Pedophile Beards

categories: Human Trafficking Awareness, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution, Technology and the Media, Trafficking in Children

Published August 20, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT

Not that I ever goof around on Facebook when I'm bored at work, but if I had, I might have stumbled upon a link to a satirical infomercial for a product called Pedophile Beards. The video is obviously meant to be funny. However, my sense of humor has been a little warped from years of violence against women and children work and too many Red Bull-fueled late night comedy shows. So is this funny? Why or why not?

While this video may appeal to some senses of humor more than others, it brings up an excellent point: we have a very clear picture in our heads of what a pedophile looks like. He's a white guy in his 40s with an outdated fashion sense and, perhaps, some unwieldy facial hair. But like all stereotypes, identifying pedophiles on the basis of what they look like means missing a lot of people who would seek to have sex with children.

There's a prevailing idea that the men who buy children for sex are like the guy in this ad- obviously creepy. They're not. They're fire fighters and policemen and teachers and businessmen. They have wives and children and families of their own. Some seek out children for sex, while others just want someone "young and fresh", regardless of the girl's age. And because they don't wear signs (or glasses) that declare "I am a child predator", they are much harder to identify. It's important for us to recognize that a beard does not a pedophile make.

Thankfully, unlike this video may claim, looking like a pedophile isn't popular. Acting like one by buying sex with children is, unfortunately, becoming increasingly so. Maybe it's time we started a new trend?

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Comments (4)

I think what it's doing is joking about bad fashion without taking actual sexual assault seriously. As if the worst thing about pedophiles is the way they dress and groom themselves, and their behaviour is so secondary.

I liked the hat, though.

Posted by Anemone Cerridwen on 08/20/2009 @ 07:34PM PT
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I gotta admit, I thought that was pretty funny. But I also liked nearly every moment of "The Aristocrats."

Your point about our mental picture of a pedo is well taken, but its a different topic from whether or not the comedy vid is funny.

Posted by Slim Chance on 08/21/2009 @ 04:32AM PT
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Wow...that was NOT funny.

Posted by C O on 08/25/2009 @ 11:07AM PT
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Though I saw nothing humorous about that video, I will say that your right about how the steriotypical criminal can be misleading...

I also have to wonder if that particular steriotype wasnt put into place by those in high places many years ago in order to better facilitate their evil...

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/08/2009 @ 10:07PM PT
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Author

Amanda has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. During that time, she has created reports, documentaries and training materials on human trafficking in the United States and around the world.