Society’s criteria for judging paraphilias Clinical criteria for paraphilias Coercive and Non-coercive paraphilias

Introduction Paraphilias are more complex than just strange love acts or abnormal love Mental health professionals have their own criteria for diagnosing paraphilias A sexual activity may be considered a paraphilia if all three of the following are met: 1. The behavior is engaged in for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification 2. The behavior tends to be compulsive 3. A clear majority of people in a given cultural setting would consider the behavior to be strange, deviant, or abnormal

Compulsive behavior Any behavior, sexual or not, may become compulsive A compulsive behavior is one that controls the person instead of the other way around Usually it is a behavior the person would like to stop doing but feels powerless to control The compulsive component is manifested in the inability to stop the undesirable behavior They may vow to themselves that they will never do it again, but the obsessive thoughts creep back, the desire and need escalate, and they are drawn back to the behavior once again

Compulsive behavior Paraphilias are sexual behaviors that would strike most people as strange or abnormal This may sound subjective – what is strange to one person is mainstream to another – who’s to say what is abnormal or normal? If you ask 100 people about any of the paraphilias discussed the vast majority will agree that they are strange or abnormal Zoophilia? Necrophilia?

Society’s criteria for judging paraphilias We constantly make judgments about our behavior and that of others A paraphilia will be more likely to be judged negatively by a society when it is seen as meeting one or more of the following criteria: 1. The behavior is harmful or destructive to the person engaging in it – for example a person who participates in extreme sexual masochism to the point of serious injury, scarring, or broken bones, etc. 2. The behavior is illegal – if it involves behavior that is against the formal, written laws of the state, it is usually judged more harshly 3. The behavior interferes with the person’s ability to form and maintain loving, intimate, and sexual relationships with others 4. The behavior involves another person without that person’s consent

Clinical criteria Formally diagnosing a psychological disorder is a more rigorous process The DSM-V lists specific criteria for the diagnosis of certain paraphilias Google: clinical criteria DSM-V paraphilia Discussion is divided into two categories: Coercive and non-coercive

Coercive paraphilias Coercive paraphilias: Involve unsuspecting, nonconsenting, or unwilling victim who is the target of the compulsive behavior Due to the coercive nature of these behaviors most states in the US have enacted laws against them

Voyeurism Refers to the paraphilias of secretly watching ohers undress or engage in sexual activities without their knowledge or consent Commonly referred to as a peeping tom If someone is sexually aroused watching his partner undress prior to having sex, this act would not qualify as voyeurism The true voyeur’s experience is defined by the nonconsensual nature of the act

Exhibitionism Focus for sexual arousal and gratification is displaying one’s genitals to others without their consent Part of the arousal is the shock value of the behavior on the victim Most exhibitionists do not engage in other predatory or violent acts such as rape and usually desire no physical contact with the victim

Frotteurism The compulsion to rub one’s genitals against a nonconsenting person for reason of sexual gratification and arousal Perpetrator usually fantasizes that he has a close relationship with the victim Most involved are between 15 and 25 and tend to decrease and stop the behavior as they age It is considered a form of sexual assault

Sexual sadism The inflicting of pain and humiliation for sexual gratification is named for the Marquis de Sade He spent most of his adult life imprisoned for engaging in and writing about his violent form of sexual expression Sadism takes many forms: dominating, restraining, tying up, blindfolding, beating, cutting, whipping, strangling, mutilating, and even killing another person – usually during sexual activity Seen in the pattern of some serial rapists Sadomasochism is a combination of sadism and masochistic behavior Some people are aroused by bondage, discipline (dominating and humiliating and being dominated or humiliated), or giving and receiving pain These acts are done as sexual play, usually with strict rules and are not considered paraphilic

Pedophilia Refers to the exploitation of prepubescent children for an adult’s sexual purposes No single profile of a typical pedophile exists One of the most notable characteristics is that they themselves were sexually abused as children

Non-coercive paraphilias These are often considered victimless, unless you believe that the person engaging in the behavior is victimizing himself or herself These acts do not compel others to participate against their will which is why most authorities refer to them as victimless and noncoercive

Sexual masochism Sexual arousal and gratification associated with acts or fantasies of being hurt, humiliated, or made to suffer The masochist engages in the acts voluntarily and often seeks them out These acts are carried out by adults with the consent of all involved and typically are not illegal

Fetishism A sexual preference intensifies to the point that a person obsesses almost exclusively on a nonhuman object or a body part that most members of a culture do not find sexy Sometimes the line between a normal sexual preference and a fetish may seem blurred Most are not particularly harmful, it is defined as noncoercive, but it may become a psychological or social problem Most common: shoes, women’s underwear, rubber or latex objects, and feet and toes Anything can become a sexual fetish, but the definition is in meeting the criteria

Transvestic fetish Cross-dressing is not a paraphilia – it is not the same as transvestism A transvestite is a man who obtains sexual gratification by wearing female clothing A myth about transvestites is that they are gay men This is incorrect Most transvestites (70 to 90 percent) are heterosexual men – not gay, and not bisexual

Autoerotic asphyxia Involves depriving the brain of oxygen through strangulation or hanging, during masturbation Motivation for this behavior is the belief that oxygen deprivation enhances the arousal and orgasmic sensations during masturbation It is more common than most people think It can be deadly- often fatal The most physically and personally dangerous of all of the paraphilias Usually the first sign the family has that this behavior is occurring is the discovery of the body

Vorarephilia Often shortened to vore A paraphilia wherein sexual arousal occurs in response to the idea of someone/something/yourself eating or being eaten by someone/something/yourself The fantasy sometimes involves the victim being swallowed dead or alive and may or may not include digestion It is most often enjoyed through pictures, stories, videos, and video games Other examples to this are being eaten whole Armin Meiwes was a cannibal who acted out his fantasy with a willing victim After reports of the "Rotenburg Cannibal" appeared in the media, websites began appearing in which people advertised for volunteers to be eaten This was the result of a cannibal fetish and possibly other forms of mental illness, he was grouped in with the vore community despite objections and general distaste from the vore community of this grouping