ABSTRACT
The question of distinguishing normal from pathological paedophilia inevitably leads to a consideration of perversion or deviation as such, both in terms of its dynamic and historical roots. In the case of pathological paedophilia, there are many who feel sexually ineffectual and insecure, who fear that their penis is too small or too inefficient, or that it might arouse contempt or ridicule in any potential partner, male or female. Paedophilia, the love and sensuous experience of child and youth, is a normal and universal phenomenon. Most societies foster in their members a certain image of a child and an adult, and most societies provide, through the institution of dramatic and ritualized adolescent initiation ceremonies, a sharp demarcation between childhood and adulthood. One of the most general ones is the assumption of a facade—in Jungian language a ‘persona—which is meant to give the impression of toughness, coolness, and impregnable adulthood.
