i have learned that cultural and political information about youthlove is more valuable to YLs' mental health than the kind of therapy some advocate for could ever be. i've shared the reading list with a handful of people directly now and the most common reply i get some time later once they've started reading is that the info has been helpful to their view of themself and to their outlook on society. much of the mental struggles of many YLs come from ideas in our culture/social reality - supportive but substanceless therapy is at best a failed attempt to address the symptom, cultural and political education addresses the cause directly
@halos@youjo.love
@applejack i think the term is actually a step forwards for people who want simpler and more human communication about sexuality (not needless proliferation of often clinical-sounding categories). i can just combine any word + lover and it makes sense intuitively. it's much simpler than having a bunch of words like 'pedophile' 'nepiophile' 'hebephile' etc. also, its not exactly new, words like boylover have been in use since the second half of the 20th century.
