the non-profit Stichting Paidika Foundation which was created for this reason.

According to the blurb, ''Paidika'' sought "to examine the range of cultural, historical, psychological, and literary issues pertaining to consensual adult-child sexual relationships and desires" and attempted to create a "history of record". From the beginning, ''Paidika'' differentiated from other such publications. It had a professional layout and an impressive editorial board (see below) which reviewed the submissions to the journal.

Thus, ''Paidika'' could be best described as a "scholarly, literary and activist" journal. Scholarly because the submissions were peer-reviewed by some of the most respected academics in the field of sexuality ([[Vern Bullough|Bullough]], DeCecco) and literary because it published poetry apart from scholarly articles. In addition, the journal had an activist aspect as some of the published articles, as well as some members of the editorial board ([[Bill Andriette|Andriette]], [[Edward Brongersma|Brongersma]]) were outspoken supporters of the [[boylove]] movement. Consider, the journal's statement of purpose:

"The starting point of ''Paidika'' is necessarily our consciousness of ourselves as paedophiles [...] But to speak today of paedophilia, which we understand to be consensual intergenerational sexual relationships, is to speak of the politics of oppression [...] This is the milieu in which we are enmeshed, the fabric of our daily life and struggle [...] Through publication of scholarly studies, thoroughly documented and carefully reasoned, we intend to demonstrate that paedophilia has been, and remains, a legitimate and productive part of the totality of human experience."

Nevertheless, even though ''Paidika'' was scheduled to be a quarterly publication, just like the ''[[International Journal of Greek Love]]'' two decades earlier, it faced many difficulties and its publication was frequently disrupted. Eventually only one or two issues per year appeared, in total twelve issues from 1987 to 1995.

== Editorial board ==

''Paidika'' was subject to academic peer-review. An incomplete list of people that appeared in the editorial board is given below. Their affiliation maybe not be currently valid.

*[[Bill Andriette]], editor, ''[[NAMBLA Bulletin]]''
*Dr. [[Frits Bernard]], psychologist, sexologist; [[Bernard Foundation]]
*[[Edward Brongersma]], JD, jurist; [[Brongersma Foundation]]
*[[Vern Bullough|Vern L. Bullough]], PhD, historian, sexologist; Professor Emeritus, State University of New York 
*Joel Crawford, 
*[[John P. De Cecco]], PhD, psychologist; Professor Emeritus, San Francisco State University; editor, ''[[Journal of Homosexuality]]''
*Sjuul Deckwitz, author, journalist
*[[Wayne Dynes]], PhD, Professor Emeritus, City University of New York; editor, ''Encyclopedia of Homosexuality''
*[[Joseph Geraci]], author
*Hans Hafkamp, 
*[[Gert Hekma]], PhD, University of Amsterdam
*Piper R. Hollier, 
*Bruce S. Hopping, Kalos Kagathos Foundation
*[[Hubert Kennedy]], historian, Providence College, RI
*Thijs Maasen, PhD 
*[[Donald Mader|D.H. (Donald) Mader]], PhD (cand.), author, photographer
*Theo van der Meer, PhD, literary scholar
*[[Alex van Naerssen|A.L. van Naerssen]], PhD, Professor of Psychology, Utrecht University
*Will H.L. Ogrinc, PhD, medievalist, Rotterdam Hogeschool
*[[Benjamin Rossen|Benjamin F. Rossen]], MSc, psychologist
*[[Theo Sandfort]], PhD, psychologist, Utrecht University
*[[Marjan Sax]], political scientist, feminist sex activist
*Maarten Schild, PhD, editor, ''Abu Nuwas Society Newsletter''
*[[Jan Schuijer]], MA, legal adviser, Dutch Association for Sexual Reform and Dutch Association for Gay Integration
*[[Lawrence A. Stanley]], lawyer
*[[Frank Torey]], editor, [[Acolyte Press]]
*[[Daniel Tsang]], librarian, University of California, Irvine

== Contents ==

In its twelve issues, ''Paidika'' published no less than thirty scholarly articles (in history, anthropology, psychology, and other disciplines), poetry, art, book and film reviews. One interesting and pioneering aspect of the journal were its interviews with leading academics of the study of sexuality (including [[Gunter Schmidt]], [[Ken Plummer|Kenneth Plummer]], [[John Money]], [[Gilbert Herdt]], and [[René Schérer]]).

