Neither a pro nor anti shipper. But I am Pro Para. And I can tell that you dont really know what a paraphilia is.
Let me start with, Nearly everyone has a paraphilic attraction. Honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesnt (though I dont doubt that they exist).
A Paraphilia is an atypical sexual attraction/desire. And what is defined as "atypical" all depends on what culture youre in and who is doing the defining.
Ex. Feet. Thats a pretty common paraphilia. Bondage. Lipstick. Lingerie. High heels. Big muscles. Fictional characters. Hell, in some cultures boobs and butts are seen as non-sexual and thus sexual attraction to them is "atypical".
Its basically just a fancy medical way of saying Fetish.
So with that in mind. MAJORITY of people not only have some form of parpahilia, but also act on those sexual desires (safely and consentually).
Take extra care to note that paraphilia is JUST the attraction. Sexual attraction is not the same as sexual action. You can have sex with someone/something youre not attracted to, and you can be attracted to someone/something and not have sex with them.
Next. You are not "afflicted" with a paraphilia. Its just how youre wired. Thats like saying people who are gay are "Afflicted with same sex attraction". You see how demeaning that sounds?
And thats not even touching on how Trauma (specifically cPTSD) can cause paraphilic attractions.
Now, what youre clearly worried about are a select few kinds of paraphilic attractions. Often called The Big Three (Necro, Zoo, and Pedo) though there are a few others that are in a similar box. I do understand your concern here, as these are attractions that cannot directly be acted on without causing immense amounts of harm. Thats scary and uncomfortable to think about, especially if youve been a victim of an offense like CSA, SA, or similar kinds of sex based abuse.
So lets look at some facts.
Roughly 80% of Criminals who committed SA/CSA DO NOT qualify for a paraphilic disorder. (Ie. Weren't attracted to the victim or the act)
SA isnt about attraction, its about power and control. And unfortunately in our society, children, animals, etc, are easy targets to have power over.
If you want to stop the majority of these offenses, youre not aiming at the right target.
So, majority of these crimes arent done for parpahilic reasons. But that does still leave some that ARE done for paraphilic reasons. And thats a problem. So how do we solve it?
Well, thats a HUGE reason as to why the Pro-para movement exists in the first place.
The Pro-para movement aims to
1. Educate people on Paraphilias, paraphilic disorders, general fetish/kink Sex Ed and on how consent works.
By educating people properly on paraphilias and general sex Ed/ consent. They will be able to more easily recognise if they A. Have a paraphilia and B. Recognise when or if they start to struggle with urges and who/where to go to for help.
2. Destigmatize having a paraphilia. So that more research can be done.
Paraphilia is extremely under researched in general. Mostly BECAUSE of the heavy stigma around it. No one is willing to risk the heavy burden that comes with being open about their stigmatised attraction. Society cant even be normal about gay people. And the term "Pedo" has a long and deep history of being weaponized at marginalized people to justify cruelty being done to them.
Hell, up until more recently, if you even ADMITTED to having a more harmful to act on parpahilia, you risked getting put on an involuntary psych hold and medically castrated. (And in many places this still happens)
3. Create support for those who have Dangerous paraphilias/Urges that they should not act on.
As mentioned before, there arent many places where one can go if theyre struggling with their urges. Even going to a therapist can be risky if you get the wrong one. Right now the best we have is eachother. Though hopefully in the future there will be more accessible help.
4. Stop the cycle of abuse by helping victims heal from their trauma so that they dont fall down pipelines towards abusive individuals.
Many victims who get a paraphilia from their trauma often think they deserve to be abused more BECAUSE of the stigma around having a paraphilia. I have seen minors hand themselves over to repeat offenders or known abusers because they dont believe they deserve to be safe or happy BECAUSE they developed a paraphilia from trauma. They then get groomed into abusing others. Its a sick cycle. One that needs to be stopped.
Is the movement perfect? No. Even I'm frustrated with it. There's quite a bit to work on. Right now people are more focused on horny posting then the core movement. And there is a bit of a tagging issue. And of course, every space has some bad individuals that need to be weeded out.
But that doesnt mean its inherently bad or damaging.
General studies we have show that engaging in fiction is a healthy and crutial way to explore and act our desires that we otherwise cannot. (And thats not just limited to paraphilias! Fiction is crutial to how humans operate as a species).
And what few paraphilic studies we have show that while for some, fiction and fantasy can increase the urges- for others, it can dramatically decrease the urges! Its a case by case issue, not black and white. Either way, support has shown to be helpful in reducing urges, offenses, and suicides.
Paraphilia is just a term for Fetishes.
Majority of fetishes are not a problem.
Pro-para is anti-abuse and pro consent.
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