A chronophilia is a type of sexual interest or preference for individuals of a particular age. Atypical forms of chronophilias related to minors are nepiophilia (attraction toward infants), pedophilia (toward young children), hebephilia (early teenagers) and ephebophilia (late teenagers). Atypical chronophilias related to adults are mesophilia and gerontophilia. The only typical form of a chronophilia is teleiophilia (attraction toward young adults).
Chronophilic sexual preferences are technically not related to age itself but to human sexual maturity stages, such as body type, secondary sexual characteristics and other visible features.
Each chronophilia is associated with a stage of the Tanner scale of human sexual development, which ranges from stages one to five. Hebephilia, however, corresponds to both stages 2 and 3. All chronophilias related to adults correspond to stage 5 of the scale.
Etymology
The term chronophilia (chrono (time) + philia (love)) was coined by psychologist and sexologist John Money to describe a form of paraphilia in which an individual experiences sexual attraction limited to individuals of particular age ranges.
An arguable historical precursor was Richard von Krafft-Ebing's concept of "age fetishism".
Background
Most chronophilias are scarcely researched, especially mesophilia and gerontophilia. The existing body of research on the topic is also mainly focused on men. Chronophilias related to sexual attractions to minors (such as pedophilia and hebephilia), however, have a significantly bigger body of modern scientific research compared to the others.
Age-based sexual attractions have been a topic of scientific study for over 150 years, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs arguably being the first theorist of the field. However, after the mid 1980's there was a cultural and global medicalization of the topic, as well as an intimidation of scholarly inquiries regarding this subject that escaped the field of forensics.
Much of the scientific knowledge of non-teleiophilic chronophilias are derived from forensic and correctional samples. And non-teleiophilic, criminal offenders may not be representative of the whole population of non-teleiophilic people.
Classification
Each chonophilia is related to a stage of the Tanner scale, which is a model that describes the evolution of visible primary and secondary sexual characteristics of human beings from childhood to adulthood. Though physical features are important for eliciting chronophilic sexual arousal, psychological features may also play a role in it. Pedophile males, for example, have reported innocence and playfulness as part of what they find attractive in children.
It is possible that age preferences may vary along with one's lifespan, as adolescent males may prefer peers and young women as sexual partners and older men show greater sexual interest in older women as they themselves age. Chronophilias may begin to manifest in the ages associated with menarche and puberty, as is the case for pedophilia and possibly other chronophilias.
It is also possible for human beings to have more than one chronophilia. People who are pedophiles and hebephiles at the same time may be called pedohebephiles.
The term minor-attraction has been used as an umbrella term to classify chronophilias related to minors. Under this terminology, a person who is attracted to minors would be called a minor-attracted person (MAP). The usage of this term in scientific articles started growing after 2017. It is controversial among academics whether ephebophiles should be considered minor-attracted.
Nepiophilia
Nepiophilia (sometimes called infantophilia) is a form of sexual preference for infants up to the age of 2. This age range corresponds to the Tanner stage 1.
Very little is known about this chronophilia. It, along with gerontophilia, is expected to be one of the rarest chronophilias that exist.
Pedophilia
Pedophilia is a chronophilia whose objects of attraction are prepubescent minors from the ages of 3 to 10. This age range also corresponds to Tanner stage 1.
Pedophilia is the best-researched chronophilia. It has been estimated that the prevalence of pedophilia among the general male population was up to 5%. Pedophilia is more common among men than women, which is the case with most paraphilias (except for masochism and objectophilia, among others).
According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), pedophilia is a paraphilia in which a person has intense sexual urges towards children, and experiences recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about children. Pedophilic disorder is further defined as psychological disorder in which a person meets the criteria for pedophilia above, and also either acts upon those urges, or else experiences distress or interpersonal difficulty as a consequence.
Hebephilia
Hebephilia is a form of sexual attraction toward pubescent persons, from the ages ot 11 to 14. This age range corresponds to tanner stages 2 and 3.
The term hebephilia was introduced by Bernard Glueck in 1955. It has also been attributed to psychiatrist Paul K. Benedict.
