The Manifesto of the Unapologetic MAP

The Manifesto of the Unapologetic MAP

November 20, 2025 ◆ BLueRibbon

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There is no group in the western world more brutally and blatantly oppressed than MAPs. The problem is now so extreme that, shockingly, we see members of our community internalizing the most absurd of aspersions cast against us. Here you will find an unwaveringly proud and unapologetic manifesto intended as a reference point for aggressive pro-MAP activists.

There are no concessions made here. I don't believe that any consensual expression of sexuality is necessarily harmful, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. However, for advocacy purposes, I continue to recommend the Pro-Reform Framework I introduced last year, alongside the other proposals at the bottom of the manifesto.

A Summary of Truths and Perspectives

Be Proud and Accept Yourself!

• Foremost, MAPs should feel absolutely no shame over their sexual feelings for people of any age.
• Minor-attraction is not not inherently sadistic or abusive; it is connected to the same feelings of warmth, love and longing as any other sexual orientation.
• Minor-attraction is a fixed sexuality like any other, not a disease or mental illness.

It is quite horrific that so many MAPs arrive at message boards like MAP Forum, or regrettably at VirPed, hating themselves for their feelings of love and desire toward young people. There is no explanation for this other than the internalization of society's brutally oppressive discourse and treatment with regard to MAPs. What MAPs truly desire is the ability to fully express their love, not to inflict harm. Instead of feeling bad about supposedly 'wanting to hurt children', MAPs should be raging against society's horrific mischaracterization and criminalization of their beautiful sexual orientation.

Further reading: Addressing Misunderstandings About MAPs (Mu) Why Every Responsible MAP Should Spend Time With Children

Adult-Minor Sexual Contact is not Abuse

• Adult-Minor Sexual Contact (AMSC) is typically an expression of love as well as lust.
• Condemnation of AMSC is derived from puritanical beliefs, later turned into a pseudoscience.
• Claims that harm has been 'proven' are based on studies with notable sample bias.
• Secondary harm is real, and this impacts newer studies on AMSC.

Historically, the age of consent around the world varied from 7 to 12 years old. In the late 19th century, social reformists in the UK and US lobbied relentlessly to raise the age of consent to 16 or 18, as part of a broader range of 'reforms' intended to foist puritanical attitudes upon the public and shore up political support for their various other campaigns and ventures. Later, the burgeoning modern psychiatric industry twisted the reformists' puritanical scorn into a pseudoscience, creating an entirely new 'CSA' industry. The quality of research was poor; it suffered from extreme sample bias, and it failed to distinguish between real and secondary harm. The notion of harm inherent in consensual sexual activity between adults and minors is almost entirely socially constructed; a result of religious, political and financial profiteering. If you're a MAP, you should not accept the hurtful accusation that what you desire is automatically and inherently harmful.

Further reading: Prevalence of Harm, Secondary Harm, Methodological Flaws in 'CSA' Research, Age of Consent (History)

'CSAM' is a Lie

Category A is considered the most 'serious', often presented to the media as depicting the violent abuse of children

• Much of what is labeled 'CSAM' is not children being violently assaulted, but under-18s posing or playing with peers.
• In many jurisdictions, even lolicon and shotacon can lead to prosecutions and sex offender registration.
• There is no evidence that viewing criminalized depictions of children leads to other criminalized behaviors.
• MAPs need to call out the IWF, law enforcement, and governments as liars and profiteers.

What do 'charities' like the Internet Watch Foundation, law enforcement organizations such as Europol, and governments seeking to push through new laws have in common? They all insist that criminalized depictions of minors must be labeled 'CSAM'. They claim they are fighting the production and trade of horrific images of videos of young children being violently assaulted. The reality? Evidence indicates that most criminalized depictions of minors are of teenagers messing around on camera, or of nudes not that dissimilar to what may be found in grandma's photo album. Contacts familiar with the 'scene' confirm that images and videos of adults having sex with children do exist, but even these are typically not violent or aggressive, and most sites in fact prohibit anything extreme. Of course, the public cannot legally verify the claims made about 'CSAM', so entities who want to make up stories may do so with impunity. Let's call these entities what they are: manipulative, profiteering scum. Never use the grossly inaccurate term 'CSAM' to apply to criminalized depictions of minors. And when the topic arises, be sure to let acquaintances know that a lot of criminalized material is actually self-produced.

