James Cantor

James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias.

In 1998, he began his postdoctoral training at CAMH as an intern under Ray Blanchard.

He went on to become a senior scientist with CAMH and an associate professor in the University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry.

As of January 2021, he sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sexual Aggression and Archives of Sexual Behavior.

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.

After completing his PhD, Cantor worked in a psychiatric hospital that contained a sexual-behavior clinic and "phallometric laboratory" to assess men for pedophilia.

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, 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).

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".

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.

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.

A former senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Cantor was editor-in-chief of the journal Sexual Abuse from 2010 to 2014.

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.

Cantor grew up on Long Island, New York, and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 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.

From 2010 to 2014, he was editor-in-chief of the journal Sexual Abuse.

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."

Cantor believes that 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".

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.

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."

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."

He vocally opposed the Boy Scout bans on openly gay participants.

In an interview about sex addiction and hypersexuality, Cantor expressed mixed views.

In August 2020, Cantor left the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS), after conflicts with other members over transgender issues.

According to an article in the National Post, this occurred after Cantor was temporarily banned for an alleged pattern of bullying behavior.

In an essay written to the organization, Cantor referenced J. K. Rowling's views on transgender topics.

Cantor also resigned from an editorial position for the Journal of Sex Research.

The PinkNews article covering the events noted Cantor's support for LGB Alliance, often considered a transphobic or trans-exclusionary organization.

Cantor's research centers on the development of sexual interests, including sexual orientation and paraphilias.

He has published on sex addiction, and atypical sexualities, including masochism, furries, vorarephilia, and others.

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".

Using magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brains of male pedophiles, Cantor reported differences between them and the brains of non-pedophile offenders.

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.