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when I was eleven, I was first molested by an adult male neighbor; it continued for over a year. I knew how I should have felt and what I should have done, but the truth was that I enjoyed being with him in that way. is it normal that I felt (feel) that way?
Just because you were sexually abused, doesn't mean you were done so against your will or violently.
I imagine your experience is more common than we realise, simply because most victims would not wish to admit that. It could be misconstrued as absolving the guilty parties, and of course it is a private detail most outside those involved would not be privy to anyway.
We often imagine child abuse in a sort of cartoonish black and white situation - the nasty paedophile grabbing the innocent child and forcing them to do horrible things. The reality is sometimes more grey than that.
Of course, it makes no difference on the legal implications, and shouldn't do so. The adult makes the choice to engage in sexual activity with a child legally incapable of consenting. Regardless of whether or not it was a mutually pleasurable experience, the basic principle that a kid cannot agree to sex is an important safe-guard for children.
Anyway, rant over. I honestly don't think any of us can say if it's normal or not, because, as I say, most would not admit it publicly if it were true. But it's a preferable position for you to be in from a victim's point of view - you can probably move on easily, without the same lingering repercussions some victims of entirely unpleasant, traumatic abuse will have to tackle :)
That's actually really normal. That's why it's even worse for the kids that are being molested, they know it's supposed to be horrible but sometimes they really liked it or they loved the person that was doing it to them so they think maybe it wasn't rape or that they'll be the ones getting in trouble if they tell anyone.
No matter how much you enjoyed it, no matter how hard you came, no matter how much you loved the person doing it to you, if you were 11-12 and they were an adult, it was rape. if you didn't say yes, is was rape.
Now you are grown up have you reported him to the police or at least burned his house down?
Of course it's normal. Children have sexuality too.
What isn't normal, is to think that child molestation is ok.
You enjoyed sex. That's pretty normal. It's also healthy that you aren't hung up on being a victim.
I wouldn't say it was normal, but it is understandable. Many children who feel unloved and/or unwanted welcome the affection of an abuser, even though they know it is wrong. I hope you can grow to understand what was done you, why you allowed it, and to deal with the guilt and shame that comes with it.
Whatever you felt is completely acceptable. You were never in the wrong, no matter if you liked it or loathed it. You weren't old enough to know he shouldn't have been doing that to you. Regardless of the fact that you feel ok that it happened, he was definitely in the wrong.
Apparently, it's not uncommon for people to enjoy abuse at their abusers hands because they may feel that this person really loves them or is the only person who understands them,etc. You were manipulated and what this person did was illegal. Now that you are an adult, whether you liked it or not, you really should report the abuse.
Nothing about sexual abuse of a child is normal, but yes your feeling at the time might be normal, because of the grooming and desire and excitement, and attention you got was overwhelming. I feel very sorry for what happened to you, but glad you learned to cope with it, and mature into a special person!
Do you really even have to ask this? You were molested. Is it normal to molest children... WELL NO why they have laws against it. They took advantage of you.