Further reading: Research on Child Pornography, A Logical Approach to PIM, Smoke and Mirrors, Chat Control

You Shouldn't Necessarily 'Get Help'

• Being attracted to minors doesn't mean you need to 'get help'.
• Never disclose illegal activity to a therapist, even if you want to stop. Don't even drop hints.
• If you need help dealing with the stress of living within a brutally oppressive society, contact B4U-ACT (a pro-MAP service).

Being attracted to minors is normal, and even being attracted to pre-pubescent children is not that uncommon. Some MAPs sadly internalize social attitudes that wrongly label these attractions abnormal or harmful, but doing so is not in any way beneficial to the individual. It is worth remembering that you cannot 'cure' your attraction to people of any age or gender, and attempting to do so will likely cause distress. There may be some benefit to counseling for those who are struggling with negative thought patterns and mental health issues connected to their oppression, but disclosing an attraction to minors is incredibly dangerous. Only counselors approved by B4U-ACT are safe; unfortunately, they are also expensive. Regardless of how much you trust your therapist, you must still refrain from disclosing any criminalized actions you have engaged in due to mandatory reporting requirements.

Peer support groups like LifeLine are also available, and I personally donate time to this highly recommended service.

Further reading: B4U-ACT, LifeLine, Prevalence of Minor-Attraction, No 'Cure' for Pedophilia, A Sincere Fuck You to the Get Help Brigade

You Should Respect Your Brothers (and Sisters)

Credit: MytheBe

• MAPs are pushed to the brink by the horrific onslaught of sociolegal oppression.
• Even when MAPs have engaged in behaviors we feel are ethically unsound, we should still support them.
• There is a journey from self-hate, to self-acceptance with limits, to pro-choice enlightenment.
• If MAPs are outright opposed to reformist ideas, we need to gently push them in the right direction.

MAPs are oppressed more than any other group in the western world. We are denied the fundamental right to love, to express our sexuality even in unambiguously harmless ways, to feel safe from being hunted, and to merely share our feelings with family, friends, and medical professionals. Against the backdrop of these extreme and debilitating challenges, it is not surprising that some MAPs behave in ways that are harmful or irresponsible. While it is natural to criticize genuinely harmful behaviors, we should nonetheless remain steadfast in our support of each other as MAPs.

Furthermore, we should (within reason) respect those who have differing views on AMSC and other issues, while gently trying to nudge anti-reformist MAPs toward a more logical reformist approach.

Further reading: MAP Mental Health Crisis, Clarification on 'The Push'

'Child Protection' is an Industry

• The modern 'child protection' narrative supports a variety of charities that exaggerate or invent problems to keep funding flowing in.
• The psychology industry makes a fortune treating victims of 'CSA'.
• Governments use 'child protection' to pass increasingly draconian laws.

When 'concerns' about 'abuse' are published in the media, they are often packaged with quotes from charities whose goal is supposedly to prevent abuse. One such charity is the aforementioned Internet Watch Foundation, who have been extremely active in inducing hysteria over AI and 'grooming'. They do this not to protect children, but to ensure their own survival. The IWF, notably, is meaningless in an age of 'CSAM' being mostly AI and kids messing around on camera. Governments are all too happy to work with such organizations to push a hysterical narrative, allowing them to enact extreme draconian laws that give the state sweeping new powers to control citizens. Meanwhile, the psychology industry earns huge sums of money treating 'CSA victims', thus even young people who are not victims must be led to believe they are so at the expense of their well-being.

Further reading: Child Abuse Industry (Debate Guide), The Crime and Policing Bill Teardown

'Child Protection' is an Excuse for Hate

A typical example of anti-MAP commentary

• Most people hate MAPs simply for existing.
• Anything a MAP does (including looking at lolicon, etc.) is spuriously labeled 'harmful' to keep up the pretense of 'protecting children'.
• There is little difference between hating MAPs, black people, Jewish people, or LGBT people.

Virtually all of the hatred that would have been slung at gays, blacks, or Jews is now directed at MAPs. In the modern world, however, expressing hatred over simply being grossed out is much less acceptable. Therefore, most people use 'child protection' as a mask. "Children can't consent" is as absurd as stating that "gays molest children" or "women are incapable of x". Claims that MAPs are dangerous are no different to claims that "black people are criminals" or "Jews take everyone's money". There have always been supposedly 'reasonable' excuses for hate, yet hate has remained the driving force.

