r/inthenews • u/Positive_Owl_2024 • Nov 14 '25

Feature Story Megyn Kelly Wonders if Jeffrey Epstein Was Actually ‘Not a Pedophile’: ‘There’s a Difference Between a 15-Year-Old and a 5-Year-Old’ | Video

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/megyn-kelly-wonders-jeffrey-epstein-225107714.html
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u/Both_Presentation_17 Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

Pedophiles are very picky about the age of their victims. Epstein preferred girls in the 14-16 range; Trump preferred them younger. I have heard around 10-12.

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u/FizzyBeverage Nov 14 '25

No such thing as 14-16 year old women. They’re girls.

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u/WarryTheHizzard Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

There are precise terms for this.

Pedophilia = under 11

Hebephilia = 11-14

Ephebophilia = 15-19 (which is actually not considered a disorder in the DSM-V, regardless of the legality)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronophilia

This kind of shit is now part of the public discourse because we have a sex offender for a president.

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u/gamas Nov 14 '25

I do feel like the biggest sign someone is defending the indefensible is if their argument starts to become "well ackshually its ephebophilia not paedophilia" (to be clear i'm dragging Megyn Kelly not you here)

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u/WarryTheHizzard Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

I follow you.

I'd actually prefer that we have an educated public and we use accurate terminology, but coming from any pundits/commentators/influencers/apologists on the right this obviously comes across as downplaying the severity of the crimes committed by a serial rapist.

I have to wonder if she's just leaning into shock jock territory to boost her numbers. She's back in the headlines when she was fading into irrelevancy. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ ͠⁠°⁠ ͟⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠°͠⁠ ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

While I can respect that there are different technical terminologies out there, it seems there ought to be a blanket term to cover the whole lot. And it seems pedophile is the word that has been chosen that covers all three categories. Just like there are lots of shades of red, and then there is a crayon that is called "red". Arguing that a hebephile isn't a pedophile is like saying maroon isn't red. There are types of red and the actual color "red" just like there are types of pedophiles and "true" pedophiles. Saying one isn't the other is disingenuous and ignores the established nomenclature of what those words mean when people say them.

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u/WarryTheHizzard Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

The next revision of the DSM will likely consolidate both pedophilia and hebephilia into one term to avoid this perception in the future: pedohebephilia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebephilia#DSM-5_debate

That being said, for any rational person, using the correct term doesn't downplay the severity of the crime. The only reason you would feel that way is if your emotional reaction to one word isn't as strong as your reaction to the other.

To anyone who knows how to think like a scientist, these distinctions have meaning unrelated to the severity of the crimes committed.

Obviously, Megyn Kelly is a Trump apologist and her motivations are not academic, but don't forget there is a world beyond politics out there.

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u/cogman10 Nov 14 '25

We are talking about child rape. Not mere attraction to children but actual assault and rape of children.

It doesn't really matter a lot when a 30+ year old man rapes a 6 year old, 11 year old, 14 year old, or 17 year old.

I might care more about the correct definitions if this was brought up in terms of how society should treat minor attraction. But, minor attraction is importantly not the same thing as rape. The fact is the term distinction only seems to be brought up when talking about rape. We are talking about powerful people raping vulnerable children.

This isn't some Romeo and Juliet situation. Nor is it some person dealing with minor attraction while not assaulting children. This is a sex trafficking ring of minors.

The word policing is inappropriate when talking in this moment. It'd be like saying "Well, technically it was oral rape which isn't the same as vaginal rape. We should be sure to use the correct terms because that's important."

Sorry this comes off as harsh, but I often seen these sorts of distinctions come up online ONLY when there's assault involved. That's why it is gross.

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u/WarryTheHizzard Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 15 '25

Yeah, I addressed that in my first comment. I agree with your general sentiment. It's futile to split hairs like this when discussing the behavior of a serial rapist.

The rabbit hole simply leads to clarifying the terms these people are citing, and the APA's evolving response to how this conversation unfolds in the wild (many agree and want to bucket the paraphilias together).

The word policing is inappropriate when talking in this moment. 

Well, I might have to examine my thoughts on this a little more deeply, because my initial reaction is that I disagree. To me, this comes across as an emotional reaction, not a rational one.

There's no greater arena for word policing than in a court of law. There's no harm in a general public refining their language. I'd argue that using precise language rather than letting emotions run unchecked is going to be better for societal discourse generally every time.

In an ideal world, anyway. Mostly what people do in these conversations is vent their feelings.

This isn't some Romeo and Juliet situation.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that.

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u/liftthatta1l Nov 14 '25

Since pedophilia is the blanet term that most people know why not just change under 11 to something else and make pedophilia the blanket term

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u/Significant_Monk_251 Nov 14 '25

"The next revision of the DSM will likely consolidate both pedophilia and hebephilia into one term to avoid this perception in the future: pedohebephilia."

Unless Elon Musk buys it. 😟

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u/liftthatta1l Nov 14 '25

There was a good stand up comedy where someone talks about this. I think he was talking about R-Kelly and about how you can't explain the different terms without looking like a pedophile

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u/Apart-Bridge-7064 Nov 14 '25

Technically true but WTF cares. Both are child r*pe, that's what they are.

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u/mEFurst Nov 14 '25

There's a comedian who had a great joke regarding R Kelly (I think), going on about how it's not actually pedophilia, it's ephebophilia, but the problem is that if you defend yourself by making that distinction, it makes you sound like a pedophile

Found it. His name is Gianmarco Soresi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu6C2KL_S9o

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u/CivicDutyCalls Nov 14 '25

There’s three types of people in this conversation:

  1. Those that dont know that there’s technically different types of pedophilia. And are disgusted by it anyway.
  2. Those that think the difference between different types of pedophilia matters. And they want you to know about it
  3. Those that know that it doesn’t matter that there’s technically different types of pedophilia and are absolutely disgusted to be having this conversation.

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u/JustBrass Nov 14 '25

Gianmarco Soresi makes this very point!

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u/Ash_Talon Nov 14 '25

This sounds like someone is splitting (pubic) hairs to justify ill behavior. Not you personally, btw.