1. Atypical Sexual Variations
Chapter 17
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2. Atypical Sexual Variations
Normal Versus Deviant Sexual Behavior
The Paraphilias
Theoretical Perspectives
Treatment of the Paraphilias
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3. Normal Versus Deviant Sexual Behavior
Defining Normal Sexual Behavior
Frequency of the behavior
Cultural considerations
Persistent preference for nongenital sexual outlets
Atypical variations
Unusual patterns of arousal or behavior
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The Paraphilias
Paraphilia
A diagnostic category used by the American Psychiatric Association
Used to describe atypical patterns of sexual arousal or behavior that become problematic to the individual or society
Urges are recurrent and are either acted on or are distressing to the individual.
Milder forms of these behaviors may be practiced by many people, however.
Mostly occur among men
Some are harmless and victimless, while others can have serious effects on others
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The Paraphilias
Fetishism
Inanimate object elicits sexual arousal
Common objects are articles of clothing and materials made of rubber, leather, silk, or fur.
Partialism
Related to fetishism in which sexual arousal is exaggeratedly associated with a particular body part
Such as feet, breasts, or buttocks
Most fetishes and partialisms are harmless.
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The Paraphilias
Transvestism
Person repeatedly cross-dresses to achieve sexual arousal or gratification or is troubled by persistent, recurring urges to cross-dress
Almost all transvestites are men.
Both gay and heterosexual males report transvestism.
It is not the same as transsexualism.
Transsexuals cross-dress because of discomfort with their anatomic sex and desire to be the other sex
However, some transvestites and some transsexuals may be motivated by autogynephilia
A fetish in which men are sexually stimulated by fantasies that their own bodies are female
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The Paraphilias
Exhibitionism
Urges and fantasies involving exposing one’s genitals to unsuspecting strangers
Provides sexual arousal or gratification
Urges are either acted upon or are disturbing
Exposure to exhibitionism is common.
A sample of college women found that one-third had been approached by a “flasher.”
Exhibitionists usually are not physically threatening.
Victims may experience negative psychological consequences.
Often lonely and sexually repressed
Some progress to more serious crimes of sexual aggression
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The Paraphilias
Obscene Telephone Calling
Sexual arousal results from shocking victims
Telephone scatologia
A DSM label for a paraphilia characterized by the making of obscene telephone calls
Usually socially inadequate heterosexual men
Voyeurism
Characterized by observing unsuspecting strangers who are naked, disrobing, or engaged in sexual relations
Most, but not all, voyeurs are nonviolent.
Often feel inadequate and lack social & sexual skills
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The Paraphilias
Sexual Masochism
Characterized by the desire or need for pain or humiliation to enhance sexual arousal
Bondage
Ritual restraint, as by shackles
Although some masochists are women, it is much more common among men.
Masochists may form relationships with sexual sadists, people who become sexually aroused by inflicting pain or humiliation.
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The Paraphilias
Hypoxyphilia
Person seeks to enhance sexual arousal, usually during masturbation, by becoming deprived of oxygen
Sexual Sadism
Characterized by the desire or need to inflict pain or humiliation on others to enhance sexual arousal
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The Paraphilias
Sadomasochism (S&M)
A mutually gratifying sexual interaction between consenting sex partners
Sexual arousal is associated with the infliction and receipt of pain or humiliation.
Occasional, mild S&M is common among the general population.
S&M subculture exists in the U.S.
S&M fantasies likely begin in childhood.
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The Paraphilias
Frotteurism
Characterized by rubbing against or touching a nonconsenting person
Often takes place in crowded places such as buses, subways, or elevators
Also known as “mashing”
Reported exclusively among males
Toucherism
Related to frotteurism and characterized by the persistent urge to fondle nonconsenting strangers
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The Paraphilias
Other Paraphilias
Zoophilia
Characterized by urges and fantasies involving sexual contact with animals
Bestiality
Involves actual sexual contact with an animal
Necrophilia
Characterized by desire for sexual activity with corpses
3 types
Regular: has sex with a dead person
Necrophilic homicide: person commits murder to obtain corpse for sexual purposes
Necrophilic fantasy: person only fantasizes about sex with corpse
Rare paraphilia & necrophiles are seriously disturbed
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The Paraphilias
Less common paraphilias
Klismaphilia
Sexual arousal is derived from the use of enemas
Coprophilia
Sexual arousal is attained in connection with feces
Urophilia
Sexual arousal is associated with urine
These paraphilias may have childhood origins.
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15. Theoretical Perspectives
Biological Perspectives
Examines factors such as the endocrine system and the nervous system
Electroencephalograph (EEG) data show that paraphilic men’s brains respond differently to sexual stimuli and paraphilic stimuli compared to control subjects.
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16. Theoretical Perspectives
Psychoanalytic Perspectives
Paraphilias are psychological defenses.
Usually against unresolved castration anxiety due to the Oedipus complex
Suppressed or repressed feelings of sexual guilt and shame
Learning-Theory Perspectives
Paraphilias are learned behaviors acquired through experience.
An object or situation may be associated with sexual arousal, fantasies, or orgasm
Modeling or observational learning also may play a role.
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17. Theoretical Perspectives
Sociological Perspectives
Focus on the social context, the effects of the group, and society in general
An Integrated Perspective: The “Lovemap”
Acknowledges the multiple origins of paraphilias
Money (2000) proposes that childhood experiences create a lovemap
A mental representation of the idealized lover and the idealized erotic activity with the lover
Lovemaps can become distorted by early traumas.
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18. Treatment of Paraphilias
Issues in treatment
Many people with paraphilias don’t want treatment & don’t seek it voluntarily
Ethical issues arise when providers are asked to contribute to judicial processes
Providers realize they are likely to not be successful with resistant clients
Perceived responsibility
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19. Treatment of Paraphilias
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Focuses on resolving unconscious conflicts, typically Oedipal, believed to lead to pathologies such as paraphilias
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Focuses directly on changing behavior
Systematic desensitization
A method for terminating the connection between a stimulus and an inappropriate response
Relaxation replaces sexual arousal
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20. Treatment of Paraphilias
Aversion therapy
A method for terminating undesirable sexual behavior in which the behavior is paired repeatedly with an aversive stimulus such as electric shock so that a conditioned aversion develops
Covert sensitization
A form of aversion therapy in which thoughts of engaging in undesirable behavior are paired repeatedly with imagined aversive stimuli
Used with pedophiles, a paraphilia involving sexual interest in children
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21. Treatment of Paraphilias
Social skills training
Behavior therapy methods for building social skills that rely on a therapist’s coaching and practice
Used to help individuals relate to the other gender
Orgasmic reconditioning
A method for strengthening the connection between sexual arousal and appropriate sexual stimuli by repeatedly pairing the desired stimuli with orgasm
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22. Treatment of Paraphilias
Medical Approaches
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Used to treat exhibitionism, voyeurism, and fetishism
May treat the obsessive-compulsive quality of paraphilias
Anti-androgen drug
A chemical substance that reduces the sex drive by lowering the level of testosterone in the bloodstream
Depo-Provera is used in the treatment of sex offenders
Suppresses, but does not eliminate, sexual desire in men
Unlike surgical castration (removal of the testes), the effects of this treatment can be reversed.
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