1. Please write your age and gender (and also your country if you are not based in the United States).

Late 30's, male.

2. How long have you known you are sexually attracted to children?

I first realized beyond a doubt that I had a preference for adolescent girls much later than society says I should when I was in my mid-20's. There were some hints in my early 20's, however; I was a big fan of the old TV show "Dance Party USA", which had a lot of young adolescent girl dancers that I was smitten with.

3. Was there a decisive moment when you realised you were sexually attracted to children, or was it a more gradual slow realisation? What events affected your realisation?

It was very much a gradual realization.

5. Are there many people you have told among your family and friends?

My family is generally aware of it, but it's not something they ever really discuss with me. Since I don't violate the law, they probably see no need to ever bring it up. I have told many of my close friends, and it's generally known among them that I'm a hebephile.

6. Who are the most significant people you would like to tell but haven’t?

I would have no problem with all of society knowing it. I'm not ashamed of what I am.

7. Are there any books or other written material that have been important to you in thinking about your sexuality? (Please list the key ones)

None that I can think of specifically, but I have long been a fan of the X-MEN comics for what its sci-fi premise represents for minority groups struggling to exist against common hatred and misunderstanding.

8. Are there any key individuals who have been important to you? (These might be individuals known personally to you, or role-models you know of)

Many of the people I have met in the GC virtual community are a major inspiration to me. So has famous MAA's like Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, and Charlie Chaplain.

9. Thinking about the whole of your time as a person sexually attracted to [adolescents], are there any web-sites which have been particularly important to you, positively or negatively?

Fresh Petals and Alessandra's Smile were two sites that had an early impact on me. Since then, GC has been very important to me. Open Hands gave me strong lessons of how NOT to think if you're an MAA.

10. Please list the web-sites which are currently most important to you as a MAA.

GC, Common Ground, Lifeline.

11. Thinking about these sites in particular, please describe what it is about these web-sites which are of most significance to you.

That I can discuss my attraction base with others like me who will not cringe or tell me that I'm "sick" or disturbed, or get openly hostile with me.

12. How often do you usually visit these sites? For example, more than once a day, daily, several times a week, at least once a week, several times a month, at least once a month, several times a year, once a year or less?

Usually at least once a day, with periodic hiatuses of various lengths.

13. Do you yourself ever contribute to these web-sites (eg articles, comments, photos, email discussion, blogs)? In what ways?

Articles, discussions, and casual chat.

15. Would you say that these web-sites have had an impact on how you think about yourself personally? For example, are these sites generally reassuring, irrelevant, welcoming, friendly, boring, supportive or disturbing for you?

I think GC is remarkably useful as a community struggling to find itself and to maintain its own existence against a currently hostile and misunderstanding world. The community is not perfect, and it has its dysfunctional aspects, as well as a good degree of in-fighting, but it's proven absolutely essential to my well-being and self-acceptance as an MAA. I didn't find this at other forums, like Open Hands, which seems to have a consensus that it's shameful to be an MAA and that we need to defer our freedom to the majority.

16. In your opinion, would you say that these web-sites form an online MAA community? If so, in what ways?

Considering the amount of support it offers, as well as the opportunity to speak to like-minded individuals who will not have a panic attack when I speak about my sexuality, I would say YES. Most definitely. However, to be honest, I must say that GC is more suited for the MAA who has a high degree of minority pride and who seek a pro-choice sentiment for society. MAA's who are anti-contact will find a lot of opposition here, and may be more at home on web forums like Open Hands.

17. If you feel there is an online MAA community, can you give specific examples of how this community has helped you personally?

It made me realize that I was not alone out there, that MAA's were legion in number, that the majority of us are good people, that the media was very wrong about us, and that we stand a chance of one day emancipating both ourselves and the youths we love from the current legal and cultural quagmire in which we live.

18. In your own personal experience, which provides most support for you – an online MAA community, or other forms of support? Please describe.

An online community, with some forays onto the phone, are the only types of support that is currently available for me as an MAA, so I have yet to experience offline means of support such as that which is available to members of the gay community.

19. Have these sites had an impact on how you think about your sexuality? For example, are these sites generally informative, thought-provoking, inspirational or challenging for you?

All of the above. Open Hands was often disheartening to me as an MAA, so I prefer a community/forum where the majority of us are pro-choice. We hear the other side of the argument everywhere we go outside of this community.

20. Have these sites had an impact on how you think about your politics? If so, in what ways?

Yes, absolutely. It has made me come to respect and revere the concept of--and need for--a true democracy more than ever before.

21. Would you describe yourself as politically active? For example, do you write letters or articles, lobby or make an effort to talk with people about the issue of sexual identity?

Very much so; I endeavor to do all of the above as often as I can.

22. Are there other significant ways in which these web-sites have had an impact on your life? If they all closed down tomorrow, would you miss them?

Yes, they are an integral part of my life, and though I have had some bad times here, I have experienced far more good times and met a lot of interesting and wonderful people.

23. Is there anything that particularly concerns you about these web-sites at this time?

I often worry that public sentiment and the continuation of draconian laws aimed at "combatting" MAA's will eventually lead to a Holocaust of sorts for us, and that the government will take an active interest in dispersing our fledging community before we acquire any sizable political power and social standing. This is why I think it's essential that all MAA's stand in firm support of the Bill of Rights and its equivalents in other 'free' nations.

24. If you had one piece of advice to give to someone who was wondering about their sexual attraction to children, what would it be?

You have nothing to be ashamed of.