Watching criminalized images allegedly 'harms children' through some voodoo magic. It is a pure logical absurdity. Even AI images of children apparently somehow threaten the cosmically aligned souls of children as a whole.

We need to be honest about the fact that humanity is no better than it's ever been, and hating MAPs is no different to hating any other group based on who they are. Let's call our detractors out for their blind hatred dishonestly masked as 'protection' and 'harm prevention'.

Further reading: Illuminating the Horror Anti-MAP Quotes

MAP Censorship is Severe

• Online and offline speech are censored by corporations and MAPphobia
• Effective free speech is challenging, with MAPs relegated to obscure low-traffic websites.
• Harmless expressions of sexuality are criminalized

While MAPs may theoretically enjoy the same legal protections regarding free speech as any other group, the reality is quite different. Almost every major platform censors pro-MAP comments, even comments that are incredibly benign. Likewise, harmless of expressions of MAP sexuality through arts are criminalized in many jurisdictions; this can include drawings, writings, AI generations, even statues! In practice, MAPs can only express themselves very cautiously on their own sites hosted by 'bulletproof' hosting companies. This is not effective free speech or expression.

Further reading: Bluesky Pedophilia Controversy, Newgon Wiki's Article on Censorship, Wikipedia Censorship, Locked in the Toybox, The Unfortunate Inevitability of Political Violence, Effective Free Speech

MAPs are Victims of Mass Violence

A YouTube commentator advertising his 'cure' for pedophilia. He would later go on to doxx and threaten a prominent MAP activist

• Vigilante attacks are increasing.
• Arrest and/or imprisonment for non-violent offenses constitutes violence.
• MAPs convicted of 'crimes' are coerced to take drugs that inhibit natural sexual feelings

MAPs are increasingly victims of violence. One particularly disturbing 'trend' is that of vigilante attacks, where MAPs are brutally beaten with hammers or hunted down like animals with crossbows. The public can do anything they like to MAPs, amounting essentially to torture, and the authorities will complain only about their cases being tainted or about 'innocent' people potentially getting caught up in the fracas. Meanwhile, MAPs are increasingly coerced to take chemical castratants or even undergo physical castration when the problem is not their sexual orientation, but absurd laws that criminalize even consensual behavior and the mere viewing of images that typically do not depict abuse. We should also call out the large-scale imprisonment over non-violent offenses for what it is: mass violence perpetrated against our community.

Further reading: Social Media Vigilantes, Report on Crossbow Attack, Physical Castration in Louisiana, Newgon Wiki's Article on Vigilantism

You Should Defend Yourself Against Violence

• MAPs should not co-operate with authorities beyond what is legally required.
• MAPs should not take any medicines that inhibit their natural sexual feelings.
• MAPs should defend themselves against physical violence to the extent they are lawfully allowed to do so.

As will be elaborated below, MAPs should be as resistant toward police (state-sponsored thugs) as legally possible. The police may act nice, but they are tasked with perpetrating violence against MAPs through their enforcement of insanely MAPphobic laws.

MAPs should not allow themselves to be drugged unless they have a genuine problem with sexual violence; their sexual orientation is not in any way an illness or disease to be treated. If necessary, you may state that you will take the medicine, but then not actually take it.

Finally, MAPs should defend themselves against physical violence using whatever methods of self-defense are legally permissible, instead of pathetically cowering and begging for forgiveness. Being caught in a vigilante sting does not necessitate tolerating violence; the MAP is the victim and should stand up for themself. In some jurisdictions, use of lethal force is permitted when threatened.

Further reading: Stand-your-ground Laws, Chemical Castration and its Harms, The Miserable Little Bully

You Should Secure Your Device

Securing your device is vital as a MAP activist

This section is written from the position that MAPs are endangered even if they are not engaging in criminalized activity. It is not intended to assist with concealing evidence of criminalized behavior.

• Secure operating systems such as TAILS and Whonix protect you from being traced.
• Mobile devices are never secure.
• Encryption programs (VeraCrypt, etc.) offer a variety of tools to secure your data, even in authoritarian countries like the UK.
• Although it sounds obvious, don't be careless.

To keep yourself safe as a MAP, you need to practice good operational security. This starts with a secure operating system; the absolute safest options are Tails and Whonix. Mobile devices, especially cell phones, should be avoided. To keep your MAP-related activity secure on your computer, use full-disk encryption. Consider also a hidden container if you live in a country where courts can order the disclosure of a password; you would be able to comply with the order without endangering yourself.

