Female Sexual Predators: Is There a Double Standard?

Just about everybody has seen or at least heard of MSNBC's "To Catch a Predator" show, where real-life men are exposed as potential sexual predators. These are guys who are drawn in while chatting on sites like MySpace.com with individuals they think are underage girls or boys, but turn out to be undercover cops.

They then go to the address they believe is that of the supposed minor, with the obvious intent of having sex, only to be met by MSNBC's Chris Hansen, who reveals to them that they have been captured on camera. Of course, the men either go into a huge act of denial or apologize profusely, promising not to do it again or just run out. Upon leaving, they are then taken in by the police, charged and arrested.

Amazingly, many of these predators don't fit the image most of us have had about what molesters of children are supposed to look" like. Several who were caught by the sting operation were respected professional people, like doctors, businessmen, those in the entertainment business, in the military, etc. There was even one who was part of Homeland Security. Whatever their background is, none of them ever appears to be shy or have any personal moral misgivings about the idea of having sex with underage girls or boys. They are arrogant enough to think that they are not going to get caught. Any sense of remorse they have seems to be based solely on the fact that they have been busted and exposed to the world as the scum they are..

We also hear reports of males in trusted authority positions, such as teachers, coaches and the like, who are discovered to be pedophiles, as well.

Sexual predators, however, are not limited anymore to just the male gender. More and more females are capturing headlines for their equally despicable conduct with kids. There is a big difference, however, in how female predators are treated, in comparison to males who do the same thing.

Cases in point include:

Mary Kay Latourneau