This is where you introduce, present, summarize and discuss your resource articles. Explain both the contributions and controve

Paraphilias and Fetishes

Gabriella Gomez

PSYC 151 Human Sexuality

2 March 2019

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 1

Paraphilia and Co-Morbid Psychopathy

There has been a great deal of controversy that concerns Paraphilia and which also

defines what is considered to be normal and that which is disordered or deviant depending on

some degree of cultural views of acceptability. These issues, in addition to the construct of

Paraphilia and psychopathy have been outlined, and descriptions regarding the progress involved

in the diagnosis and treating individuals with paraphilia have also been discussed in details.

There has been a continued existence of a long history of heterogeneity about psychopathy based

on both terminology and theory. Individuals who are thought to be psychopaths have an

increased probability of engaging in aggression that is considered to be reactive and

instrumental. This has therefore significantly increased the stakes for the mental health

practitioners who work with such individuals whose behaviors bring them under legal scrutiny.

According to the society, a lot of people do not have the possibility of being reclaimed especially

with the existing delicate balance between the provision of excuses that are medically based and

justification for conducts which might result in criminal sanctions, and the need to ensure safety

for the public. There has been a remarkable change in the in the acceptability of behaviors and

beliefs in such a manner that there is amplified precision among diagnosticians especially when

behaviors in question are sexual in nature.

Paraphilias have been described as impulses that are characterized by sexual fantasies and

urges that are intense in nature and which keep coming back. Medical diagnostics that classify

sex offenders as individuals with a particular illness initiate the development of an instinct that a

cure to the illness will someday be defined and therefore there will be no more threat. Similarly,

diagnosticians are required not to provide justifications that involve using fear as a way to

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 2

unjustly quarantine a number of individuals because this is considered to be justifiable

community function. This again explains why it is necessary for clinicians and attorneys to be

mindful and vigilant especially in insisting that different terms used in different context should

are well defined. There has been existing difficulty in defining the construct of paraphilia and

psychopathy. For instance, the use of diagnosis should not be considered until its validity is

agreed upon by a significant number of skilled clinicians. Similarly, behaviors that cause harm to

others may be punishable. However, the risk of an individual in engaging in such behaviors

should be of a higher threshold before an interference of their liberty is warranted.

Paraphilias across Cultures: Context and Controversies

Cultures define and describe what is considered to be legal or illegal thereby making the role and

the development of paraphilias across these cultures to be variable. These differences therefore

bring about problems especially during the collection of data and making comparisons across

paraphilias. This review basically indicates how paraphilias may be influenced by characteristics

of different cultures. There have been existing differences in sexual behaviors and attitudes

across different cultures whereby there have been some cultures that have openly encouraged

sexual activities while there have been others that have prescribed these sexual activities

depending on the existing assumptions of their religion and philosophy. The understanding of

paraphilias across different cultures is highly dependent on reliable epidemiological data.

However, despite the fact that different sexual behaviors have been described in various studies

and surveys from the western societies, this information is not only unavailable from other

societies but also the level of accuracy for the existing information is frequently questionable.

Even so, many cultures do not view fetishes and other paraphilic practices as an issue or even

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 3

they do not appear to manifest them. This might be a reflection of whether the culture considers

itself as being sex positive or sex negative or rather its function of sexual intercourse is basically

for pleasure or for procreation.

There are other societal characteristics that play important roles whereby paraphilias may

be more common in cultures that are egocentric and sex positive where sexual intercourse is

associated with pleasure whereas arousal becomes a predominant theme. This is different from

the sociocentric and pre-industrialized cultures where sex is particularly for reproduction. It

should be noted that future research which might be carried out regarding the existence of sexual

paraphilias from the low and the middle income countries will be made difficult as a result of

inadequate data present. This might be a reflection of different factors that include individuals

not being aware of such behaviors, the use of alternative health care providers or also the

difference in behaviors that constitute paraphilias in the rural and the sociocentric settings. The

idea of attributing paraphilias and fetishes to pathophysiologic and organic factors that include

trauma or brain irregularities basically forces an individual to study their occurrence

cross-culturally in order to clearly outline the relationship between the cause and effects that

have been presumed. However, once the physical and organic factors have been eliminated, the

sociocultural factors are more likely to be the cause and maintenance of a number of paraphilias.

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 4

Works Cited

Saleh, F. M., Malin, H. M., Grudzinskas Jr, A. J., & Vitacco, M. J. (2010). Paraphilias with

co-morbid psychopathy: The clinical and legal significance to sex offender assessments.

Behavioral sciences & the law, 28(2), 211-223.

Bhugra, D., Popelyuk, D., & McMullen, I. (2010). Paraphilias across cultures: Contexts and

controversies. Journal of Sex Research, 47(2-3), 242-256.

