Year: 2021

Walker, Allyn; Quotes from: A Long Dark Shadow; 221 p.
My research participants were all minor-attracted people who refrained from any sexual contact with minors, all of whom were dedicated to living lives free of offending. This book is about them: how they form identities as minor-attracted idividuals, how they cope with the stigma they face from society. and how they strategize not to commit offenses.
I use the terms "minor attracted person" and "MAP" throughout the majority of this book ... as an established umbrella term ... with a less stigmatizing nature.
I am writing this book with two main foci - the prevention of child abuse and the promotion of wellbeing among MAPs - because protecting children is important, because MAPs are people who deserve compassion (bold is chosen by Ipce), and because these foci are not contradictairy.
It is possible that treating MAPs with empathy is the key (Bold is chosen by Ipce).
Chapter 1 is titled as "Am I a Monster?" The start of the closing word of the book reads: In each interview I asked participants what they would say to a MAP who was just beginning to realize they were attracted to minors. Far and away, the most common response was "You are not a monster."
It has been my goal with this book to make clear the distinction between MAPs and sexual offenders, and to reaffirm that attractions are not equivalent to action.
While the MAPs I spoke to in the course of my research often had experienced many struggles, many were able to find happiness, understanding, and the dignity they had been searching for. They found this dignity through the ability to be seen by others and to have their wellbeing recognized as important, through the knowledge that there were other people out there like them, and through validation that they were not destined to become monsters just because of their attractions.