this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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It's not a mental illness. If anything, it's a mental disorder or just a sexual orientation. And when exactly have we ever been able to get rid of a sexual preference? Is conversion therapy your goal? That shit doesn't work.
You seem to be making a lot of wrong assumptions here. Because just like men in the rapists example, pedophiles overwhelmingly are fit for society and don't need treatment or rehabilitation in the first place. And for the ones that do feel like they need help, it would actually be better to not shame and stigmatize them to actually give them the chance of trusting someone to talk about it.
Those are the same thing. "A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability"
Most mental illnesses can be successfully treated, many live to tell the tale. Drug addicts who become treated are no longer addicts, sufferers of emotional cognitive disorders who become successfully treated are no longer emotionally suffering. Some disorders are treatment resistant, and afflicted individuals undergo life-long consistent maintenance therapy.
A sexual preference towards men, women, or nonbinary isn't a mental illness. A sexual preference to children is.
I thought I've read somewhere that "mental disorder" is a broader term, whereas "mental illness" was mostly referring to conditions that impact general behaviour and functioning. But okay, let's use them synonymously, in which case it's still not a severe mental illness that can be cured.
Even if go with this assumption, that doesn't mean it requires treatment (which is not really possible anyway), let alone forcefully.