ABSTRACT
The term intergenerational sex has been recently intro duced to describe relations between adults, on the one hand, and (a) adolescents and (b) children, on the other. Properly speaking, these two forms should be distinguished as pederasty and pedophilia, respectively, but current usage is often imprecise, owing to the emotional charge such relations often evoke. (Logically, the concept of intergenerational sex should also include gerontophilia, sexual interest in old people, but this form of attraction has been little studied; cf. "Aging,” XIV.C.) In some civilizations of the past, such as ancient Greece and Islam (see III.C and III.P), pederasty has been the ideal, dominant, even socially recognized form of homosexuality. This pederastie mode also prevails in many tribal cultures (see IV.A-F). Recently, support groups for pederasts and pedophiles, such as the North American Man/Boy Love Asso ciation and the (British) Paedophile Information Exchange, have emerged in a number of Western countries; these groups remain small and controversial, isolated from the larger movement, and often subjected to official surveil lance and harassment.
