Research: Sexual repression - Revision history

Jim Burton at 18:39, 7 September 2025

2025-09-07T18:39:55Z

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	{{research}}__NOTOC__		{{research}}__NOTOC__

	Sexual repression refers to the prevention, through either subtle or overt methods, of children and youth from fulfilling their erotic capacities. Other sources are available on [~~http~~://~~www~~.~~newgon~~.net/prd/repr/ PRD].		Sexual repression refers to the prevention, through either subtle or overt methods, of children and youth from fulfilling their erotic capacities. Other sources are available on [https://wiki.yesmap.net/prd/repr/ PRD].

	For cogent criticism of the broader ''discourse'' of sexual repression, see [[Michel Foucault]] and associated articles.		For cogent criticism of the broader ''discourse'' of sexual repression, see [[Michel Foucault]] and associated articles.

Thorn: /* Academic perspectives */

2025-02-11T05:53:14Z

Academic perspectives

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	*:"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."		*:"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."

	* '''Ira L. Reiss (1990) [http://www.sexarchive.info/BIB/AETS/bind.htm "An End to Shame"].''Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York''''' (see chapter 8. '''Sex Therapy: Conforming to a Troubled Society''')		* '''[[Ira L. Reiss]] (1990) [http://www.sexarchive.info/BIB/AETS/bind.htm "An End to Shame"].''Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York''''' (see chapter 8. '''Sex Therapy: Conforming to a Troubled Society''')
	:: “Masters and Johnson's therapeutic experience with thousands of patients has led them to conclude that many of the most serious sexual distresses, such as the inability to ever experience orgasm, come from being raised with a belief that sex is dangerous, dirty, and evil. A rigid religious background during childhood seemed to be associated with many sexual dysfunctions. What was striking about these cases was not the specific set of religious teachings (since these did not always condemn sexuality) but that sex was strongly regarded as evil and dirty in these rigidly religious families.”		:: “Masters and Johnson's therapeutic experience with thousands of patients has led them to conclude that many of the most serious sexual distresses, such as the inability to ever experience orgasm, come from being raised with a belief that sex is dangerous, dirty, and evil. A rigid religious background during childhood seemed to be associated with many sexual dysfunctions. What was striking about these cases was not the specific set of religious teachings (since these did not always condemn sexuality) but that sex was strongly regarded as evil and dirty in these rigidly religious families.”

Thorn: /* Academic perspectives */

2025-02-08T15:32:17Z

Academic perspectives

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	:: “Helen Singer Kaplan in her explanation of premature ejaculation also comments about the harm done by a restrictive sexual upbringing: Among the most common emotional problems we see in people with sexual disorders is guilt or shame about sexual pleasure. These are leftovers from old "messages" that sex is disgusting, sinful, and harmful which are transmitted to children by some puritanical families, schools, and churches. Such early antisexual "programming" tends to remain with a person into his adult life ...”		:: “Helen Singer Kaplan in her explanation of premature ejaculation also comments about the harm done by a restrictive sexual upbringing: Among the most common emotional problems we see in people with sexual disorders is guilt or shame about sexual pleasure. These are leftovers from old "messages" that sex is disgusting, sinful, and harmful which are transmitted to children by some puritanical families, schools, and churches. Such early antisexual "programming" tends to remain with a person into his adult life ...”

			* '''[[David Finkelhor]], [https://archive.org/details/sourcebookonchil0000fink A Sourcebook on Child Sexual Abuse], Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1986, p. 242.'''
			::"There has long been a consensus among professionals in the field that one thing that inhibits children from telling about abuse is that they do not have a vocabulary or past experience for discussing sex-related matters. [...] This avoidance of explicit sexual content must be patently obvious to the children. Even in some wonderfully creative prevention programs, what they are seeing once again is adults using euphemisms and circumlocutions to talk about sex. The message behind the message for some children may be that, in spite of what adults say, they still do not want to talk in plain terms about sex. [...] It is possible that when adults talk to children only about avoiding the coercive forms of sexuality they leave children with the impression that sex is primarily negative.[...] It is possible that through some of these programs children come to feel uncomfortable or guilty about childhood sex play they may have engaged in. Programs often try to leaven their approach by talking about positive touch, but almost never do they discuss what might be positive sexuality."