Equally important is not doing anything stupid. Do not allow your computer monitor to be visible through a window, do not leave your data unencrypted while going to the store or taking a shower even if it's 'convenient', and do not disclose excessive personal information about yourself.

Further reading: Tails, Whonix, VeraCrypt, RIPA in Reality (UK Law)

Never Co-operate!

• Police will often act nice if they don't have a warrant.
• Never try to argue your innocence to police.
• Co-operating doesn't help you.

If police show up at your door, they may or may not have a warrant. Should they have a search warrant, allow them to serve it and let your legal representative later try to challenge it. Should they not have a warrant, they will likely not be direct or aggressive, but nicely and non-threateningly ask if they can enter your property ("do you mind if we come in for a moment?"). The answer to this should be "No, I don't want to let you in". If they ask why, remind them that you are not required to give a reason and that you do not wish to talk to them. They may tell you they believe you're innocent, or they just want to clear up a misunderstanding, or some other bullshit that encourages you to try to 'prove your innocence'. Do not fall for this.

If police have a warrant, comply only to the extent that you are required. If they make any request of you, ask if you are legally required to comply. If you are not legally required to comply, do not co-operate. Do not volunteer any devices. Do not volunteer any passwords. In some jurisdictions, a court can order you to provide a password, but police cannot force you to do this without that specific lawful order.

Remember that no matter how nice they act, and no matter what they say, the police are your enemy.

Further reading: Police Manipulation Tactics

Enemies of the MAP Community

David Finkelhor is one of the primary architects of 'CSA' hysteria

• 'Charities' that profit through spreading hysteria (example: Internet Watch Foundation).
• Law enforcement figures who threaten and slander MAPs, or misrepresent issues (example: Europol).
• 'Professionals' who kickstarted and maintain the CSA industry (example: David Finkelhor).
• Politicians who garner attention via anti-MAP rhetoric (example: Anna Paulina Luna).
• Vigilante groups (example: Dads Against Predators).
• Social media corporations who censor MAPs (example: Bluesky).
• Content creators who bully MAPs to gain a following (example: Liam Bennett Smith (Sly Boy)).

The MAP community has many enemies. These include charities who profiteer by spreading hysteria, law enforcement organizations that exaggerate the 'horrors' they have to deal with (most cases are non-violent and fairly harmless), politicians who push extreme laws to get attention, violent vigilante groups who often violently attack MAPs, the 'professionals' in the psychology industry who spread the 'CSA' narrative, the platforms that censor anyone identifying as a MAP, and those who use us to make a name for themselves.

Further reading: Blog About Anti-MAP Vigilantes, Mu Forum Vigilante Thread, "Fuck The Kids In Every Way But That" (Profiteering Politicians), Police Chief Simon Bailey Threatens Non-Offending MAPs, NSPCC, David Finkelhor, Sly Boy

A Crucial Elaboration on Mischaracterizations of MAP Attraction and AMSC

This is what an AF-YF relationship looks like

• MAP fantasies are typically warm and loving.
• AMSC is normally consensual, playful and tender.
• Any condemnation based on the realities of MAP attraction and AMSC are borne of ignorance and intolerance.

Beyond the obvious hatred of a person simply being different - a consistent motivator of discrimination, incarceration, and murder throughout human history - the false framing of MAP fantasies and sexual interactions represents a huge barrier to liberation. Most people likely imagine MAP fantasies and interactions as violent assaults, or acts of extreme manipulation.

The reality could hardly be more different. While the motivations and fantasies of MAPs do vary as with any other sexual orientation, Mu's 2024 community survey revealed a major tendency toward emotional and romantic attraction. This goes hand-in-hand with tender and playful fantasies that are notably less aggressive than those of regular straight or gay men.

Most MAPs who admit to having had sexual contact with minors describe situations in which the young person was curious, or simply sexually worked up. Interactions were typically youth-focused; for example, a man might perform oral on a happy boy. This is particularly common among hebephilic men, and represents nothing more than a young person involving a close adult companion in normal youthful activities. In fact, as a cautious boylover who has had many platonic friends in the 11-13 year-old age range, I have had to turn down both implied and rather less subtle advances from some quite attractive boys who were curious about sex. That is simply absurd.

Far from being sadistic hypersexuals, most MAPs are romanticists who would simply like to participate in a child or teen's world, including the sexual components.