Despite being socially sanctioned in many modern Western societies, hebephilia is not an uncommon form of age-based sexual preference. Hebephilia has not been included as a diagnostic category in the DSM 5.
Ephebophilia
Ephebophilia is a pattern of sexual attraction toward post-pubescent youths, from the age of 15 to 17. This age range corresponds to Tanner stage 4.
Ephebophilia is generally considered a normophilia.
Teleiophilia
Teleiophilia (from Greek téleios, "full grown") is a sexual preference for younger adults (20s and 30s). The term was coined by Ray Blanchard in 2000 and has seen less public adoption than some newer terms.
Most human beings are teleiophilic. This chronophilia, like all chronophilias related to adults, is associated to Tanner stage 5.
Mesophilia
Mesophilia (derived from the Greek "mesos", "intermediate") is a sexual preference for middle-aged adults (40s and 50s). The term was coined by Michael Seto in 2016.
Gerontophilia
Gerontophilia is a sexual preference for the elderly (60s and older).
Nonexclusive age interests
Some individuals can be classified as having more than one chronophilia. And the concept of nonexclusivity can also cover nonadjacent age categories as well. Some men, for example, are equally attracted to both children and adults, just like other men are attracted to males and females.
In a research from the Dunkelfeld Project, 39 out of 215 pedophilic individuals and 59% of hebephilic participants identified themselves as nonexclusive.
A research from 2016 found that pedohebephilic women tend to be more nonexclusive than men.
According to a research from the Prevention Project Dunkelfeld, possible chronophilic overlaps include the following:
- pedo-hebephilia: pedophilia + hebephilia;
- pedo-teleiophilia: pedophilia + teleiophilia;
- hebe-teleiophilia: hebephilia + teleiophilia;
- pedo-hebe-teleiophilia: pedophilia + hebephilia + teleiophilia;
Among women
It is widely believed among academics that fewer women than men have non-teleiophilic preferences. The overwhelming preponderance of men among people sexually attracted to minors is consistent with the general tendency of men being paraphiles.
In a survey conducted to 1,300 participants who had some form of attraction toward minors, only 5% of the respondents identified as female. It has also been reported that women who had some sort of minor-attraction were more likely to have adult-oriented sexual behaviors, which is consistent with the broader sexuality literature that women are more sexually fluid than men.
Female minor-attracted women have reported feeling further isolated and excluded than men due to their gender. In an interview for a scientific study on women who are attracted to minors, some participants reported feeling as "a minority within a minority".
In popular culture
The prevalence of mesophilia in society is hinted at by the relative popularity of the slang MILF (which stands for "mom I would like to fuck"), as well as the acronym DILF. Results from an online survey about paraphilic sexual interests suggest that 34% of women and 48% of men have reported sexual fantasies about older partners.
The term pedophile is understood differently in academic and popular languages. While academics use this word to refer to people who are sexually attracted to prepubescent children, popular culture often uses the term to refer to anyone who carries out a sexual act with an adolescent. In popular criminology, the word pedophile is used as a generic term to describe a broad array of sexual relationships involving minors.
Cinematic depictions of pedophiles, in the popular definition, include Hans Becker from M (1931 movie) and the protagonist of The Mark (1961), both of whom are portrayed as criminals.
Society and stigma
Teleiophilia is the most common chronophilia among human beings. Ephebophilia is generally considered a normophilia.
Chronophilias related to minors are associated with a higher social stigma. Research has shown that though some minor-attracted persons may receive positive social support after disclosing their attractions, others may encounter negative reactions such as threats, loss of friendships and increased levels of stress, even if they had commited no criminal offenses. In two joint studies about the topic, 38% and 49% of participants stated that minor-attracted persons who had not commited a crime should be nonetheless incarcerated, and 14 and 27% belived they would be better off dead.
Individuals who are attracted to minors might also suffer from internalized stigma against their own sexual impulses.
Though there are no restrictions on consensual depictions of adults in pornographic media, erotic pornographic material involving minors are illegal.
See also
- Age disparity in sexual relationships
- List of paraphilias
- Pederasty
- MILF (slang)
- Minor-attracted person
