NAMBLA views aired at international conference

I attended the ninth annual conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association in Cologne, West Germany from June 29th to July 4th 1987. [...]

The women asked the plenary session to accept the following statement: 'We very strongly object to adult sexual activity (that is, the manipulation of sexual parts of the body) with persons who have not yet reached their psycho-social, biological, and emotional adolescence.' The plenary rejected the proposal, with 28 in favor, 19 opposed, and 8 abstentions. (An 80% majority of votes cast, including abstentions, is required for passage.) When this failed, they withdrew a second motion because it was doomed to failure also. It read: 'We recommend that all resolutions made at previous ILGA conferences supporting adult sexual activity (as defined above) with persons who have not yet reached their psycho-social, biological, and emotional adolescence be rejected.' Since this motion was withdrawn, there was no vote. [...]

Dealing only with official conference matters does not tell you about some of the more human elements. Since the ILGA conference was held in a very large youth hostel, I had an opportunity to meet in the large lobby late each evening with three very attractive German boys, ages 15 and 16, who were also staying in the hostel. They seemed to enjoy hanging around the ILGA delegates at that late hour. I was encouraged and teased by the ILGA delegates, including several young female delegates, into courting the boys. When I was not aggressive enough, an assertive delegate from Poland, who also very much appreciated these boys' charms, became more aggressive with his jokes and pursuit, sometimes at the boys' expense, since their English was not that good. His jokes and playful pranks were entertaining and appreciated.

Some of the same women who took part in these evening sessions had challenging questions during the pedophile workshops about what men want from boys. Among some women, there was general distrust of the altruism of pedophiles involved in children's rights advocacy and pedophiles' failure to support nonsexist socialization of girls. There was also general distrust of male sexual energy as currently acculturated in the West. Is boy love sometimes "more of the same" kind of male dominance and exploitation in the feminist literature? I guess the answer is sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, and sometimes it's a mixture of both. Rome wasn't built in a day.

source: Article 'NAMBLA Views Aired at International Conference'; NAMBLA Bulletin, vol. 8, no. 7; September 1987