A question was recently posed on B4um about why feminists are so silent in regards to female MAPs. The original post listed three possible reasons for this:
1) Female MAPs don’t exist. ALL MAPs are male, so it make no sense to talk about “Female MAPs”
2) Female MAPs exists, but we don’t talk about them because they will give a bad image to the movement. They are “bad females”
3) Female MAPs exists, but they are so few its irrelevant to talk about them.
I think all the reasons you listed are often cited in regard to female MAPs. Traditionally society has focused on MAPs being male, because males are seen as the sex-crazed individuals, who lack the maternal instinct to take care of children. Any male who shows an interest in a child that is not theirs is seen as a predator.
Females, on the other hand, almost have a societal privilege. When they show interest in children, it’s assumed their maternal instinct is just doing what it’s supposed to. If a woman is attracted to a child, they aren’t suspected, because they are supposed to be around children, according to gender roles. Because of the access and expectation, I believe many woman are able to have fulfilling relationships with children, without society suspecting or finding out.
I recently attended the B4U-ACT conference, and there was quite a large representation of female MAPs, including transgender and those assigned-female-at-birth. This tells me that female MAPs are way more prevalent than society would have us believe. I don’t know all of their individual reasons they chose to attend the conference, but I assume they realize the disconnect between their feelings and what society expects of them. I wonder how many more women out there don’t realize it. Or they realize it and are afraid to self-identify. Or they realize it, but don’t feel a need to self-identify, because they are fulfilled in their maternal relationships.
However, we have seen a recent trend in women being targeted and outed by antis for being MAPs. This goes with the “bad females” point you made. There is such a societal hysteria against chronophilias, that any intersectional groups a MAP may fall into want to distance themselves from MAPs. Feminists are no different. Especially the Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs). No one wants to admit they exist, because MAPs are inconvenient to their cause. It’s easier for them to shun us than for them to offer support, or even advocate for us.
I think our path to MAP freedom involves trying to make as many allies as possible. And to do that, we have to get the facts out there, and cut through the hysteria and hate. Unfortunately that’s a tall order, that takes a multi-faceted approach.