Biography:James Cantor

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Short description: American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist
James M. Cantor
photograph
James Cantor in 2010
Born
Manhasset,[citation needed] New York, U.S.
EducationMA, PhD
Alma mater
OccupationPsychologist specializing in sexology
Known forSex research, atypical sexualities
Website

James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias.[1][2][3]

A former senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto,[4][1] Cantor was editor-in-chief of the journal Sexual Abuse from 2010 to 2014.[5] His research on brain differences in pedophiles has been cited as evidence that pedophilia is something unchangeable and that people are probably born with it.[6]

Early life and education

Cantor grew up on Long Island, New York, and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI),[7] where he majored in computer science with minors in mathematics and physics. During his studies at RPI, he became a resident adviser in the student dormitories, where he provided peer counseling. Finding that he enjoyed doing this more than his studies, he decided to pursue a doctorate in psychology.[8]

After obtaining his MA in psychology from Boston University, he was awarded a PhD in clinical psychology by McGill University in 1999, supervised by Irv Binik and James Pfaus, for using oxytocin to reverse fluoxetine-induced sexual dysfunction in male rats.[9][10]

Career

Positions held

After completing his PhD, Cantor worked in a psychiatric hospital that contained a sexual-behavior clinic and "phallometric laboratory" to assess men for pedophilia.[11] In 1998, he began his postdoctoral training at CAMH as an intern under Ray Blanchard.[7] He went on to become a senior scientist with CAMH and an associate professor in the University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry.[4]

As of January 2021, he sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sexual Aggression[12] and Archives of Sexual Behavior.[13] Until August 2020, he sat on the editorial board of the Journal of Sex Research; he resigned from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, which publishes the journal, in protest against "the extremism that has taken over public discussion of trans issues".[3][14] From 2010 to 2014, he was editor-in-chief of the journal Sexual Abuse.[5]

Research

Cantor's research centers on the development of sexual interests, including sexual orientation and paraphilias.[4] He has published on sex addiction, and atypical sexualities, including masochism, furries, vorarephilia, and others.[11] According to Laura Kane, writing in the Toronto Star, Cantor's work has "greatly influenced the view among researchers that pedophilia has a biological basis".[15] Using magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brains of male pedophiles, Cantor reported differences between them and the brains of non-pedophile offenders.[16][17][18] He found a significant decrease in the amount of white matter in their brains compared to control subjects, in addition to having lower IQ, and being shorter than average. This was interpreted as suggesting a link to early brain development. Cantor insists that these findings do not imply that pedophiles should not be held legally responsible for their actions.[19]

Cantor is one of the co-authors of a 2008 paper by Ray Blanchard, which proposed replacing the pedophilia diagnosis in DSM-5 with pedohebophilic disorder,[20] adding hebephilia as part of the definition, and differentiating it into three subtypes: pedophilic type (attracted to children younger than 11), hebephilic (attracted to children between 11–14), and pedohebephilic type (attracted to both age groups mentioned).[21] The main argument for this addition was that the DSM-IV-TR definition of pedophilia is not sufficient to cover attraction to "physically immature persons".[20] The proposal was criticized by Richard Green and Karen Franklin, mainly on the grounds that it pathologizes reproductively valid behavior in order to uphold current social and legal standards.[22][23] The proposal did not appear in DSM-5.

Cantor's research suggests that sex addiction represents a variety of distinct problems, rather than a single unitary phenomenon. His typology of people seeking help for sex addiction includes paraphilic hypersexuals, avoidant masturbators, chronic adulterers, people with sexual guilt, and others.[24][25]

Views

Pedophilia

On CNN in 2012, Cantor expressed the view that society should make it easier for persons who are sexually attracted to children but have never committed any sexual offenses to receive support and assistance in staying offense free. In his view, it is the sexual offenses (child molestation) and not the sexual attractions (pedophilia) that merit social sanctions. "One cannot choose to not be a pedophile, but one can choose to not be a child molester."[26]

