MEDAL

The MEDAL logo

MEDAL is a map activist group. Its name means "Map Equality, Dignity, and Liberation" and is sometimes spelled as MED@L. It has a site at minorattracted.org and its primary focus is map rights.

History

MEDAL was founded in November 2023 by Steve Carson, a map who has frequented map spaces for many years and noticed lack of primarily rights-focused activism groups. Several other maps joined him and gave MEDAL a pro trans, pro queer, pro neurodivergent lean. Together, they created the Map Bill of Rights, currently featured on the main page of their site:

• Right to social participation. MAPs have the right to fully participate in society and its institutions openly and equally with other citizens (including the right to raise children) without fear of reprisal, and to be free from others’ prejudicial assumptions regarding motives, capacity, or character.
• Right to self-knowledge and accurate representation. MAPs have the right to free access to accurate information and education about themselves and topics involving them, to have that information made available to the general public, to see accurate and respectful portrayals of MAPs in media, and to have their historical and current contributions to society recognized.
• Right to assembly. MAPs have the right to freely and openly gather and give each other support without interference.
• Right to freedom from discrimination. MAPs have the right to be free from educational, employment, and housing discrimination, regardless of the presence of minors, according to the same stipulations as imposed on non-MAPs.
• Right to be recognized. The existence of minor attraction and MAPs should not be excluded from discussions about relevant issues, such as those of sexuality, diversity, ethics, and marginalized minorities. Such inclusion should be done with the same respect that is granted to others.
• Right to self-expression. MAPs have the right to speak openly about their nature, experiences, perspectives, and situation in society without fear of reprisal, for these voices to be recognized as valid, and to be prioritized in all discussions and matters related to minor attraction.
• Right to equal protection. MAPs have the right to receive equal protection under the law, including regarding privacy and safety, and to be treated humanely and ethically when involved in the criminal punishment system. In particular, MAPs have the right to freedom from extreme, sexually or emotionally abusive or degrading sex-specific treatments mandated by the criminal punishment system. Treatments deemed inhumane when used on gay people should never be seen as acceptable on MAPs regardless of behavior.
• Right to sexual outlets. MAPs have the right to sexual outlets. In particular, the right to access or purchase outlets that do not involve actual minors, such as sex dolls/robots, virtual reality depictions, sexual stories, and visual art, without fear of censorship, loss of privacy, or legal action. The criminalization and suppression of such outlets targets MAPs for who they are rather than any harm they cause.
• MAP youth rights. MAP youth have the right to be recognized and accepted by mainstream youth-serving organizations and institutions, and to have their unique needs recognized and treated with sensitivity.

In addition to creating this list, MEDAL helped conceptualization and launch of one of the first offline entertainment and relaxation map events - the MAP Camp.