From the Greek andros (man) and philos (love).
Androphiles are men who love men in contrast to other forms of male-male sexuality in
which a difference of age is typical. For example, the androphile mollies who sought other men as
sexual partners differed from rakes, adult men who sometimes paired with teenage boys.
In non-Western cultures, many forms of same-sex relationships between adults and youths
occur, but androphile relationships typify most modern Western forms of same sex
relations, perhaps as a result of the rise of egalitarian ideals. In fact, the
pederastic relationships
that were honored as a special, higher kind of love by some ancient Greek philosophers are
now illegal in most Western countries.
