Minor Attracted Person (archive research)

Part of NewgonWiki's series on minor-attracted identities
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Category: Minor-attracted people
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Since 2021, we have conducted research on the origins of the commonly used term "Minor Attracted Person" (MAP), after what appeared to be erroneous claims made by various sources in the mainstream media. While it appears to have been coined on at least one previous occasion (and not adopted), the origin of the term as used today was confirmed as the now defunct MAP-run ATC/ANU blog in early 2007. This article details and sources this research project in chronological order.

It is commonly claimed that "MAP" is both novel and a "woke" codeword for pedophilia. The first two charges appear to be contradicted by the fact that the broader concept of being "Minor Attracted" can be traced back to 1998, where it was conceived by Heather Peterson, a journalist covering interfaith news. Neither her, ANU, Richard Kramer nor any prominent person in B4U-ACT are known to be followers of social-justice hyperorthodoxy (so-called wokism). The "pedocentrism" assumption appears to be challenged by the fact that the second person to adopt the full term "Minor Attracted Person" was a non-pedophile MAP who specified its inclusivity as his reason for using it at the time.

1998-2007 - "MAA", but no "MAP"

As noted by B4U-ACT (founded in 2003) in their Twitter thread captioned below, in 2007 - they, some MAPs and academic authors had been using the similar term "Minor Attracted Adult" (MAA) for some time. This was after Heather Peterson, a journalist covering interfaith news who embedded herself in the BoyChat community, had forwarded the idea of "Minor-Attracted" (adult and person) in 1998, using the "adult" variant repeatedly on her website and elsewhere in the following years. This variant was used early on by B4U-ACT and some academics and MAPs who were associated with them (see gallery below). The Internet Archive also reveals solitary mentions of the present term "Minor Attracted Person/MAP", along with "Minor Attracted Homosexual" and 'Minor Attracted Men" in the period after MAA started to be used by B4U-ACT. However, other than the occasional use of "minor attracted", and adoption of aforementioned "Minor Attracted Adult", there is an absence of archive evidence for "Minor Attracted Person" between 1998 and 2007. This is thought to be because the renewed, post-2006 brand of online (second-wave) youth MAP activism was effectively nonexistent prior to the widespread availability of blogging services.

2007 - full adoption of MAP by ANU

In 2006/7, as the burgeoning MAP blogging movement got underway (primarily on blogger.com/blogspot), there were, as to be expected, further uses of the term "minor attraction" and "MAA". The first subsequent examples of "Minor Attracted Person" we can find were linked to the blog ATC/ANU in Jan and Feb 2007, with the blog-author also submitting the term to a Guardian debate, Slashdot and Scienceblogs. This slow pivot from "Minor Attracted Adult" and the generic "minor attraction" (as evidenced by BC archives), to "Minor Attracted Person" was thought to be due to these bloggers' relatively young age (see gallery). For example, the most active authors on ANU were in their late teens, having experienced an attraction to minors before adulthood. In addition to this, the first authors to consistently use the term "Minor Attracted Person" (BLueRibbon and Daniel Lievre) were pedophilic and ephebophilic respectively (see gallery), so the more inclusive term suited their writings.

On Jun 8, 2007, Newgon.com was founded (at that time a small website started by two censored bloggers, Daniel Lievre/Llort and Jillium - also of ANU), and the new term was visible in its ethos (belatedly captured on its blog arm, dated Jul 17). Over a year later, Newgon.com created the first dedicated article to define Minor Attracted People (see history).

B4U-ACT adopt "MAP" variant

Perhaps coincidentally, and likely as a result of internal discussions, B4U-ACT began to use the revised term on June 22, 2007, incorporating it into their own lexicon. While it is almost certain that such an organization would have been aware of Minor MAPs, it is still unknown whether the replacement of "Adult" in this term by the younger MAPs at ANU was what inspired the charity to do this. The late Michael Melsheimer (a MAP and founding member of B4U-ACT), or prominent member Richard Kramer might have been somewhat responsible for popularizing this at the time. Both individuals were in some kind of contact with the rest of the community (for example on BoyChat, and doubtless email). As documented earlier, Kramer had used "Minor Attracted Men" on MHAMic as early as 2001 - showing that he was flexible as to how the language should be used.

B4U-ACT has since been instrumental in enabling studies of the wider MAP community, is likely responsible for the entry of the terms "MAP" and "minor-attraction" into the academic lexicon, and by extension popular parlance. In the early 10s, some news stories in journals such as Washington Times, FOX and Salon mentioned B4U-ACT in the context of MAPs.

False claims concerning right-wing trolling

As detailed in our article on the MAP Flag, "fact checkers" have come to varying but incorrect conclusions about the flag's origins - it appears in a desperate attempt to defend the LGBTQ+ community from charges of "pedophilia". The same goes for the term "MAP" itself. For example, in 2018, Media Matters claimed that "MAP" was a right-wing hoax, only to go back on this position 4 years later in a piece that referenced Prostasia Foundation. Similarly, Snopes have been forced to recant their claim that "trolls" were responsible for the 2018 NOMAP Flag - the most commonly used MAP Flag.

Gallery of files

• 
  BoyChat in 2001 (original archive now censored) - First known, but unsuccessful suggestion of "MAP". Peterson's records suggest she also forwarded the idea in 1998, but it didn't catch on.
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  ANU Editors ages (as seen in early 2009)
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  BLueRibbon's Jan 26 2007 debate on The Guardian's comment section - in which he uses MAP twice
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  BLueRibbon's 10 Feb 2007 post on Slashdot (still live!). By this date, he had been censored on other platforms such as LiveJournal.
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  BLueRibbon's corresponding ANU post
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  BLueRibbon using MAP, Mar 12, 2007
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  He uses it again on ScienceBlogs - Mar 17, 2007
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  BLueRibbon 5 May 2007: Antis vs MAPs
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  Jim Burton - wiki warrior uses "Minor Attracted Activism" 9 May 2007
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  Daniel Lievre - delineates MAP from Pedophile May 26, 2007
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  Daniel Lievre (original archive now censored) - MAP in 1st Newgon Ethos
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  B4U-ACT's Twitter account - with typo, but pointing out their adoption in Jun 2007
• 
  2021 explanation of the term by our Strategist