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References Money, J. (1984). American Journal of Psychotherapy, 38(2), 164.

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Paraphilias and Fetishes

Gabriella Gomez

PSYC 151 Human Sexuality

2 March 2019

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 1

Paraphilia and Co-Morbid Psychopathy

There has been a great deal of controversy that concerns Paraphilia and which also

defines what is considered to be normal and that which is disordered or deviant depending on

some degree of cultural views of acceptability. These issues, in addition to the construct of

Paraphilia and psychopathy have been outlined, and descriptions regarding the progress involved

in the diagnosis and treating individuals with paraphilia have also been discussed in details.

There has been a continued existence of a long history of heterogeneity about psychopathy based

on both terminology and theory. Individuals who are thought to be psychopaths have an

increased probability of engaging in aggression that is considered to be reactive and

instrumental. This has therefore significantly increased the stakes for the mental health

practitioners who work with such individuals whose behaviors bring them under legal scrutiny.

According to the society, a lot of people do not have the possibility of being reclaimed especially

with the existing delicate balance between the provision of excuses that are medically based and

justification for conducts which might result in criminal sanctions, and the need to ensure safety

for the public. There has been a remarkable change in the in the acceptability of behaviors and

beliefs in such a manner that there is amplified precision among diagnosticians especially when

behaviors in question are sexual in nature.

Paraphilias have been described as impulses that are characterized by sexual fantasies and

urges that are intense in nature and which keep coming back. Medical diagnostics that classify

sex offenders as individuals with a particular illness initiate the development of an instinct that a

cure to the illness will someday be defined and therefore there will be no more threat. Similarly,

diagnosticians are required not to provide justifications that involve using fear as a way to

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 2

unjustly quarantine a number of individuals because this is considered to be justifiable

community function. This again explains why it is necessary for clinicians and attorneys to be

mindful and vigilant especially in insisting that different terms used in different context should

are well defined. There has been existing difficulty in defining the construct of paraphilia and

psychopathy. For instance, the use of diagnosis should not be considered until its validity is

agreed upon by a significant number of skilled clinicians. Similarly, behaviors that cause harm to

others may be punishable. However, the risk of an individual in engaging in such behaviors

should be of a higher threshold before an interference of their liberty is warranted.

Paraphilias across Cultures: Context and Controversies

Cultures define and describe what is considered to be legal or illegal thereby making the role and

the development of paraphilias across these cultures to be variable. These differences therefore

bring about problems especially during the collection of data and making comparisons across

paraphilias. This review basically indicates how paraphilias may be influenced by characteristics

of different cultures. There have been existing differences in sexual behaviors and attitudes

across different cultures whereby there have been some cultures that have openly encouraged

sexual activities while there have been others that have prescribed these sexual activities

depending on the existing assumptions of their religion and philosophy. The understanding of

paraphilias across different cultures is highly dependent on reliable epidemiological data.

However, despite the fact that different sexual behaviors have been described in various studies

and surveys from the western societies, this information is not only unavailable from other

societies but also the level of accuracy for the existing information is frequently questionable.

Even so, many cultures do not view fetishes and other paraphilic practices as an issue or even

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 3

they do not appear to manifest them. This might be a reflection of whether the culture considers

itself as being sex positive or sex negative or rather its function of sexual intercourse is basically

for pleasure or for procreation.

There are other societal characteristics that play important roles whereby paraphilias may

be more common in cultures that are egocentric and sex positive where sexual intercourse is

associated with pleasure whereas arousal becomes a predominant theme. This is different from

the sociocentric and pre-industrialized cultures where sex is particularly for reproduction. It

should be noted that future research which might be carried out regarding the existence of sexual

paraphilias from the low and the middle income countries will be made difficult as a result of

inadequate data present. This might be a reflection of different factors that include individuals

not being aware of such behaviors, the use of alternative health care providers or also the

difference in behaviors that constitute paraphilias in the rural and the sociocentric settings. The

idea of attributing paraphilias and fetishes to pathophysiologic and organic factors that include

trauma or brain irregularities basically forces an individual to study their occurrence

cross-culturally in order to clearly outline the relationship between the cause and effects that

have been presumed. However, once the physical and organic factors have been eliminated, the

sociocultural factors are more likely to be the cause and maintenance of a number of paraphilias.

Paraphilias and Fetishes Gomez 4

Works Cited

Saleh, F. M., Malin, H. M., Grudzinskas Jr, A. J., & Vitacco, M. J. (2010). Paraphilias with

co-morbid psychopathy: The clinical and legal significance to sex offender assessments.

Behavioral sciences & the law, 28(2), 211-223.

Bhugra, D., Popelyuk, D., & McMullen, I. (2010). Paraphilias across cultures: Contexts and

controversies. Journal of Sex Research, 47(2-3), 242-256.