Cantor has stated that, in his experience, pedophiles who commit sexual offenses against children "do so when they feel the most desperate—when they have nothing to lose, nothing in their lives worth protecting". He recommends that therapists use cognitive behavioral therapy and other techniques to reduce feelings of isolation and hopelessness so that pedophiles can lead "productive, offense-free lives".[27][28] Cantor stated that the online group Virtuous Pedophiles—a group for pedophiles who acknowledge having a sexual interest in children, and whose members share the belief that sexual activity between adults and children is wrong and always will be—could help prevent child sexual abuse.[29][30] He states that pedophiles "experience desire, affection, and heartbreak as strongly as anybody else. It is a deep, dark, long-lasting ache, and they can’t tell a soul."[7] He has rejected any linkage between homosexuality and pedophilia: "It's quite solidly shown in the scientific literature that there is absolutely no association between being a gay man and being a pedophile."[31] He vocally opposed the Boy Scout bans on openly gay participants.[32]

Sex addiction

In an interview about sex addiction and hypersexuality, Cantor expressed mixed views. When asked if he believed sex addiction should be considered a mental illness, he said yes, but added that "I've seen a lot of people use the term 'sex addiction' for a lot of different reasons. It's very easy to imagine that someone would use the term to curry favour with the public, with the media or during a divorce, but this is hardly the only diagnosis that this happens to. People blame many different kinds of moral failings on many different things. But we also want to be very careful and not make the opposite mistake. Just because there are people who abuse the term and the concept, doesn't mean that there's no such thing."[33]

Cantor has expressed dislike for labels being used to describe sexual addiction. He has said, "Because we know so little about people wanting to reduce their sexual behavior, it's important to avoid terms that assume one or another theory. The term 'sex addiction' implies that it works like substance addictions, even though we have no evidence for that. The term 'compulsive sexual behavior' implies that it's related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, even though we have no evidence for that either. I typically use the term 'hypersexuality' because it does not imply any theory or treatment, but that term isn't perfect either: there are people who refer themselves as 'hyper-' sexual, even though they engage in less (sometimes even much less) sexual activity than most other people."[34]

Transsexuality

Cantor has written that transsexuality is a phenomenon of the brain, stating that MRI research has verified the Blanchard theory of there being two different kinds of male-to-female transsexuals. One of these types (called "homosexual transsexuals") have brains like gay men, which possess some features more common among women, and another type (called "autogynephilic transsexuals" or "heterosexual transsexuals") which possess features that differ from typical brains, but not in a feminized direction.[35][36] Cantor supports a "bill of transsexual rights": "People choose whether to transition, but one does not choose to be dysphoric about the sex they were born into."[37]

BDSM

Referring to research comparing BDSM practitioners with non-BDSM counterparts, Cantor said what was interesting was "how few differences and how small the differences were between these groups." He added, "Overall, it doesn't look like there is anything special that makes a person curious about BSDM. Instead, it seems that people who are extroverted and open to experience in general will experiment with all kinds of things—sex being just one of them."[38]

When asked by columnist Dan Savage to respond to a mother concerned about her son developing into a sexual sadist, Cantor wrote, "It is true that psychopathic sex killers have violent sexual fantasies, but it doesn't work the other way around: Having violent sexual fantasies doesn't mean anyone is likely developing into a psychopathic sex killer. The great majority of people who enjoy violent (or violent-looking) porn are into healthy BDSM. Going just by the numbers, this is (by far) the most likely outcome….Healthy members of BDSM/kink communities are essentially the opposite of psychopaths. Although they are sexually aroused by violent (or violent-looking) images, they are very highly attuned to the feelings of their partners and very much want to take extreme care never to hurt them. Their arousal includes the idea that what they're doing is providing pleasure, even though it might not look pleasurable to vanilla folks."[39]

Public engagement

Cantor maintains a blog about sex research issues, Sexology Today.[40] He has been quoted in the media about several high-profile cases of unusual sexual behavior. Such cases have included politician Anthony Weiner,[41] entertainers Bill Cosby[42] and Mark Salling,[43] former Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle,[2] and incel attacker Alek Minassian.[44][45] Cantor delivered the keynote address at the founding of the Netherlands Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers in 2015.[46]