	==Other authors==		==Other authors==

Thorn: /* Academic perspectives */

2025-02-05T15:38:56Z

Academic perspectives

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:38, 5 February 2025
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	*:"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "		*:"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "
	*:"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."		*:"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."

			* '''Ira L. Reiss (1990) [http://www.sexarchive.info/BIB/AETS/bind.htm "An End to Shame"].''Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York''''' (see chapter 8. '''Sex Therapy: Conforming to a Troubled Society''')
			:: “Masters and Johnson's therapeutic experience with thousands of patients has led them to conclude that many of the most serious sexual distresses, such as the inability to ever experience orgasm, come from being raised with a belief that sex is dangerous, dirty, and evil. A rigid religious background during childhood seemed to be associated with many sexual dysfunctions. What was striking about these cases was not the specific set of religious teachings (since these did not always condemn sexuality) but that sex was strongly regarded as evil and dirty in these rigidly religious families.”

			:: “Helen Singer Kaplan in her explanation of premature ejaculation also comments about the harm done by a restrictive sexual upbringing: Among the most common emotional problems we see in people with sexual disorders is guilt or shame about sexual pleasure. These are leftovers from old "messages" that sex is disgusting, sinful, and harmful which are transmitted to children by some puritanical families, schools, and churches. Such early antisexual "programming" tends to remain with a person into his adult life ...”

	==Other authors==		==Other authors==

Xtjvimds16dovrfc at 00:06, 26 January 2025

2025-01-26T00:06:31Z

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	*'''[[Erwin Haeberle\|Erwin J. Haeberle]]. [http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm Youth and Sex in Modern Western Societies: A Historical Introduction.] First published in: ''Sexual Problems of Adolescents in Institutions'', David A. Shore and Harvey L. Gochros (eds.), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1981, pp. 3-16''' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221207015818/http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm web.archive])		*'''[[Erwin Haeberle\|Erwin J. Haeberle]]. [http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm Youth and Sex in Modern Western Societies: A Historical Introduction.] First published in: ''Sexual Problems of Adolescents in Institutions'', David A. Shore and Harvey L. Gochros (eds.), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1981, pp. 3-16''' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221207015818/http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm web.archive])
	::"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "		*:"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "
	::"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."		*:"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."

	==Other authors==		==Other authors==

Thorn: /* Academic perspectives */

2025-01-24T16:31:17Z

Academic perspectives

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:31, 24 January 2025
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	*:"The more we mystify and pathologize children’s relation to sexuality, evacuate childhood of the stain of sexuality, and reify simplistic notions of child powerlessness, the more we disempower children and foster their uninformed curiosity, desire, risk taking, and psychological maladjustment to emerging erotic orientations."		*:"The more we mystify and pathologize children’s relation to sexuality, evacuate childhood of the stain of sexuality, and reify simplistic notions of child powerlessness, the more we disempower children and foster their uninformed curiosity, desire, risk taking, and psychological maladjustment to emerging erotic orientations."

	'''Erwin J. Haeberle. [http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm Youth and Sex in Modern Western Societies: A Historical Introduction.] First published in: ''Sexual Problems of Adolescents in Institutions'', David A. Shore and Harvey L. Gochros (eds.), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1981, pp. 3-16''' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221207015818/http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm web.archive])		*'''[[Erwin Haeberle\|Erwin J. Haeberle]]. [http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm Youth and Sex in Modern Western Societies: A Historical Introduction.] First published in: ''Sexual Problems of Adolescents in Institutions'', David A. Shore and Harvey L. Gochros (eds.), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1981, pp. 3-16''' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221207015818/http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm web.archive])
	::"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "		::"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "
	::"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."		::"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."