An incomplete (excluding book reviews, film reviews and other varia) table of contents for the twelve issues is given below:

'''Vol. 1, No. 1 (1987)'''

*Editors, "Statement of Purpose"
*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: Monica Pieterse"
*"The Journals of Lewis Thompson"
*Lewis Thompson, "The Child"
*[[Donald Mader]], "The Entimos Pais of Matthew 8:5-1 3 and Luke 7:1-10"
*Nathaniel Parker Willis, "On Seeing a Beautiful Boy at Play"
*Hans Hafkamp, "The Life of a Christian Boy-Lover: The Poet [[Willem de Mérode]] (1887-1939)"

'''Vol. 1, No. 2 (1987)'''
  
*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: Rene Scherer"
*[[Lawrence A. Stanley]], "The Hysteria Over [[Child Pornography]] and Paedophilia"
*[[Frits Bernard]], "The Dutch Paedophile Emancipation Movement"  
*[[Frits Bernard]], "On Paedophilia"
*[[Frits Bernard]], "A Center for Paedophiles?"
*[[Frits Bernard]], "The Meaning of Paedophilia"

'''Vol. 1, No. 3 (1988)'''

*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: John DeCecco"
*[[John Henry Mackay]], "Listen! Only a Moment! A Cry"
*[[Gisela Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg]], "The Paedophile Impulse: Toward the Development of an Etiology of Child-Adult Sexual Contacts from an Ethological and Ethnological Perspective"
*Maarten Schild, "The Irresistible Beauty of Boys: Middle Eastern Attitudes About Boy-Love"
*[[Donald Mader]], "Sidney Smith and the Dragonfly Press"

'''Vol. 1, No. 4 (1988)'''

*H. J. Roethof, "Government and Good Morals"
*[[Lawrence A. Stanley]], "A Legal Note: ''Paidika'' in Search Warrant"
*[[Edward Perry Warren]], "The Boy-Lover" 
*[[Edward Perry Warren]], "Five Poems"
*[[Theo Sandfort]], "Constructive Questions Regarding Paedophilia"
*Will H.L. Ogrinc, "Neither to Laugh nor to Cry: A Failure in the End: [[Charles Filiger]] (1863-1928)"
*Haije Stobbe, "Two Lesson Plans about Paedophilia"

'''Vol. 2, No. 1 (1989)'''

*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: Gunter Schmidt"
*Tariq Rahman, "Boy Love in the Urdu 'Ghazal'" 
*[[Robert Bauserman]], "Man-Boy Sexual Relationships in a Cross-Cultural Perspective"
*"Jerome Duquesnoy the Younger: Two Studies - Introduction"
*Georges Eekhoud, "A distinguished 17th Century Uranian: Jerome Duquesnoy: Flemish Sculptor" 
*Geert Debeuckelaere, "For the reason that thou, Hieronymus Duquesnoy..."

'''Vol. 2, No. 2 (1990)'''

*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: Kenneth Plummer"
*Ingeborg Baldauf, "[[Boylove]], Folksong, and [[Literature]] in Central Asia"
*Erick Pontalley, "Celtic [[Pederasty]] in Pre-Roman Gaul"
*Whitsun Eve, "Benjamin"

'''Vol. 2, No. 3 (1991)'''

*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: [[John Money]]"
*"Pasteur [[Joseph Douce]]: 1945-1990"
*Casimer Elsen, "The [[CRIES]] Affaire in [[Belgium]]" 
*Will H. L. Ogrinc, "Street Urchins: [[Antonio Mancini]] (1852-1930)" 
*[[John Henry Mackay]], "A Farewell: A Late Letter"
*[[Hubert Kennedy]], "Hiding in the Open: [[John Henry Mackay]]'s 'A Farewell'"

'''Vol. 2, No. 4 (1992): Special Women's lssue'''

*[[Marjan Sax]] and Sjuul Deckwilz, "Editors' Introduction" 
*[[Marjan Sax]] and Sjuul Deckwilz, "Interview: Gisela Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg"
*[[Marjan Sax]] and Sjuul Deckwilz, "Interview: Martha Vicinus"
*Nora de Ronde, "A Crush on my Girl-Scout Leader"
*Gloria Wekker, "Girl, It's My Boobies You're Getting, No?"
*[[Pat Califia]], "[[Feminism]], Paedophilia, and Children's Rights"
*Theo Sandfort, "The World is Bursting with Adults, so I'm always Glad to See a Little Girl" 
*Marjan De Ras, "The Domain of the Wandervogel Girls" 
*Mark Blasius, "Sexual Revolution and the Liberation of Children. Interview: Kate Millett"

'''Vol. 3, No. 1 (1993)'''