In 2016, Cantor and his research were the subject of a documentary, I, Pedophile, which featured Cantor alongside interviews with male pedophiles.[47] The program followed him to the Prevention Project Dunkelfeld in Berlin, the other only centre in the world conducting research into the neurological basis of pedophilia. In 2017, the program was nominated for but did not win the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television award for best social/political documentary.[48]

Selected works

  • Cantor, J. M. et al. (October 2016). "Independent Component Analysis of Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pedophiles". The Journal of Sexual Medicine 13 (10): 1546–1554. doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.08.004. PMID 27641922. 
  • Cantor, J. M. (2015). "In his own words: Response to Moser". Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12, 2502–2503.
  • Cantor, J. M. (2012). "Is Homosexuality a Paraphilia? The Evidence for and Against". Archives of Sexual Behavior 41 (1): 237–247. doi:10.1007/s10508-012-9900-3. PMID 22282324. 
  • Cantor, J. et al. (2008). "Cerebral white matter deficiencies in pedophilic men". Journal of Psychiatric Research 42 (3): 167–183. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2007.10.013. PMID 18039544. 
  • Seto, M. C.; Cantor, J. M.; Blanchard, R. (2006). "Child pornography offenses are a valid diagnostic indicator of pedophilia". Journal of Abnormal Psychology 115 (3): 610–5. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.3.610. PMID 16866601. 
  • Cantor, J. M. et al. (2005). "Quantitative reanalysis of aggregate data on IQ in sexual offenders". Psychological Bulletin 131 (4): 555–68. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.4.555. PMID 16060802. 
  • Cantor, J. M. et al. (2004). "Intelligence, Memory, and Handedness in Pedophilia". Neuropsychology 18 (1): 3–14. doi:10.1037/0894-4105.18.1.3. PMID 14744183. 
  • Cantor, J. M., Binik, Y. M., & Pfaus, J. G. (1999). "Chronic fluoxetine inhibits sexual behavior in the male rat: Reversal with oxytocin". Psychopharmacology, 144, 355–362. PMID 10435408 doi:10.1007/s002130051018
  • Pilkington, N. W., & Cantor, J. M. (1996). "Perceptions of heterosexual bias in professional psychology programs: A survey of graduate students". Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 27, 604–612. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.27.6.604

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "James M. Cantor, PhD". jamescantor.org.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kaplan, Sarah (August 20, 2015). "The Jared Fogle case: Why we understand so little about child sex abuse". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/20/why-we-understand-so-little-about-pedophilia-and-sex-crimes-against-children/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Blackwell, Tom (August 25, 2020). "Top Canadian sex researcher quits scientific group after being blasted for views on transgender issues". The National Post.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Dr. James M. Cantor". University of Toronto. http://www.psychiatry.utoronto.ca/people/dr-james-m-cantor/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Seto, M. (2015). "Looking Back, Looking Forward". Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment 27 (2): 147–150. doi:10.1177/1079063215575781. 
  6. ↑ Bleyer, Jennifer (September 24, 2012). "How can we stop pedophiles". Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2012/09/stop_childhood_sexual_abuse_how_to_treat_pedophilia_.2.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lewsen, Simon (November 18, 2019). "Why Would Someone Choose to Be a Monster?". The Walrus.
  8. ↑ Dingfelder, S. (June 2009). "James M. Cantor, PhD". Monitor on Psychology 40 (6): 24. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/06/random.aspx. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
  9. ↑ Cantor, J. M., Binik, Y. M., & Pfaus, J. G. (1999). "Chronic fluoxetine inhibits sexual behavior in the male rat: Reversal with oxytocin". Psychopharmacology, 144, 355–362. PMID 10435408 doi:10.1007/s002130051018
  10. ↑ "James George Pfaus, PhD Curriculum Vitae". Concordia University. p. 7. http://csbn.concordia.ca/Faculty/Pfaus/PFAUS_CV.pdf. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cantor, James. "My Research". http://www.jamescantor.org/my-research.html. 
  12. ↑ "Editorial board". Journal of Sexual Aggression. Taylor & Francis. http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=editorialBoard&journalCode=tjsa20. 
  13. ↑ "Editorial Board". Archives of Sexual Behavior. Springer Science+Business Media. https://www.springer.com/journal/10508/editors?detailsPage. 
  14. ↑ Cantor, James (August 10, 2020). "Open Letter of Resignation from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)". sexologytoday.org.
  15. ↑ Kane, Laura (22 December 2013). "Is pedophilia a sexual orientation?". Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/12/22/is_pedophilia_a_sexual_orientation.html. 
  16. ↑ Bacic, Jadranka (2009). "MRIs link pedophilia to early brain development". Canadian Psychiatry Aujourd'hui 5 (3): 6. http://publications.cpa-apc.org/aujourdhui/2009/06/index.html. 
  17. ↑ "Brain wiring link to paedophilia". BBC News. November 28, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7116506.stm. 

