A German sociologist and gay rights advocate who has a lengthy history of pedophilia apologism is currently on the Board of Directors for a “queer” organization promoting the medical transitioning of young children. Rüdiger Lautmann is listed as a Secretary for the Berlin chapter of working group SPDqueer, which has advocated for children to be permitted to initiate a “gender change” from the age of seven years old without parental consent.
SPDqueer works with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) to advocate for amending the constitution, or Basic Law, to incorporate sex self-identification. The group was previously established as a lesbian and gay working group (Schwusos) in 1978, and was renamed in 2016 to reorient its focus towards “queer theory.”
The SPD, along with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), has promoted a controversial bill to enshrine sex self-identification into law. A proposed version of the Self-Determination Act (Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag – SBGG) which is currently being discussed by lawmakers in the Bundestag would classify “deadnaming” as an offense potentially punishable by a fine of up to €10,000 ($10,800), while permitting citizens to alter identification documents on an annual basis.
The draft amendment, approved for review by members of the Bundestag on August 23, would also allow children aged 14 years and over to change the sex marker on their identification and begin a medical transition. Should parents or guardians object, a family court may intervene to override a lack of consent. The SPD, however, has reportedly argued for children to have the right to “self-determination” beginning from the age of seven.
Yet some critics of gender identity ideology have questioned the SPD’s decision to work with a sexologist and academic who has a disturbing history of advocating favorably for pedophilia as a sexual orientation. SPDqueer Berlin collaborates with Rüdiger Lautmann, a former sociology professor at the University of Bremen, who has repeatedly advocated for pedophilia to be recognized as “a sexual orientation like any other.” Lautmann has been involved with SPDqueer Berlin since its formation in 2011.
“I’ve been in the SPD since ‘forever,'” Lautmann states in his biography for SPDqueer. “I’ve been following the work of the former Schwusos since the beginning; I’ve been really active there since moving to Berlin in 2009. Before that, I was involved in the party’s local chapters in my respective places of work in Munich, Dortmund, Bielefeld and Bremen.”
Notably, Lautmann authored a book published in 1994 titled The Lust for Children: A Portrait of Pedophiles. The book is based on his interviews with 60 men who admitted to sexually abusing young children, primarily boys.
“They really love the children, read their every wish, organize trips, buy toys and are only comfortable around children,” Lautmann says of the 60 pedophiles he interviewed.
The book became popular with pedophiles for its sympathetic portrayal of adult attraction to children, which Lautmann described as a sexual orientation, and its repeated assertions that children are capable of sexual autonomy.
“For me, it is is very clear that there do exist relationships that do not require any intervention,” Lautmann wrote. “The children cling to their lovers, and can leave them any moment if they choose.”
In his book, Lautmann sought to categorize what types of children pedophiles are attracted to and conducted in-depth surveys of pedophiles on the characteristics, body types, and personality traits they most desired. He featured dozens of direct quotes from the pedophiles he interviewed graphically describing the sex acts they performed with the children they abused, some as young as 4 years old.
“Even with a 4-year-old something can happen,” Lautmann wrote. “The pedophile, of course, wants his penis to be stimulated manually or orally. Only rarely will the children comply with this.”
Lautmann describes cues for “childish consent,” and suggests that pedophiles do not use force to secure compliance from children, but instead allows them to lead sexual activity.
“The vast majority of the encounters described appear to be based on consent,” Lautmann writes, prefacing descriptions of child sexual abuse by his interviewees. He also rejects the “prevailing line,” which he describes as an “unsatisfactory” argument that children are incapable of giving consent, stating that it is “based on deductions from normative foundations.” Lautmann also accuses “campaigns against child abuse” of “profiting” from the “strictness and simplicity” of current laws.
“Excited and attractively dressed, these little people – not to mention all their other qualities – embody something of the sensual side of our world; at least that’s how children are staged today,” writes Lautmann. “Pedophilia brings out something that no one wanted, but which objectively follows from the desire to beautify childhood.”
In 1995, Lautmann repeated the thesis of his book in an article for Pro Familia, a leading NGO which provides resources on sexual health. In Pro Familia’s official magazine, Lautmann’s article states: “Our study defines the term pedophile, distinguishes it from incest, abuse and sadism. We prove that such men exist. The thesis is therefore: The desire for a child is an independent and differentiated sexual form. Pedophilia is therefore a sexual orientation like any other and no longer a perversion.”
An article by Lautmann was again published by Pro Familia in 2013, titled “sexual research can change reality.”
Lautmann was also involved in a 1979 motion calling for the deletion of Section 176 of the German legal code, which would have effectively eliminated the age of consent. Throughout his career, Lautmann has maintained a close relationship with notorious pedophile sexologist Helmut Kentler.
Beginning in 1969, Kentler’s project had placed foster children in the homes of pedophiles in an attempt to test his theory that pedophiles could make good foster fathers. Kentler had theorized that the pedophile’s attraction to children would result in a strong drive to take care of them.
In 2008, Lautmann wrote Kentler’s obituary for the Humanist Union (HU), while sitting on the board of the organization. The Union describes itself as an “independent civil rights organization,” but had maintained coordination with a working group on human sexuality which explicitly advocated for the legalization of adult-child sex.
In addition to serving in a leadership position for the HU, Lautmann was a member of the pedophile lobbying organization Humane Sexuality Working Group (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Humane Sexualität, AHS), a research project which pushed the narrative that “pedosexual contacts” could be “consensual” despite the age and power difference between a child and an adult. Lautmann published for the magazine, advocating for a legal separation between sex offenders and pedophiles. The HU only officially distanced itself from the AHS in 2004 following concerns over optics.
Last year, after public outcry, Lautmann was blocked from participating in the creation of daycare centers coordinated with Berlin’s Senate Department for Youth, Education and Family. He had initially been one of the members of the board overseeing aspects of the project. The appointment of Lautmann to the role was initially celebrated on a notorious pro-pedophile forum, Krumme-13 (K13), which advocates for lowering the age of consent to 12 years old.
As Reduxx has previously reported, the Self-Determination Act has received support from K13 in a recent blog post.
“Why is gender identity also politically important for pedophiles/pedosophists?” K13 asks. “Gender and sexual identity do not only begin on the 14th birthday, when the so-called protection age limit ends. Children can and want to experience their childhood sexuality self-determined beforehand.”
The post continues: “Child sexuality as a whole must no longer be a taboo. Because pedosexual relationships are not conceivable without self-determined child sexuality.”
In October, the German Bundestag accepted a petition from K13, as part of a bundle of similar petitions on the topic of children’s rights. The K13 petition seeks to amend the Basic Law by asserting that children have “the right to have a say in all matters that affect their emotional, mental and physical well-being,” and “the right to the free development of their personality.”
“Sexual self-determination” is included in Article 2 of the Basic Law under the phrase “free development of personality,” a fact that Gieseking made certain to point out to his followers on his website.
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