Only with your help can NAMBLA continue its work.  See if you agree why NAMBLA matters: For 30 years, NAMBLA has been the primary voice testifying to the benevolent aspects of man/boy love. NAMBLA has been, and continues to be, a beacon of moral support for all individuals who feel a natural love for boys. Through our web site and publications, NAMBLA provides a public forum for a diverse range of viewpoints supporting sexual liberation and youth liberation. NAMBLA is the only organization that specifically supports incarcerated individuals who identify as boy lovers or who otherwise agree with our aims. NAMBLA has celebrated the dignity inherent in the natural love of boys. NAMBLA has been a bulwark against the lies and pejoratives of a venal abuse industry and opportunistic politicians and law enforcement officials.  Exposing these lies is important not only for man/boy lovers but for all people who value democracy, since its foundation is a well-informed electorate. NAMBLA has consistently protested ill advised wars that needlessly maim and kill young people and devastate families here and abroad.  Even before it started, NAMBLA warned against the Iraq invasion.  Our warning was on our Web site long before many of the politicians, who belatedly recognized their immense error, echoed our concerns. NAMBLA has spoken out strongly against the shoddy and disrespectful treatment afforded youth in our society and the resulting high rates of child and youth poverty, neglect and alienation. NAMBLA has consistently highlighted injustices and harm in age of consent laws.  Instead of protecting young people, these laws have done the very opposite. What Is Man/Boy Love?

Man/Boy Love: Propaganda versus reality To explain man/boy love today, one must first explain what it is not: It is not what you view on television or read in newspapers. It’s not what you hear on Oprah or Geraldo, nor is it the propaganda put out by police and politicians. It’s the love of a man for a boy, and of a boy for a man. Enjoyable, consensual, beautiful. The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name The "Love that dare not speak its name" in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the "Love that dare not speak its name," and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so, the world does not understand. The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it. ~ Oscar Wilde, playwright Who We Are As never before, our society is beginning to recognize the value and richness of human diversity.  The manifold nature of our humanity appears in the emotional, spiritual, and physical attractions between people.  Attractions between men and boys can be found in every society, crossing lines of race, age, temperament and occupation.  They form a sure basis for mentoring and friendship traditions the world over.  Man/boy love is exceptional only for the degree to which it is still misunderstood in cultures derived from Northwestern Europe.  Most man/boy relationships are based on mutual respect and affection, and strongly desired by both partners.  Such relationships do not harm anyone, and often entail many benefits for both man and boy.  Boy-lovers and boys alike respond to the needs of those they love — needs for affection, understanding, and freedom.  Who we are is perhaps best understood from Dr. John Money’s account of two boys, who speak about how they view their adult lovers: Andy – “Just as normal as anybody else.  He is like a second father to me.”  Burt – “He’s neat; and he’s nice, and gives me more respect than anyone ever has ...  he treats me like an adult, not like my parents treat me.  To me, he’s my best friend.” Frequently Asked Questions About NAMBLA and Man/Boy Love Q:  What do you seek to accomplish? A:  NAMBLA was formed in the belief that if people knew more about the actual nature of typical man/boy love relationships, that there would be less unjust scapegoating and persecution of boys and men who have such relationships. Q:  Why do you oppose age-of-consent laws? A:  Opposing age-of-consent laws is not our only focus; it is one part of our broader criticism of North American social and legal practices.  We believe that these laws do great harm to people and relationships that do not deserve to feel the crushing weight of the heavy hand of the law.  Just as important, age-of-consent laws do not adequately protect young people.  They have often been applied arbitrarily and unjustly, and have long been used to terrorize gay males.  Gay youth in particular have been targets of extreme persecution through the selective application of age-of-consent laws. Q:  What is this “ageism” you refer to? A:  Ageism refers to age-based discrimination, and includes the tendency to discount and devalue the feelings and opinions of children and youth.  This tendency pervades our society and has implications in every area of a young person’s daily life: at home, at work, while shopping, hanging out with friends or going places, and especially at school.  It has the socially corrosive -- and costly -- effect of breeding fear and distrust between the generations and isolating them from each other.