Thorn: /* Academic perspectives */

2025-01-24T16:30:10Z

Academic perspectives

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:30, 24 January 2025
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	*:"Rigorous attempts to expose the reality and dynamics of child sexual abuse have been aided, if not in part made possible, by equally rigorous attempts to conceal, repress, or ignore the reality and dynamics of child sexuality.[...] [T]he desexualization of childhood has damaging psychological and psychotherapeutic consequences for child victims of sexual abuse.[...] Far from protecting and empowering children, the feminist evasion and erasure of child sexuality have disempowered children and may have made abused children more vulnerable to psychological trauma. [...] While this kind of therapy may lead the child to reinterpret the event, often it does not, and many children firmly believe in their own power in and control over sexual encounters with adults. [...] Yet another common research finding is that, in addition to a sense of sexual power over the adult abuser, children often experience pleasure in the encounter. [...] Typically, these feelings lead to massive guilt and shame, the repression of which can cause chronic anxiety and depression. However, when a therapist attempts to “correct” a child’s cognitive distortions and convince him or her that they stem from unrealistic, childish egocentrism, the unresolved guilt and shame are only compounded. A child’s sexual desires and experiences of power and pleasure must be acknowledged and normalized. Unfortunately, these feelings are stripped of their force for the child when the therapist reduces them to mere “curiosity” or “infatuation."		*:"Rigorous attempts to expose the reality and dynamics of child sexual abuse have been aided, if not in part made possible, by equally rigorous attempts to conceal, repress, or ignore the reality and dynamics of child sexuality.[...] [T]he desexualization of childhood has damaging psychological and psychotherapeutic consequences for child victims of sexual abuse.[...] Far from protecting and empowering children, the feminist evasion and erasure of child sexuality have disempowered children and may have made abused children more vulnerable to psychological trauma. [...] While this kind of therapy may lead the child to reinterpret the event, often it does not, and many children firmly believe in their own power in and control over sexual encounters with adults. [...] Yet another common research finding is that, in addition to a sense of sexual power over the adult abuser, children often experience pleasure in the encounter. [...] Typically, these feelings lead to massive guilt and shame, the repression of which can cause chronic anxiety and depression. However, when a therapist attempts to “correct” a child’s cognitive distortions and convince him or her that they stem from unrealistic, childish egocentrism, the unresolved guilt and shame are only compounded. A child’s sexual desires and experiences of power and pleasure must be acknowledged and normalized. Unfortunately, these feelings are stripped of their force for the child when the therapist reduces them to mere “curiosity” or “infatuation."
	*:"The more we mystify and pathologize children’s relation to sexuality, evacuate childhood of the stain of sexuality, and reify simplistic notions of child powerlessness, the more we disempower children and foster their uninformed curiosity, desire, risk taking, and psychological maladjustment to emerging erotic orientations."		*:"The more we mystify and pathologize children’s relation to sexuality, evacuate childhood of the stain of sexuality, and reify simplistic notions of child powerlessness, the more we disempower children and foster their uninformed curiosity, desire, risk taking, and psychological maladjustment to emerging erotic orientations."

			'''Erwin J. Haeberle. [http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm Youth and Sex in Modern Western Societies: A Historical Introduction.] First published in: ''Sexual Problems of Adolescents in Institutions'', David A. Shore and Harvey L. Gochros (eds.), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1981, pp. 3-16''' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221207015818/http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/youth.htm web.archive])
			::"Foucault does not see the sexual "permissiveness" of our own century as the final triumph of reason over bigotry, but rather as a largely illusionary gain. While it is true that sexual needs have increasingly been recognized, they have also been molded and preshaped by society long before they can be felt by any new individual. Thus, in Western societies today, the sexuality of the young is still a more dangerous subject than it was in the early seventeenth century. "
			::"Children and adolescents were, and still are, the test case for the success of all control strategies. In controlling its offspring, the bourgeoisie tried to control itself, or rather its future. Thus, the meaning of the taboo becomes clear: ultimately, the threat and temptation of infantile and adolescent sexuality helped to keep adult desires in check and to prevent a genuine sexual revolution."

	==Other authors==		==Other authors==

Xtjvimds16dovrfc at 21:57, 14 July 2024

2024-07-14T21:57:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:57, 14 July 2024
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	Some, predominantly American psychiatrists claim that exposure to parental nudity is a form of Child Sexual Abuse. This claim appears to owe more to the prevailing American moral values than empirical evidence:		Some, predominantly American psychiatrists claim that exposure to parental nudity is a form of Child Sexual Abuse. This claim appears to owe more to the prevailing American moral values than empirical evidence:

