Making Sense of the Life Stories of Minor-Attracted Persons Who Have Not Engaged in Child Sexual Abuse.

Minor-attracted persons (MAPs) who have not engaged in child sexual abuse are a largely hidden and under-researched population (Cantor & McPhail, 2016; Dymond & Duff, 2020; Lievesley & Lapworth, 2022; Murphy, 2024). The interchangeable use of non-offending MAPs and child sexual offenders in public narratives and media representations frames adult attraction to minors primarily as a criminal justice issue. Consequently, non-offending MAPs face significant stigma and profound invisibility and are frequently depicted as criminals (Walker, 2021). This study used critical narrative analysis (CNA) (Langdridge & Hall, 2007) to explore how six non-offending MAPs narrate their lives. The participants' stories revealed the diverse and complex ways they constructed their identities in a society which often presumes they are inherently dangerous. The findings highlight how participants develop personal narratives in the absence of master narratives available in society and how this shapes the development of sexual identity among non-offending MAPs. These stories also reflect a collective effort to challenge deeply ingrained societal views of MAPs. Drawing on queer theory as a hermeneutic of suspicion, the analysis examines how the categorization and pathologizing of sexualities produce oppression within participants' life stories. The CNA approach provided a critical framework for discussing this marginalized group, contributing to a deeper contextual understanding of how the absence of culturally accepted frameworks shapes the development of sexual identity among non-offending MAPs.