It’s very bad to have a single word that many people will interpret as “being attracted to people you can’t have sex with, and having to live with a lot of fear and shame and stigma”, and many other people interpret as “raping particularly vulnerable people”.
No disagreement on that, though I suspect that even if everybody understood the first meaning, it would still be reviled.
(I know a (non-practicing) pedophile who attempted to “reclaim the word” by outing himself and distancing himself from child molesters. It—unsurprisingly—still didn’t go well for him).
What person would it be physically impossible to have sex with? Though, that depends on what qualifies as “real sex” vs. what is merely foreplay/Xth base/etc., which is a whole other issue.
Then again, it occurs to me that the “can’t” in the original sentence might refer to a situation that applies more specifically to the subject rather than the object: that is, if A wants to have sex with B and C and D, but A is unfortunately trapped inside a giant transparent hamster ball, with B-Z all on the outside looking in.
You would achieve the same effect if A were attracted to people trapped inside giant transparent hamster balls. Now we just need a single word for this kind of attraction.
Then again, it occurs to me that the “can’t” in the original sentence might refer to a situation that applies more specifically to the subject rather than the object
Yes, I was primed to think in terms of the subject—and the kind of subject that people are inclined to shame. That is, pathetic people. As in, “pathetic people who can’t get laid”.
To translate into the language of physical impossibility would, I suppose, require observing that humans are not black boxes that can freely do anything within the realms of human possibility. Going against instinct and indoctrination really is hard and for the kind of people I was primed to think about (pathetic people) they just couldn’t. Because being proactively vile and evil requires initiative and the ability to overcome inhibitions so most people in that hypothetical category couldn’t have sex with the people they wanted to (due to their pathetic nature).
It seemed entirely plausible to me that there was a jargon term for “being attracted to people you can’t have sex with [because you’re a pathetic loser], and having to live with a lot of fear and shame and stigma” that people also used as an indicator that the subject is more likely to be a rapist. That is exactly the kind of prejudice that humans tend to enjoy engaging in. What surprised me was that I wasn’t familiar with the jargon in question. My confusion is now resolved.
It’s very bad to have a single word that many people will interpret as “being attracted to people you can’t have sex with, and having to live with a lot of fear and shame and stigma”, and many other people interpret as “raping particularly vulnerable people”.
No disagreement on that, though I suspect that even if everybody understood the first meaning, it would still be reviled.
(I know a (non-practicing) pedophile who attempted to “reclaim the word” by outing himself and distancing himself from child molesters. It—unsurprisingly—still didn’t go well for him).
This guy is a hero. Okay, not a very effective hero, but still.
Heroism in the classical sense (as I understand it) means being great, and has little if anything to do with being good or getting good results.
Unsurprisingly indeed. Still, somebody has to be first, and I admire his willingness to do so.
Which word is this?
Isn’t it perfectly clear which one MixedNuts means?
Err… no? That’s why I asked. Could you write the word please?
Oh, wait. I read “can’t” literally. As opposed to “it is illegal to”. The meaning was entirely changed.
What person would it be physically impossible to have sex with? Though, that depends on what qualifies as “real sex” vs. what is merely foreplay/Xth base/etc., which is a whole other issue.
Then again, it occurs to me that the “can’t” in the original sentence might refer to a situation that applies more specifically to the subject rather than the object: that is, if A wants to have sex with B and C and D, but A is unfortunately trapped inside a giant transparent hamster ball, with B-Z all on the outside looking in.
You would achieve the same effect if A were attracted to people trapped inside giant transparent hamster balls. Now we just need a single word for this kind of attraction.
Ahaptophilia? (Attraction to people whom you cannot touch)
Pushing Daisies had both its protagonists suffer from this.
Yes, I was primed to think in terms of the subject—and the kind of subject that people are inclined to shame. That is, pathetic people. As in, “pathetic people who can’t get laid”.
To translate into the language of physical impossibility would, I suppose, require observing that humans are not black boxes that can freely do anything within the realms of human possibility. Going against instinct and indoctrination really is hard and for the kind of people I was primed to think about (pathetic people) they just couldn’t. Because being proactively vile and evil requires initiative and the ability to overcome inhibitions so most people in that hypothetical category couldn’t have sex with the people they wanted to (due to their pathetic nature).
It seemed entirely plausible to me that there was a jargon term for “being attracted to people you can’t have sex with [because you’re a pathetic loser], and having to live with a lot of fear and shame and stigma” that people also used as an indicator that the subject is more likely to be a rapist. That is exactly the kind of prejudice that humans tend to enjoy engaging in. What surprised me was that I wasn’t familiar with the jargon in question. My confusion is now resolved.
I’ve heard of people getting crushes on historical figures. I don’t know if there are people with a strong preference for famous dead people.