	*'''Okami, P., Olmstead, R., Abramson, P. R., & Pendleton, L. (1998). [https://sci-hub.se/10.1023/a%3A1018736109563 "Early Childhood Exposure to Parental Nudity and Scenes of Parental Sexuality (“Primal Scenes”): An 18-Year Longitudinal Study of Outcome".] Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27(4), 361–384.'''		*'''[[Paul Okami\|Okami, P.]], Olmstead, R., Abramson, P. R., & Pendleton, L. (1998). [https://sci-hub.se/10.1023/a%3A1018736109563 "Early Childhood Exposure to Parental Nudity and Scenes of Parental Sexuality (“Primal Scenes”): An 18-Year Longitudinal Study of Outcome".] Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27(4), 361–384.'''
	*:"This study, using a longitudinal design, is the first to examine long-term correlates of early childhood exposure to parental nudity and primal scenes. Consistent with the cross-sectional retrospective literature (and with our expectations), no harmful main effects of these experiences were found at age 17-18. Indeed, trends in the data that were significant at p [less than] 0.05 but did not reach significance following the Bonferonni correction indicated primarily beneficial correlates of both of these variables. Exposure to parental nudity was associated with positive, rather than negative, sexual experiences in adolescence, but with reduced sexual experience overall. Boys exposed to parental nudity were less likely to have engaged in theft in adolescence or to have used various psychedelic drugs and marijuana. In the case of primal scenes, exposure was associated with improved relations with adults outside of the family and with higher levels of self-acceptance. Girls exposed to primal scenes were also less likely to have used drugs such as PCP, inhalants, or various psychedelics in adolescence. The one note of caution was sounded by a significant sex of participant interaction indicating that males' exposure to primal scenes was associated with reduced risk of social "problems" associated with sexuality, while the opposite was the case for females. Women in our study who had been exposed to primal scenes reported increased instances of STD transmission and pregnancy. All findings were independent of the effects of SES, sex of participant, family stability, pathology, "pronaturalism," and beliefs and attitudes toward sexuality. Taken as a whole then, effects are few, but generally beneficial in nature. Thus, results of this study add weight to the views of those who have opposed alarmist characterizations of childhood exposure both to nudity and incidental scenes of parental sexuality."		*:"This study, using a longitudinal design, is the first to examine long-term correlates of early childhood exposure to parental nudity and primal scenes. Consistent with the cross-sectional retrospective literature (and with our expectations), no harmful main effects of these experiences were found at age 17-18. Indeed, trends in the data that were significant at p [less than] 0.05 but did not reach significance following the Bonferonni correction indicated primarily beneficial correlates of both of these variables. Exposure to parental nudity was associated with positive, rather than negative, sexual experiences in adolescence, but with reduced sexual experience overall. Boys exposed to parental nudity were less likely to have engaged in theft in adolescence or to have used various psychedelic drugs and marijuana. In the case of primal scenes, exposure was associated with improved relations with adults outside of the family and with higher levels of self-acceptance. Girls exposed to primal scenes were also less likely to have used drugs such as PCP, inhalants, or various psychedelics in adolescence. The one note of caution was sounded by a significant sex of participant interaction indicating that males' exposure to primal scenes was associated with reduced risk of social "problems" associated with sexuality, while the opposite was the case for females. Women in our study who had been exposed to primal scenes reported increased instances of STD transmission and pregnancy. All findings were independent of the effects of SES, sex of participant, family stability, pathology, "pronaturalism," and beliefs and attitudes toward sexuality. Taken as a whole then, effects are few, but generally beneficial in nature. Thus, results of this study add weight to the views of those who have opposed alarmist characterizations of childhood exposure both to nudity and incidental scenes of parental sexuality."
	*:[Editor: [https://www.ipce.info/sites/ipce.info/files/biblio_attachments/okami__et_al-early_childhood_exposure_to__parental__nudity....pdf Backup at Ipce]].		*:[Editor: [https://www.ipce.info/sites/ipce.info/files/biblio_attachments/okami__et_al-early_childhood_exposure_to__parental__nudity....pdf Backup at Ipce]].

	*'''Okami, Paul; Olmstead, Richard; and Abramson, Paul R. (1997). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3813476#metadata_info_tab_contents "Sexual experiences in early childhood: 18-year longitudinal data from the UCLA family lifestyles project - University of California, Los Angeles]," ''Journal of Sex Research'', 34, 339-347.'''		*'''[[Paul Okami\|Okami, Paul]]; Olmstead, Richard; and Abramson, Paul R. (1997). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3813476#metadata_info_tab_contents "Sexual experiences in early childhood: 18-year longitudinal data from the UCLA family lifestyles project - University of California, Los Angeles]," ''Journal of Sex Research'', 34, 339-347.'''
	*:"On the other hand, lack of sex play has been indicted for delaying normal development (Gadpaille, 1981), causing sexual pathology in adulthood (Currier, 1981), or indirectly resulting in social violence, as some have concluded from the work of Prescott (1975, 1979)."		*:"On the other hand, lack of sex play has been indicted for delaying normal development (Gadpaille, 1981), causing sexual pathology in adulthood (Currier, 1981), or indirectly resulting in social violence, as some have concluded from the work of Prescott (1975, 1979)."