*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: Hollida Wakefield and [[Ralph Underwager]]"
*[[Jan Schuijer]], "The [[Netherlands]] Changes its [[Age of Consent]] Law"
*[[Theo Sandfort]], "The Sexual Experiences of Children, Part I"
*[[Gert Hekma]], "[[Francois Augieras]] (1925-1971) 

'''Vol. 3, No. 2 (1994)'''

*[[Joseph Geraci]], "Interview: [[Gilbert Herdt]]"
*Graham Ovenden, "Guest Editorial, Poems, and Drawings"
*Will H.L. Ogrinc, "A Shrine to Love and Sorrow: [[Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen]] (1880-1923)"
*[[Theo Sandfort]], "The Sexual Experiences of Children, Part II"

'''Vol. 3, No.3 (1994)'''

*Gode Davis, "The [[Satanic Ritual Abuse]] Phenomenon"
*Norman Roth, "Boy-love in Medieval Arabic Verse"
*Marina Knopf, "Sexual Contacts Between Women and Children"
*[[Hubert Kennedy]], "[[Karol Szymanowski]], his Boy-Love Novel, and the Boy he Loved"
*Hans Hafkamp, "Time of Youth, Time of Beauty: The Poet [[Jan Hanlo]] (1912-1969)"
*[[Jan Hanlo]], "Karel and the Father of Ruins"

'''Vol. 3, No. 4 (1995)'''

*Morris Fraser, "Bara: Of Death, Desire and Drumsticks"
*[[Hakim Bey]]/Peter Lambourn Wilson, "Contemplation of the Unbearded: The Rubaiyyat of Awhadoddin Kermani"
*Awhadoddin Kermani, "Poems"
*O. Brunoz (pseud. of [[Edward Brongersma]]), "On Boy-love Paedophilia: historical and scientific perspectives"
*[[Jan Schuijer]], "Recent Legal Developments in the Netherlands"

== Impact ==

During its nine years of publication, ''Paidika'' managed to remain faithful to Bullough's (1990, 320) observation and publish a great number of well researched scholarly articles. [[Donald Mader]]'s study of [[pederasty]] in the Bible and Robert Bauserman's cross-cultural study of [[boylove]] are two much quoted pieces. Moreover, what we know about boylovers like [[Karol Szymanowski]] and [[Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen]] are through articles published in ''Paidika''.

Nevertheless, despite its scholarly merit, the journal was often attacked and discredited as a "pedophile magazine" (see Dallam 2002). The fact that it had an activist aspect allowed many people to downplay the importance of research published in the journal. [[Vern Bullough|Bullough]] and others were attacked for being in its editorial board, while [[Laura Schlessinger|"Dr .Laura"]] and  other "anti-child abuse" lobbyers tried to discredit academics that have published or given interviews in ''Paidika'' (like [[Bruce Rind]], Robert Bauserman and [[Ralph Underwager]]). As Lilienfeld (2002, 184) observed, however, "Dr. Laura fell prey to the ''genetic fallacy'', the error of evaluating the validity of an argument by considering its origins."

The fact that ''Paidika'' was indeed a notable scholarly publication and not just a "pedophile magazine" is further reinforced by the fact that prestigious institutions such as the British Library and the Library of Congress subscribed to the journal while several of its articles were reprinted in scholarly books.

== References ==

*Dares to speak: Historical and contemporary perspectives on boy-love / ed. by [[Joseph Geraci]].&ndash;     Swaffham : Gay Men's Press, 1997.&ndash; 283 pp.&ndash; ISBN:   0-85449-241-0 
:A reprint collection of articles from the journal. 
 
*[[Vern Bullough|Bullough, Vern L.]] (1990) "Review of ''Paidika: The Journal of Paedophilia''." ''[[Journal of Homosexuality]]'' 20(1/2): 319-320.

*[[Stephanie Dallam|Dallam, S. J.]] (2002) "Science or Propaganda? An examination of Rind, Tromovitch and Bauserman (1998)." ''[[Journal of Child Sexual Abuse]]'' 9(3/4): 109-134.

*[[Scott Lilienfeld|Lilienfeld, Scott O.]] (2002) "When Worlds Collide: Social Science, Politics, and the [[Rind Report|Rind et al.]] (1998) Child Sexual Abuse Meta-Analysis." ''American Psychologist'' 57(3): 176-188.

==External Links==

* [https://www.brongersma.info/Paidika-01 Paidika] (Starting from the first).
* [https://www.boywiki.org/en/Paidika:_The_Journal_of_Paedophilia "Paidika: The Journal of Paedophilia"] (Original BoyWiki Article)

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