Would you think they are Pedophiles?

Example 1: You have a younger sister (or a daughter), and they are about 4 years old playing at the park. A few teenage boys/middle aged men approach them and start to play with them. Would you be worried that they are some kind of pedophile?

Example 2: You have a younger brother (or a son), and they are about 4 years old playing at the park. A few teenage girls/middle aged women approach them and start to play with them. Would you be worried that they are some kind of pedophile?

The reason I use the word pedophile is because no one in either situation would deem the person as "strange", but many immediately call them creep or pedophile.

Oh I forgot, explain why.

Example 1: You have a younger sister (or a daughter), and they are about 4 years old playing at the park. A few teenage boys/middle aged men approach them and start to play with them. Would you be worried that they are some kind of pedophile?

Example 2: You have a younger brother (or a son), and they are about 4 years old playing at the park. A few teenage girls/middle aged women approach them and start to play with them. Would you be worried that they are some kind of pedophile?

1.- Yes, unless I know the boys
2.- Nope, I would just watch in case that something happens

1.- Yes, unless I know the boys
2.- Nope, I would just watch in case that something happens

There's the problem. You don't expect girls to ever be pedophiles. Boys, you jump to the conclusion that they are. You wait though for the women before judging. Sadly, I do so too; I blame stereotyping/generalization.

There's the problem. You don't expect girls to ever be pedophiles. Boys, you jump to the conclusion that they are. You wait though for the women before judging. Sadly, I do so too; I blame stereotyping/generalization.

The thing is that teenager boys dont usually feel like playing with a 4 year old girl, While the girls find the boy cute and they like to play with them

The thing is that teenager boys dont usually feel like playing with a 4 year old girl, While the girls find the boy cute and they like to play with them

See, I love playing with kids regardless of gender. Boy? Girl? I really can't tell. (My mom dressed me in my sister's clothes when I was a baby, so I'm used to not assuming boys ONLY wear blue and girls ONLY wear pink)

I just find it funny because I saw this father playing with his son at first, and then he noticed this little girl (kind of a loner I think). He started playing with her, and the mom got so defensive =/. She started yelling like a psycho and was later asked to leave. Not cool.

There's the problem. You don't expect girls to ever be pedophiles. Boys, you jump to the conclusion that they are. You wait though for the women before judging. Sadly, I do so too; I blame stereotyping/generalization.

It's also just basic gender roles. Women are more inclined to be nurturing.

For me, it would probably depend on how the person(s) act and what they look like. I hate jumping to conclusions, but I'd be more worried if it was a man than if it was a woman.

There's the problem. You don't expect girls to ever be pedophiles. Boys, you jump to the conclusion that they are. You wait though for the women before judging. Sadly, I do so too; I blame stereotyping/generalization.

Therein lies the problem indeed.

Therein lies the problem indeed.

QFT. To both your picture and IllegalySane.

When I first saw that picture, I actually gave a thumbs up and a huge smile to my computer screen. I don't think I've seen a truer picture/statement in my 11+ years of browsing the internet. Double-standard much.

Ex 1; Yes, mainly because teenage boys dont usually play with anyone younger than them unless forced to.

Ex ; Maybe, again, its not usual for it to happen, but girls are usually more apt to "be kind" to younger kids, regardless of sex.

1. Yes .. because as horrible as this sounds, men have the most press related to there labido, and urges.. @__@

2. Not really, I'd keep an eye out because you never know what can happen. Children are erratic and unpredictable :f6:

I think women have less trouble playing with kids due to the fact, that alot of the time it's the women who take there kids to the park, and shops.. I'm basing this on my stepfather. Maybe that is why men get put under suspicion.. because the stereotype is that they Work, and don't do the shopping or washing blah blah.. Stepfather: I can't wash womens clothes, I can't iron women's clothes. <-- True statements..

Well thats my 2 cents I suck at wording stuff.. and my brother is currently screaming at me.

Statistically more men are involved in such things, so yes anyone would be more cautious of them. You'd have to either be the worst parent/sibling ever or kidding yourself to think differently. There are dangerous women, and yes you should always watch your kids anyway, but if you're at a park with your kid and a woman approaches it's most likely because of mothering instincts and overall friendliness.

"Stereotypes" happen for a reason. There's no real point or revelation being made in this thread. It's unfortunate if you just want to be a friendly guy but I dunno... even that is kind of weird. There are ways to be nice to kids without seeming like a total creep, too.

edit: and no you should never think anyone is a pedophile for no reason, you should be cautious of everyone of them and keep a reasonable amount of doubt at all times.

I hate this sort of thinking, but I think exactly the same.

If I'm at the park with one of my nieces and they start playing with another little kid (my nieces are 2/5) I would play with them too, but I can see how disgusted I would feel if a teenage boy/adult man would start playing with my niece, regardless if he has other children playing with them. And if a random teenage girl started playing with my niece I would be fine with it. Woman? No.

Yeh it's horrid to think so horribly.. but it's just the truth hurts really, I mean you can't trust people in general..

There are so many disturbing stories of murder, and rape and horrible things that happen and typically it can be a stranger or a friend of the family..

How do you trust people, when boys beat a young boy up, violate him and then leave them to die on train tracks..Or a mother putting their child in a suitcase and drowning them..Or the best friend of a father murdering the daughter, and then going fishing with the father the next morning like nothing happened....Sigh.

My mum reads alot of crime books D:

Statistically more men are involved in such things, so yes anyone would be more cautious of them. You'd have to either be the worst parent/sibling ever or kidding yourself to think differently. There are dangerous women, and yes you should always watch your kids anyway, but if you're at a park with your kid and a woman approaches it's most likely because of mothering instincts and overall friendliness.

"Stereotypes" happen for a reason. There's no real point or revelation being made in this thread. It's unfortunate if you just want to be a friendly guy but I dunno... even that is kind of weird. There are ways to be nice to kids without seeming like a total creep, too.

edit: and no you should never think anyone is a pedophile for no reason, you should be cautious of everyone of them and keep a reasonable amount of doubt at all times.

My thoughts on this.

It's a double standard, but double standards have a reason behind them most times. Whether or not you agree with that reason won't change anything. That's the way society is. I'd be more cautious with males than females, but it doesn't mean I'd let my guard down because a female is playing with the kid. In both cases I find it strange for a complete stranger to come to the park for the sole purpose of playing with kids anyway.

It's also just basic gender roles. Women are more inclined to be nurturing.

For me, it would probably depend on how the person(s) act and what they look like. I hate jumping to conclusions, but I'd be more worried if it was a man than if it was a woman.

This too. It's in the nature of women to be more caring and interested in children. Obviously men have this instinct as well, but it doesn't stand out as much with most men.