Xtjvimds16dovrfc at 21:56, 14 July 2024

2024-07-14T21:56:45Z

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Thorn: /* Academic perspectives */

2024-07-14T07:24:20Z

Academic perspectives

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:24, 14 July 2024
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	* '''[[Steven Angelides]] (2004) [https://sci-hub.ru/10.1215/10642684-10-2-141 Feminism, Child Sexual Abuse, and the Erasure of Child Sexuality]'''; a copy on [https://web.archive.org/web/20130420133540/http://snifferdogonline.com/reports/Child%20Abuse,%20Sexuality%20and%20Violence/Feminism,%20Child%20Sexual%20Abuse,%20and%20the%20Erasure%20of%20Child%20Sexuality.pdf webarchive]		* '''[[Steven Angelides]] (2004) [https://sci-hub.ru/10.1215/10642684-10-2-141 Feminism, Child Sexual Abuse, and the Erasure of Child Sexuality]'''; a copy on [https://web.archive.org/web/20130420133540/http://snifferdogonline.com/reports/Child%20Abuse,%20Sexuality%20and%20Violence/Feminism,%20Child%20Sexual%20Abuse,%20and%20the%20Erasure%20of%20Child%20Sexuality.pdf webarchive]
	::"Rigorous attempts to expose the reality and dynamics of child sexual abuse have been aided, if not in part made possible, by equally rigorous attempts to conceal, repress, or ignore the reality and dynamics of child sexuality.[...] [T]he desexualization of childhood has damaging psychological and psychotherapeutic consequences for child victims of sexual abuse.[...] While this kind of therapy may lead the child to reinterpret the event, often it does not, and many children firmly believe in their own power in and control over sexual encounters with adults. [...] Yet another common research finding is that, in addition to a sense of sexual power over the adult abuser, children often experience pleasure in the encounter. [...] Typically, these feelings lead to massive guilt and shame, the repression of which can cause chronic anxiety and depression. However, when a therapist attempts to “correct” a child’s cognitive distortions and convince him or her that they stem from unrealistic, childish egocentrism, the unresolved guilt and shame are only compounded. A child’s sexual desires and experiences of power and pleasure must be acknowledged and normalized. Unfortunately, these feelings are stripped of their force for the child when the therapist reduces them to mere “curiosity” or “infatuation."		::"Rigorous attempts to expose the reality and dynamics of child sexual abuse have been aided, if not in part made possible, by equally rigorous attempts to conceal, repress, or ignore the reality and dynamics of child sexuality.[...] [T]he desexualization of childhood has damaging psychological and psychotherapeutic consequences for child victims of sexual abuse.[...] Far from protecting and empowering children, the feminist evasion and erasure of child sexuality have disempowered children and may have made abused children more vulnerable to psychological trauma. [...] While this kind of therapy may lead the child to reinterpret the event, often it does not, and many children firmly believe in their own power in and control over sexual encounters with adults. [...] Yet another common research finding is that, in addition to a sense of sexual power over the adult abuser, children often experience pleasure in the encounter. [...] Typically, these feelings lead to massive guilt and shame, the repression of which can cause chronic anxiety and depression. However, when a therapist attempts to “correct” a child’s cognitive distortions and convince him or her that they stem from unrealistic, childish egocentrism, the unresolved guilt and shame are only compounded. A child’s sexual desires and experiences of power and pleasure must be acknowledged and normalized. Unfortunately, these feelings are stripped of their force for the child when the therapist reduces them to mere “curiosity” or “infatuation."

			::"The more we mystify and pathologize children’s relation to sexuality, evacuate childhood of the stain of sexuality, and reify simplistic notions of child powerlessness, the more we disempower children and foster their uninformed curiosity, desire, risk taking, and psychological maladjustment to emerging erotic orientations."

	==Other authors==		==Other authors==