    "Leading Edge". BBC Radio 4. November 29, 2007. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/leadingedge_20071129.shtml. 

  18. ↑ Doolittle, Robyn (July 17, 2009). "Is pedophilia a product of nature or nurture?". Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/article/667678. 
  19. ↑ Cantor, J.; Kabani, N.; Christensen, B. et al. (2008). "Cerebral white matter deficiencies in pedophilic men". Journal of Psychiatric Research 42 (3): 167–183. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2007.10.013. PMID 18039544. 
    Blanchard, R.; Kolla, N. J.; Cantor, J. M. et al. (2007). "IQ, Handedness, and Pedophilia in Adult Male Patients Stratified by Referral Source". Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment 19 (3): 285–309. doi:10.1177/107906320701900307. PMID 17634757. 

    Cantor, J. M.; Kuban, M. E.; Blak, T. et al. (2007). "Physical Height in Pedophilic and Hebephilic Sexual Offenders". Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment 19 (4): 395–407. doi:10.1177/107906320701900405. PMID 17952597. 

  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Blanchard, Ray; Cantor, James M.; Wherrett; Kuban; Cantor; Blak; Dickey; Klassen (2008). "Pedophilia, Hebephilia, and the DSM-V". Archives of Sexual Behavior 38 (3): 335–350. doi:10.1007/s10508-008-9399-9. PMID 18686026. 
  21. ↑ Frieden, Joyce (2009-12-01). "DSM-V work on paraphilias begins in earnest.". Clinical Psychiatry News. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DSM-V+work+on+paraphilias+begins+in+earnest-a0215844762. 
  22. ↑ Green, Richard (2010). "Sexual Preference for 14-Year-Olds as a Mental Disorder: You Can't Be Serious!!". Archives of Sexual Behavior 39 (3): 585–586. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9602-7. PMID 20204488. 
  23. ↑ Franklin, K. (2010). "Hebephilia: Quintessence of diagnostic pretextuality". Behavioral Sciences & the Law 28 (6): 751–768. doi:10.1002/bsl.934. PMID 21110392. 
  24. ↑ Cantor, J. M.; Klein, C.; Lykins, A.; Rullo, J. E.; Thaler, L.; Walling, B. R. (2013). "A Treatment-Oriented Typology of Self-Identified Hypersexuality Referrals". Archives of Sexual Behavior 42 (5): 883–893. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0085-1. PMID 23455658. 
  25. ↑ Sutton, K. S.; Stratton, N.; Pytyck, J.; Kolla, N. J.; Cantor, J. M. (2014). "Patient Characteristics by Type of Hypersexuality Referral: A Quantitative Chart Review of 115 Consecutive Male Cases". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 41 (6): 1–18. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2014.935539. PMID 25032736. 
  26. ↑ Cantor, James (June 21, 2012). "Do pedophiles deserve sympathy?". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/21/opinion/cantor-pedophila-sandusky/index.html. 
  27. ↑ Cantor, J. M. (2014). "'Gold-star' Pedophiles in General Sex Therapy Practice". Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy, Fifth Edition. New York: The Guilford Press. pp. 219–234 (222–223). 
  28. ↑ "'The most viscerally hated group on earth': Documentary explores how intervention can stop pedophiles". The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/the-most-viscerally-hated-group-on-earth-documentary-explores-how-intervention-can-stop-pedophiles/article29072878/. 
  29. ↑ Clarke-Flory, Tracy (July 1, 2012). "Meet pedophiles who mean well: The men behind VirtuousPedophiles.com are attracted to children but devoted to denying their desires". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/2012/07/01/meet_pedophiles_who_mean_well/. 
  30. ↑ "Four Misconceptions About Pedophiles". CBC. March 10, 2016. http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/features/four-misconceptions-about-pedophiles. 