At least one of the following must be true:

• Regular straight and gay people are viewing MAP fantasies and relationships through their own sadistic lens.
• Regular straight and gay people are fully onboard with the wanton demonization of an entire group of people, without evidence.
• Regular straight and gay people are simply disgusted by AMSC, even if it's loving and harmless.

MAPs Need to Stop Pretending This is All OK

My feelings

Our community should be absolutely outraged by the utter evisceration of our lives and futures. No other people face the same global condemnation and subjugation, to be left with absolutely nowhere safe to go. We cannot confidently share our thoughts and feelings with anyone, not even the therapists whom the vile public scream at us to go and visit. Mainstream platforms block us with the most miserable of excuses, and nobody cares.

Any representation of a minor is deemed 'harmful', even when it's merely pencil on a page, justified through lies proliferated by the most disgusting of 'charities' that profiteer at our expense. Our beautiful desire for loving and tender relationships with young people is framed as violent and sadistic, the equivalent of a brutal and monstrous rape. Should anyone say "fuck it" and follow their heart, their lives will be permanently destroyed along with the lives of any young lovers left in the wake.

The public don't really want to protect children; that is just an excuse to mask the horrific bad-faith brutality of the human race. 'Modern' people enjoy the blood sport of hunting down our brothers and sisters, no matter how 'virtuous' they may be. They cheer like medieval brutes at the gallows as they watch a timid young man get twenty years for porn. They would murder us for our thoughts if they could... and perhaps that's only a matter of time.

If you're a MAP, remember this. Other MAPs are your friends, and the rest of humanity deserves a reckoning for what it has done to us. That doesn't mean going out and rioting, but it does mean standing up proud and not letting the world's vicious and cynical demonization of our community cloud your love for yourself. MAP love is beautiful. Never feel ashamed!

Go out and make young friends; our enemies hate nothing more. Express yourself to the fullest extent you can without risking legal trouble. The world has stripped us of almost everything, but we should make the absolute most of what is left, while fighting back aggressively over what has been stolen.

Why you should feel angry too

See also: A Call For The Abolition of Apathy

When a friend advertised some of my writing on a darknet forum, the responses relayed back to me were truly horrifying. Many people took a disinterested approach in their oppression. "Why be angry?", they asked.

MAPs are presently forced to choose between two utterly terrifying outcomes:

• Living a completely clean life without ever expressing one's sexuality, even in the most detached artistic form.
• The constant fear and risk of imprisonment, possible violence or even murder in prison, one's life permanently ruined.

The sexual frustration is huge for a large number of MAPs, especially those in the rotten jurisdictions that criminalize AI and cartoon images, but that's only part of it. What really gets to me is the legal impossibility of safe and lawful intimacy. Sex is not just about ejaculating, but about truly expressing your love, and MAPs are denied this under threat of being incarcerated and permanently tarred. A boylover who performs oral on a boy may well be labeled a rapist in the eyes of the law, and in media articles that equate his tender expression of love with violent penetration of a tiny, screaming child.

For those that do get caught up in the system, the outcome can be brutal. Nitro's story, of having his ankle shattered during his incarceration for merely possessing Azov movies, is one particularly enraging example. A man in Louisiana will be facing physical castration prior to release, thanks to a new law passed in that state in 2024. Meanwhile, there are many cases of men being murdered after being stalked using the public sex offender registries that exist in countries like the US.

Those who fully trust in the darknet to keep themselves safe cannot sit comfortably either. Authorities are now able to monitor the Tor network to detect a proportion of users connecting to hidden services whose real IP address has been discovered (something which eventually happens to all hidden services targeted by the authorities). The process relies on random luck for the police, or bad luck for the MAP, and there's little anyone can do to ensure their safety if visiting such sites.

Should a MAP struggle with these impossible choices, there are few safe avenues for support. Peer support sites like LifeLine exist, but the volunteers are not trained counselors. B4U-ACT can connect MAPs with qualified counselors who are happy to talk with MAPs, but these people are mostly in America, and unaffordable for the majority. Likewise, MAPs have to constantly hide their sexual orientation from friends and even family, adding to the emotional burden. I know a number of MAPs who are married and not even out to their wife.

What MAPs actually want, in most cases, is to care for and love a young person, and to also express that love sexually. To have this so cynically exploited and reduced to accusations of sadism, soul-stealing, or whatever they want to call it, is incredibly hurtful. But it's not just about 'hurtful accusations'; the actual effects of MAP hysteria are crushing, often life destroying. If you're a MAP and don't feel angry about this, take your fingers out of your ears and rip the blindfold off your face.

