MAP Forum

A notable part of the MAP community is the worship of children. It is one of the few oddities that antis have rightly accused us of. I don't think it should be considered a fair criticism because it's so sweet and pure (excessively so), but I do think it's weird. Teleiophilic people do not talk the same way about adults.

I personally find children to be as variable as adults, although obviously I don't criticize them quite as much for their poor behavior.

Where do you think child worship comes from?

I think it can be a criticism against MAPs whose child worship puts children on pedestals, which posits them as almost otherworldly. In other words, I think it's fine to criticize MAPs when their image of children (and childhood in general) becomes as rigid as the image of children that antis have. I also think such child worship can be criticized if it's held up as proof that MAPs know or care more about children than anybody else.

I think some of it could be self-serving - in particular the image of children as necessarily "better" (more innocent, open, free, honest, etc.) than adults could be a way of "justifying" their attraction. When faced with a society that says such love is ugly and misplaced, I think it's natural to fight back. Some MAPs might fight back by discussing how children are so beautiful that it'd be crazy not to be attracted to them.

I'd say it's connected with the idea of social progress. Basically if you believe all societal problems are socially determined, it implies that children are somehow perfect, because everyone who is "corrupted" was originally innocent. So the perfection of children is the myth at the heart of the modernity.
I think maybe you could say we're born amoral and can be cultivated to become better or worse. That way you can preserve having counterfactuals in order to criticize society without idealizing children. But it wouldn't be as melodramatic as suggesting every bad person was once an innocent child before some sort of tragedy made them into the person they are today.

Peace wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2024 3:06 pm I think it can be a criticism against MAPs whose child worship puts children on pedestals, which posits them as almost otherworldly. In other words, I think it's fine to criticize MAPs when their image of children (and childhood in general) becomes as rigid as the image of children that antis have. I also think such child worship can be criticized if it's held up as proof that MAPs know or care more about children than anybody else.

This. This makes me uncomfortable when I see people doing stuff like it, though I've seen it more in non-MAPs.

I think some of it could be self-serving - in particular the image of children as necessarily "better" (more innocent, open, free, honest, etc.) than adults could be a way of "justifying" their attraction. When faced with a society that says such love is ugly and misplaced, I think it's natural to fight back. Some MAPs might fight back by discussing how children are so beautiful that it'd be crazy not to be attracted to them.

Yeah, probably overshooting the mark.

I'm not sure that it corresponds entirely to contact stance, but I do feel that people who interact with children less are more likely to put them up on a pedestal.

Adolescents in my AoA can be really annoying. I see them as distinctly human. In fact, the main difference between me and an anti is that I see them are more human. I don't see them as precious little angels needing protection. Some boys I've interacted with have had wonderful traits, but they still get mad and lash out. Some have been really obnoxious, but still able to show compassion to a friend who needs it. We're complex. All of us. Children included. I think the bonds I was able to build with boys basically came down to my recognizing that and treating them as equals.

It comes from some of our perceptions of what children are supposed to represent, things expressed by others here. But they don't all represent such things, obviously. As said, the are as varied as adults.

But perhaps for many of us, it's the ease of approachability that ultimately makes us want to idolize. From conversations I've had and read, MAPs naturally gravitate toward children and the children often reciprocate, even initiating the interaction sometimes. It feels seamless when we connect with a child whereas with an adult it can feel like a chore. Why this is can be up to interpretation.

I do view them as "special." But it's something I need emotionally. I know in reality they are just people. But your head and your heart don't always want to work together unfortunately.

ageoldtragedy wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2024 2:23 am It feels seamless when we connect with a child whereas with an adult it can feel like a chore. Why this is can be up to interpretation.

I definitely agree with this. Yet I still feel the connections I've made are very human connections. Not the type where I want to go home and build an altar to the perfect boy that I met (which, I feel, is how some in our community approach it).

Where do you think child worship comes from

Comes from love. For a MAP, children are the most beautiful creatures from Universe.

mylittlegirl wrote: ↑Mon Sep 02, 2024 12:43 am

Where do you think child worship comes from

Comes from love. For a MAP, children are the most beautiful creatures from Universe.

That! Additionally: if we don't have real contact with kids, we tend to put them on a pedestal. That's what I did when I was around 20. That's where worship comes from not unalike idolizing pop and rock stars. The more we know and meet kids and youth in real the more we recognize they're real humans, with their own character, their own traits and ticks, strengths and weaknesses. This is what brings them down to earth again.

Child worship? Really? I don't think that I worship them. But I do like young boys and think they are one of the best things on earth. I would probably bow down to them ( because I want to) but do I think they are any better or worse than anybody else? No. We all have our pros and cons.

Child worship... mhm... my go-to reaction would be to say that's "based."

Additionally, I would say that occasionally I unironically refer to myself as a child worshipper, or—even more in jest—a child supremacist.

Even though I have a positive bias for children, I don't view them as perfect little angels...

I view them as people. They have just as diverse an array of personalities as their adult counterparts.

Think of it as a spectrum. On one end, there are kids I would trade my right arm to spend person time with and have a close friendship with, with no societal rules imposing how we should have the relationship dynamic. On the other end, there are kids you couldn't PAY me to babysit for an hour. I've met very few kids who go on that side.

It's just that I put up with kids' shit more. Most people would say children are annoying... and they can be... on the rarest of occasions. But for me, I'm the opposite. I tend to find adults annoying. Admittedly, I do have a not-so-nice bias for adults: I'm allergic to adults.

Just not so long ago, some children I'm familiar with decided to pretend to shoot me with their pretend guns made out of magnet connectors. They would flick the toy at me. It didn't really hurt me; in fact, I enjoyed it to some degree. I know many other adults would have yelled at them, or worse. So many times, a kid will be doing something I don't mind or even find endearing and charming, while there will be other adults who I could just tell were hating it.

To wrap up what I have to say, I want to mention an interesting question I've read and thought about. "Would you rather glow pink every time you found someone attractive or glow red every time you are annoyed?"
I definitely pick the latter. I don't want to be repeatedly glowing pink at work, and I don't have to worry about glowing red all that much either.

BLueRibbon wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2024 2:40 pm Where do you think child worship comes from?

I think it comes from a mixture of our attractions and the fact that as a species we evolved to want to care for and love our children because that's what they need in order to survive.