  31. ↑ Whiteman, Hilary (2010-04-14). "Gay outrage over cardinal's child abuse comment". CNN. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-14/world/vatican.homosexuality.pedophilia_1_pedophilia-gay-rights-cardinal-tarcisio-bertone?_s=PM:WORLD. 
  32. ↑ Hennessy-Fiske, Molly (6 February 2013). "Boy Scouts board delays vote on lifting ban on gays". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/06/nation/la-na-boy-scout-gays-20130207. 
  33. ↑ Anderson, Scott (2010). "Addicted to Love". University of Toronto Magazine. http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/leading-edge/dr-james-cantor-sex-addiction/. /
  34. ↑ Auteri, Steph (August 2014). "What You Need To Know About... Hypersexuality". AASECT Contemporary Sexuality Newsletter. http://www.aasect.org/what-you-need-know-about-hypersexuality. 
  35. ↑ Cantor, James M. (2011), "New MRI studies support the Blanchard typology of male-to-female transsexualism", Archives of Sexual Behavior 40 (5): 863–864, doi:10.1007/s10508-011-9805-6, PMID 21739338 
  36. ↑ Guillamon, A; Junque, C; Gómez-Gil, E (2016). "A review of the status of brain structure research in transsexualism". Archives of Sexual Behavior 45 (7): 1615–1648. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0768-5. PMID 27255307. 
  37. ↑ Cantor, James. "A Bill of Transsexual Rights". http://www.jamescantor.org/bill-of-rights.html. 
  38. ↑ Berliet, Melanie (10 February 2014). "The Truth about BDSM: American may be a lot kinkier than you think". Pacific Standard. http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/truth-bdsm-america-may-lot-kinkier-think-73054/. 
  39. ↑ Savage, Dan (10 February 2015). "The Ethical Sadist". The Stranger. https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=21679058. 
  40. ↑ Connor, Kevin (January 21, 2018). "Transgenders grow out of it: Doc". Toronto Sun. https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/transgenders-grow-out-of-it-doc. 
  41. ↑ Miller, Lisa (26 July 2013). "Diagnosing Anthony Weiner: Sick or Just Plain Stupid?". The New Yorker. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/07/diagnosing-anthony-weiner.html. Retrieved 18 June 2018. 
  42. ↑ Carey, Benedict (December 8, 2014). "When a Rapist's Weapon Is a Drug". https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/health/when-rapists-weapon-is-a-drug.html. 
  43. ↑ Miller, Korin (December 29, 2015). "Mark Salling Arrested for Child Porn: Is He a Pedophile?". https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mark-salling-child-porn-215241330.html. 
  44. ↑ Rogers, Brook A. (April 17, 2018). "The online 'incel' culture is real – and dangerous". New York Post. https://nypost.com/2018/04/27/the-online-incel-culture-is-real-and-dangerous/. 
  45. ↑ Yang, J. (April 25, 2018). "Number cited in cryptic Facebook post matches Alek Minassian's military ID". Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/25/number-cited-in-cryptic-facebook-post-matches-alek-minassians-military-id-source.html. 
  46. ↑ Van Eijck, Guido (January 31, 2015). "Begrip voor/van pedofilie" (in nl-NL). https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/begrip-voor-van-pedofilie~bb67620a/. 
  47. ↑ "Look At The Underworld of Pedophiles And New Therapies to Keep Children Safe From Victimization". CBC. http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/i-pedophile. 
  48. ↑ "I, Pedophile". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. January 3, 2017. http://www.academy.ca/2017/i-pedophile/. 
    "Winners". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, March 21, 2017.

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