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References Hurd, M. (2018). Sexual fetishism. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health. Retrieved from

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Sexual fetishism Type of psychology: Learning

Sexual fetishes are intense sexual fixations on an inanimate object or body part generally regarded as asexual to the point where the individual cannot be aroused without the object or normal sexual and societal functioning is affected.

Introduction

One definition of fetish is an object, often created by people, believed to have magical or supernatural powers. In the late fifteenth century, Europeans wore charms or amulets described as fetishes. However, in modern psychology, a fetish is an inanimate object or body part that is the subject of intense sexual fantasies or urges and is necessary for the individual to obtain sexual satisfaction. As a paraphilia (a sexual deviation or perversion), fetishism requires the fetishist’s attention to be focused not on the sexual partner but in a depersonalized manner on the object.

Grown male right foot (angle 1) By Aleser (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Fetishes are usually divided into two groups: form fetishes, in which the form and shape of the object (such as a pair of shoes or boots) are of utmost importance for arousal, and media fetishes, in which great significance is attached to the material (such as leather or lace) from which the fetish is made. Common fetishes include a person clad in black garters, stockings, and high-heeled shoes; a swatch of fabric, possibly soft or silky; and an object that has been worn. Fetish objects include corsets, diapers, gloves, rubber, spandex, furry items, and food. Typical fetish body parts are feet, legs, hair, and navels. Some fetishists are aroused by infantilism, pregnancy, or amputated limbs.

Causes and Treatments

The term sexual fetishism was coined by French psychiatrist Alfred Binet, whose most famous accomplishment was the development of a standardized test for intelligence. Binet described sexual fetishism as an individual’s sexual attraction to a nonhuman object and offered his theory of associations to explain it. He believed fetishism to result from the accidental pairing of sexual sensation with an object that thereafter would be an object of arousal; however, he never explained clearly how this pairing could last a lifetime.

Another theory regarding fetishism was advanced in the 1950s by Donald Winnicott, who pursued the belief that fetishism may have originated in childhood, with a small cuddly object given by a mother to her infant child. This object, known as a transitional object, recalled the mother and assumed a huge significance in the child’s life, particularly in the mother’s absence. Winnicott reasoned that because the object brought the pleasant mother-child relationship to mind, it may have become a fetish object in the child’s adult life.

Efforts to explain sexual fetishism recalled classical conditioning, advanced by Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov in the early 1900s. In his study of digestion, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize, he noticed that his dogs began to salivate when the attendant who regularly fed them entered the room. After a bell was repeatedly rung just before the attendant brought the food, the dogs soon began to salivate at the sound of the bell. This form of conditioning, in which the neutral stimulus (bell) is substituted for the unconditioned stimulus (food), results in a conditioned response (salivation).

Although classical conditioning seemed to be a plausible explanation for fetishism, it failed to mesh with Binet’s idea that an initial pairing of sensation with the object would continue throughout the individual’s life. One theory concerning the genesis of fetishism included imprinting, in which a young child fixes its attention on the first person in its experience and establishes a lifelong behavior pattern. Another theory was directed toward adolescence and conditioning associated with masturbation.

One modern theory arises from the fact that more men, historically, have been fetishists than women. It has been put forward that men, if influenced by their mothers, may feel shame or guilt when confronted by their own desires. Therefore, if dogged by these feelings, men might prefer to focus on an object or body part, rather than risk rejection or failure with a sexual partner.

Treatment or control of fetishism usually involves counseling, hypnosis, and prescription medications. Behavioral conditioning, usually aversive conditioning, is frequently used in the treatment of paraphiliacs. Negative stimuli such as thoughts of pain, foul odors, or “inappropriate images” are administered during moments of arousal and are designed to produce an association of pain with fetishism, eventually causing a painful response to fetishistic desires.

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Bibliography

Barlow, David H., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology. New York: Oxford UP, 2014. Print.

Laws, D. Richard, and William T. O’Donohue, eds. Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford, 2008. Print.

Lehmiller, Justin J. The Psychology of Human Sexuality. Malden: Wiley, 2014. Print.

Penny, James. The World of Perversion: Psychoanalysis and the Impossible Absolute of Desire. Albany: State U of New York P, 2006. Print.

Ray, William J. Abnormal Psychology: Neuroscience Perspectives on Human Behavior and Experience. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2015. Print.

Rowland, David L., and Luca Incrocci, eds. Handbook of Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders. Hoboken: Wiley, 2008. Print.

Warwick, Linda L., and Lesley Bolton. The Everything Psychology Book: Explore the Human Psyche and Understand Why We Do the Things We Do. Cincinnati: Adams Media, 2004. Print.

Wolf, Theta H. Alfred Binet. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1973. Print.

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