Rational First Steps to Improve our Situation

Credit: Beefriend

As you may perhaps have inferred from the few paragraphs above, I am enraged with regular people for what they have done to us, and you should feel the same way! But going on a killing spree would not help anyone, including us, so instead let's discuss step-by-step reform. It's altogether less gory, and you can even do it while sipping a nice glass of whiskey.

Be Proud

The first step you can take is to fully accept yourself as a MAP. This means not feeling bad no matter who you love, whether you're attracted to teenagers or toddlers. Your self-acceptance should not be predicated on statements like "I have these feelings but I know that acting on them would be horrific". While I won't recommend sexual contact with minors due to the risk of secondary harm and other sociolegal consequences, it is vital to understand that what you desire is not inherently harmful. Furthermore, if you do have fantasies that would be genuinely harmful if acted upon, you need to understand that the same could be said for people of any orientation; 'normal' men regularly fantasize about women who wouldn't consent to sex with them in reality.

Be Honest... to an Extent

While you can't realistically advocate decriminalization of AMSC to your friends, or on social media, you can encourage moderate perspectives as opposed to the current extremist takes. When MAP-related issues come up during conversations with acquaintances, consider making comments such as:

• "I heard that most pornographic videos of kids are self-produced by teenagers."
• "I actually read that most sex offenders don't re-offend."
• "Apparently there are a lot more pedophiles than we think, just most don't act on it."
• "I feel kind of sorry for people who are into kids but never hurt anyone."
• "Maybe it's just me, but I was a horny kid. If a hot woman (guy) had gotten with me, I'd probably have been pretty happy."

Making comments like this is not suspicious. It can even make people feel a bit embarrassed if they're expressing an excessively extreme or violent opinion. Pretty much everyone knows a MAP; if more of us did this (without coming out), it would act as something of a check to the perception that society wholesale tolerates extremity against MAPs.

Re-Frame MAP Fantasies and AMSC

AF-YF love is beautiful and should be celebrated

When writing on sites that permit such advocacy, which are admittedly few and far between, it is important to clarify the reality of MAP fantasies and AMSC.

These realities have already been discussed at length above, and there is no need to repeat here.

Support Your MAP Friends

I am guilty of having made comments that are excessively critical of the anti-contact community, despite my work as a teen MAP essentially being a precursor to the modern NOMAP movement. I do feel that anti-contact advocacy is problematic, relying entirely on the highly questionable claim that protection of children is the primary motivator of MAP hate. I also feel that NOMAPs are almost universally disbelieved, even when they are genuine.

However, it is important for all members our community to respect each other, even when disputes occur over contact stances and other divisive issues. Earlier this year, I made forum posts accusing anti-contact MAPs of being traitors, which was unhelpful to say the least. Pro-choice MAPs should support anti-contact MAPs on their journey from self-hate, to anti-contact self-acceptance, to full philosophical acceptance of both feelings and expression. This goes both ways, however; anti-contact MAPs should also respect those who have 'offended', recognizing the extreme challenges MAPs face in such a hostile world.

The Pro-Reform Framework offers a moderate middle ground for those who are neither fully pro-choice, nor entirely anti-contact in philosophy.

Make MAPness Normal

As a MAP who actually loves children, not a representative of mainstream society that hates MAPs and only pretends to be concerned about children, I believe harm reduction is paramount. I don't want to abandon harm reduction arguments; avoiding harm to young people is extremely important to me. However, I think our community is engaging sub-optimally with the public when focusing only on why MAPness or its expression is not harmful. The reality is that most people hate MAPs because they think we're weird, disgusting, deviant.

We are often accused of trying to 'normalize' MAPness, and while I'm not sure that's really accurate, it is something we should be focusing on. If MAP hate is predicated on hatred of grossness and deviance, then desensitization and promotion of MAP feelings as normal are crucial angles of attack. Perhaps the reason our detractors are so terrified of 'normalization' is that it strikes at the very heart of what sustains their witch hunt.

One way of achieving this goal is by trolling. Outrage over the plan to hold a 'MAP Camp', while not an attempt at ragebait, resulted in pro-MAP messages being published by the traditional media and on social media platforms. We can intentionally generate such drama by publishing content that we know will lead to similar reactions.

