Minor-Attraction, High-Functioning Autism, and Self-Delusion

[WavesInEternity]

I have high-functioning autism and am a male MAP.

Research suggests that male individuals with autism spectrum disorders "have more hypersexual and paraphilic fantasies and behaviors than general-population studies suggest" (Schöttle et al., 2017). This is likely to be due to the simple fact that autistic people do not "adjust" their desires and behaviours according to social norms and expectations to the same extent that neurotypical individuals do. A male autistic person will tend to be authentic with respect to his sexual instincts, no matter how socially unacceptable they may be. Indeed, broadly speaking, autistic people "may not always follow the traditional social cues expected in romantic interactions".

In addition, my autism makes me extremely sensitive aesthetically. My sensory experience is pronounced and profound; my tastes demonstrate an extraordinary level of continuity and consistency.

Hebephilia, my preferential sexual orientation, is not clinically recognized as a paraphilia, although there have recently been controversial calls for its inclusion in the DSM. In fact, a very large number of men experience such desires, and there is evidence that the age-of-attraction range corresponding to hebephilia may in fact be the most attractive of all as a general rule (Yuill, R. & Rind, B., 2012).

In short, my conclusion is that there may be nothing particularly unusual about my innate sexuality as a heterosexual male, but that my neurodivergence makes me partly immune to the sort of self-delusion that leads men to say girls are less attractive when they're claimed to be under the local age of consent (O'Donnell et al., 2014). By contrast, a neurotypical person's sensitivity to social cues will make it more likely for feelings of minor-attraction to be ignored, repressed, denied, etc. This would especially be the case when "atypical" sexual attraction is felt towards a prepubescent child, which I have come to believe probably happens to most people at some point in their lives, whether they care to admit it or not—including to themselves.

[BLueRibbon]

This is something I have also thought about as an autistic exclusive BL. But then what do non-autistic exclusive MAPs tell themselves? The theory would surely only apply to people with a mixed orientation.

[Pegasus]

Can we say that autistic people and people with Down's syndrome have very high sexuality?

[BLueRibbon]

Can we say that autistic people and people with Down's syndrome have very high sexuality?

I don't, but I do have an extreme need for emotional connection with boys.

[WavesInEternity]

But then what do non-autistic exclusive MAPs tell themselves?

That they have an unusual sexuality in the first place, and there's nothing wrong with that.
There is immense variation in human sexuality. What my theory is primarily meant to highlight is that an autistic man with fairly normal heterosexual desires will express them differently than the average neurotypical person, and that the difference is likely to involve a much greater acceptance of minor-attraction.

On another level, my observations also point to the fact that autistic men will generally be more in tune with their unusual sexual desires, and that these desires are likely to be more pronounced, more intense, and more stable.

The theory would surely only apply to people with a mixed orientation.

I'm about 99% attracted to female minors and 1% to younger female adults with extremely specific characteristics.

My theory as a whole applies best to men that have at least a small level of attraction to adults. Otherwise, ignoring and repressing their attraction to minors as a result of internalized social pressure isn't typically quite an option in practice, as the implications of doing so are much more severe. However, many aspects of what I pointed out apply to various other groups.