Chapter 16 Atypical Sexual Behavior

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Chapter 16Atypical Sexual Behavior

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History of Normal/Abnormal Behavior

• By the mid 11th century, Christian leaders began
  to regard sex in any position other than the
  missionary position an unnatural act.
• Victorians were influenced by Hippocrates (of
  ancient Greece) seminal theory that regarded
  semen as the essence of life. It was believed
  that each sperm contained a tiny human the role
  of the womans ova was unknown and the womb of
  woman was viewed merely as an incubator for new
  life.

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History of Normal/Abnormal Behavior

• Further, semen was believed to contain cells that
  caused male maturation. Frequent sex (including
  masturbation) was thought to deplete the man of
  these critical cells, stunting his growth.
  Masturbation self-abuse.
• Freud (a Victorian Era fellow) taught that any
  sexual behavior that took precedence over
  heterosexual vaginal intercourse was immature and
  possibly a sign of serious psychological
  disturbance.

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Current Perspective

• Simon (1994) views deviance as a problem of
  self-control, and perversion as a problem of
  desire. Both violate current cultural norms.
• When psychologists diagnose a person as having a
  sexual mental health problem, the term
  paraphilia is used.

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Paraphilias

• Paraphilias are sexual behaviors that involve a
  craving for an erotic object that is unusual.
• This behavior causes significant distress and
  interferes with a persons ability to work,
  interact with friends, and other important areas.
• To be diagnosed with a paraphilia, a person must
  experience symptoms for six months or more.

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Paraphilias

• Not all unusual behaviors will be diagnosed as
  paraphilic the distinguishing feature of a
  paraphilia is that the persons sexual arousal
  and gratification depends almost exclusively on
  acting or fantasizing about the behavior.
• In nearly all cases, the paraphilia will either
  cause or reveal harm done to the individual or to
  others, and there is generally an
  obsessive-compulsive quality to the
  behavior/fantasy.

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What Constitutes Paraphilia?

• Classified as noncoercive vs. coercive
• Behaviors represent extremes on a continuum
• More males reported and prosecuted
• Over half of individuals in treatment for a
  paraphilia report that they had engaged in 3 or 4
  types of paraphilias.
• Clustering of paraphilias
• Most had developed their fantasies by age 12 or
  13 but had been afraid to discuss them.
• Unconventional behavior may alienate others
  leading to difficulty in establishing
  relationships

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Theories of Paraphilias

• Biological Theories differences in brain
  chemistry or brain damage.
• Freudian theorists arrested psychosexual
  development early in childhood castration
  anxiety defense mechanisms develop to reduce
  anxiety.
• Learning theorists classical conditioning
  (association of an object with sexual arousal) or
  operant conditioning (early unusual sexual
  experiences are reinforced by orgasm).
• Paraphilias and obsessive-compulsive disorder
  have many similarities.

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Why Men?

• Attitudes about and expectations of men and women
  are different consider women flashing or
  cross-dressing.
• Most paraphiliacs are heterosexual, but generally
  have poor social skills, low self-esteem, history
  of childhood abuse or neglect (or were raised in
  families where sex was thought to be evil and
  normal erotic development was inhibited), and
  anger at women.

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Non-Coercive ParaphiliasFetishism

• Sexual arousal primarily from body part or
  inanimate object
• Symbolic transformation
• Rarely harmful to others

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Non-Coercive ParaphiliasTransvestic Fetishism

• Sexual arousal from wearing clothes of other sex.
• The purpose is sexual arousal and gratification.
• The large majority of transvestites are
  heterosexual and most are married. (As a
  diagnostic category, term is applied only to
  heterosexual men.)
• Reasons vary and may include -
• Escape from the confines of the masculine role
• Finding comfort in the fantasy of being female
• Reaction to being punished as a child by being
  made to dress as a girl or being encouraged to
  dress as a girl.
• Rarely harmful to others

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Non-Coercive ParaphiliasSexual Sadism and Sexual
Masochism

• Sadism sexual arousal from giving physical or
  psychological pain
• Masochism sexual arousal from receiving pain /
  bondage
• Difficult to label because some behaviors common
• Being tied up, or pinned down, love bites,
  etc.
• Level of pain needed for arousal varies from
  symbolic to mild pain to (rarely) severe pain
• SM activities often include bondage and
  discipline, motivated by a desire to experience
  dominance and/or submission rather than pain.
• Might provide escape from rigid everyday lives

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Other Non-Coercive Paraphilias

• Klismaphilia receiving enemas
• Coprophilia contact with feces
• Urophilia contact with urine (golden showers)

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Other Non-Coercive Paraphilias

• Autoerotic asphyxia reducing blood supply to the
  brain during heightened sexual arousal
• Unfortunately 500 1000 deaths occur annually.
• Rare but life-threatening
• Almost exclusively male
• Pressure via chain, belt, rope noose
• Alone or in groups

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Coercive ParaphiliasExhibitionism

• Exposing genitals to an involuntary observer.
• Streaking or mooning represent playful
  deviance. Doing a strip-tease for your lover is
  a normal variant.
• Sexual arousal from the fearful, angry or
  surprised response is their preferred means of
  gratification.
• Often immediately followed by masturbation
  centering on victims shocked reaction
• Most flasher victims are women and children.
• Suggested response
• Calmly ignore it
• Leave immediately
• Report to authorities ASAP

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Who are Exhibitionists?

• Almost all are men (nobody is scared when a woman
  shows her genitals) who began exposing themselves
  in their late teens or early 20s half or more
  have been or are married.
• They are emotionally immature, feel inadequate,
  fear rejection and have trouble forming intimate
  relationships.
• Most are have normal or above normal
  intelligence.

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Coercive ParaphiliasObscene Phone Calls

• Making an obscene phone call is a verbal form of
  exhibitionism like exhibitionism, it is a
  disorder of relationships.
• Sexual arousal is proportionate with the victims
  negative reaction. Even slamming down the phone
  is reinforcing to him.
• It is rare that they would approach or molest
  their victims most prefer total anonymity.
• Usually a shy, insecure male
• Suggested response
• Gently hang up, ignore re-call
• Screen calls, call tracing
• Report and ask for new number

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Coercive ParaphiliasVoyeurism

• Watching others do sexual things is a normal
  sexual variant.
• Voyeurs seek to observe people without their
  consent or knowledge and find this to be their
  preferred form of sexual arousal and
  gratification even if consenting sexual partners
  are available.
• Most begin by age 15, have low self-esteem,
  feelings of inadequacy, poor social skills.
• More likely to observe strangers than
  acquaintances

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Other Coercive Paraphilias

• Frotteurism rubbing against unwilling victim
• Fairly common
• Unwelcome spooning in public places
• Sometimes hands
• Often unnoticed
• Occasionally detected and upsetting
• Zoophilia sex with animals
• Kinsey 8 of males!! (17 of farmboys)
• 4 of females!!!
• Necrophilia viewing or having intercourse
  with corpse

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Therapy

• The large majority of paraphiliacs do not want to
  change, stifling hopes of success in therapy.
• Traditional psychotherapy or group therapy aim to
  increase the individuals awareness of his
  feelings, while confrontational approaches are
  sometimes used to force the individual to see the
  effects his behavior has on others.
• Behavioral approaches include aversion therapy
  and orgasmic reconditioning.

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Therapy

• Desensitization is employed to help the
  individual overcome his anxieties.
• Social skills training teaches skills not learned
  in adolescence.
• Medical approaches to reduce sex drive have been
  used, as well as anti-anxiety and anti-depressant
  drugs.
• Medications must be used in conjunction with
  other methods so as to address the complex nature
  of paraphilias.