Be a Great AF

Before getting knee-deep in activism, I had a lot of platonic YFs. I met some of them through work; others were simply neighbors. Granted, this is much easier in the country I reside in. However, I've heard of MAPs making YFs in unlikely ways even in absolutely hysterical countries like the US and the UK; it's not impossible.

If you would like to live in a less paranoid country and also work with beautiful boys or girls, consider teaching abroad. There are job opportunities in virtually every country, some much better than others. Most TEFL positions require a degree and a background check, while international school jobs will have stricter requirements.

Whatever you do, be a good AF who leaves their YFs with positive memories of the friendship. If every MAP did this, there would be a lot of former YFs walking around who are at least highly supportive of adult-minor friendships. Ultimately, this is a way of making MAPness normal.

I've published a guide and article on making young friends, and I'm happy to help those who do not express criminalized intentions.

Don't be an Easy Target

Defend yourself to the fullest extent of the law

One of the reasons why MAPs are so voraciously hunted is because we are a very easy target. Pretty much every avenue of sexual expression is a crime, and yet many people do reckless things. Police may look the other way when vigilantes attack us, assuming a report is even made. And so, we are targeted mercilessly.

We have to stop allowing ourselves to be easy targets.

This means not doing stupid things like downloading criminalized images from file-sharing networks or messengers like Discord. It means not keeping MAP-related data unencrypted on your device. Likewise, using phones or other mobile devices for MAP-related matters is a bad idea. Improving your technical security requires a learning curve, but it isn't hard once you get used to it. If you can learn how to play a computer game, or how to do a semi-skilled job, you can set up a system that will keep you safe.

If police do show up at your door, don't throw yourselves to the wolves. Without a warrant, the police will almost certainly pretend to be your friends, but they are in fact your enemy. Their job is to do whatever it takes to get you to say anything that can be used against you. Don't talk about the weather, or the sports game you saw last night. Don't try to prove your innocence; telling them that you only have legal pictures of children will not help your case. Should they actually have a warrant, ask them if you are legally compelled to do whatever they ask of you, and refuse to co-operate beyond the absolute legal minimum. You do not have to give police your passwords without a specific order, one which they won't have at the time of a raid.

Finally, self-defense. I do not recommend meeting up with minors you talked to online, ever; it is almost always a sting. That said, if you are ever in a position where you feel you may be attacked for being a MAP, be ready to defend yourself lawfully. One of the reasons why people bully MAPs so frequently is that most targets cower in fear and grovel for forgiveness, which gives the bullies exactly what they want. This has to change. Note that if you live in a stand-your-ground jurisdiction, you may even be legally permitted to use lethal force to defend yourself.

Video-based Advocacy

These days, a lot of people source their information from videos posted on sites like YouTube and even TikTok. However, the number of MAPs making videos is extremely small. First of all, major platforms are highly censorious, especially when it comes to pro-MAP content. Second, most MAPs are unwilling to show their faces, for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, the FreeSpeechTube platform offers low-censorship hosting, and is particularly popular with MAPs. And for those who are rightly afraid, it is possible to make videos without showing your face, albeit less effective. What I would question most is why the hundreds of thousands of MAPs who have already been outed do not publish pro-MAP videos when so many of them have very little left to lose. Come on, guys...

Fiction-based Advocacy

Most people are, unfortunately, more readily swayed by emotions than facts. While it is remarkably difficult to become a prominent author, those who have a talent for writing fiction may consider publishing stories that have a subtle pro-MAP message. In fictional works, the reader tends to side with the protagonist even when they would ordinarily not side with such a person. Pushing people to empathize with a fictional MAP may well nudge them closer to supporting MAPs in real life.

With self-publishing features offered by sites like Amazon, it is not hard to get started as a writer. The challenge, of course, is in finding an audience.

Resources

Newgon Wiki - Contains a plethora of resources to help you publish and defend pro-MAP arguments.

MAP Union - A moderate pro-MAP advocacy group.

MAP Forum - An activism-based forum for MAPs.

Brian Ribbon - My personal blog, offering fresh insights and commentary on MAP-related and other issues.

Free Speech Tube - A place to publish pro-MAP videos.

B4U-ACT - The only people you should ever contact if you need professional mental health support.

LifeLine Chat - Peer support service for MAPs (open only when a volunteer is available).

Contact

Feel free to contact me at contact (at) brianribbon (dot) com.

Alternatively, come and join the discussion at Mu's MAP Forum, where I frequently hang out.