Denial

You say people here would deny being a pedophile out of self preservation.

Just to clarify since I believe this might be taken to have an insinuation: not everyone here is a pedophile, or feels the word accurately describes who they are, refusing to use it for purposes of avoiding confusing, or of respecting certain authorities for defining words over others and choosing not to use such labels.

So it's not about lying denial, but rather, not using it because it's wrong. So don't even think everyone's a pedophile here. Not that I hate pedos or anything, but I do hate people who try to draw others into a path of fire against their will. You may have even been dragged there yourself which is why you do it.

I admit though, if you were dragged in to using the word without studying it, self-preservation at the pleasant thought of being able to deny you are a pedophile does motivate you to study the word and see if perhaps you were wrong to use it.