Description, Causes and Classification of Sexual Disorders - Essay Example

? Paraphilic Crimes: Source Of A Vicious Cycle Of the of the Introduction Mental illnesses are one of the major problemsof the society. People suffering from mental illnesses become a slave to their illnesses and lose the ability to function normally in any aspect of their lives. Their problem hampers the psychological, emotional and physical aspects of their lives. However, there are some mental illnesses which not only harm the person who is suffering from it but also threatens the safety of people around them. One such threatening mental illness is the illness of paraphilia. However, the mental disorder that is the most dangerous among different mental disorders classified under paraphilia is the disorder of ‘masochism’ and ‘sadism’. People suffering from mental disorder of ‘masochism’ and ‘sadism’ not only harm themselves but are also great threat to the well being and life of other people. It has been observed that people, who are the victims of paraphilic crimes, develop the disorder in their adult life. It is a vicious cycle where the victim becomes a victimizer. If the vicious cycle of ‘sadism’ and ‘masochism’ is to be stopped, then immediate steps are needed to be taken to educate people about the nature of ‘masochism’ and ‘sadism,’ and make them aware of its consequences. Only intense and urgent steps to create awareness about paraphilia can help people protect themselves from becoming a victim of paraphilic crimes, and from developing the disorder themselves. Definition According to DSM-IV-TR, paraphilias are defined as “sexual disorders characterized by recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, urges or behaviors that involve nonhuman objects, children, other nonconsenting individuals, or the suffering or humiliation of the individual or partner” (Raymond,& Grant, 2008, p.277). Paraphilia can begin at any age but in most cases, it begins at the stage of young adulthood (Raymond,& Grant, 2008, p.277). For people suffering from paraphilia, sexually mature human beings are not the target of their sexual desires, urges or fantasies (Pukall, Meana & Fernandez, 2010, p.286). Their usual targets are children, inanimate things, public display etc. depending on the kind of paraphilia they are suffering from. Classification According to APA (2000), paraphilias are classified in eight different categories depending on the targets and source of intense sexual arousal, fantasies, urges, or behavior in people (Pukall, Meana & Fernandez, 2010, p.286). They are as follows: 1. Exhibitionism: People get sexually aroused by exposing their genitals to strangers. 2. Fetishism: Sexual arousal of people suffering from fetishism is related to nonliving objects like female undergarments, shoes etc. 3. Frotteurism: People get sexually aroused by rubbing against people who do not consent the act. 4. Pedophilia: People get sexual arousal by indulging in sexual activity with children or adolescents. 5. Masochism: People get sexually aroused by inflicting pain to self by getting themselves beaten, humiliated, bounded etc. 6. Sexual Sadism: People get sexually excited by causing psychological or physical pain to the victims and humiliating them. 7. Transvestic Fetishism: This paraphilia is found only in heterosexual males where they get sexual arousal by cross-dressing and, 8. Voyeurism: People find sexual arousal by watching strangers naked, while they are undressing or when they are engaged in sexual activity. (Pukall, Meana & Fernandez, 2010, p.286). The classification of the different kinds of paraphilia helps in understanding the potential threat that a person suffering from paraphilia can be. However, not all the people suffering from paraphilia have the same intensity. It has been found that there is great different between the intensity of paraphilia related sexual urges, fantasies and behavior in the individuals suffering from it (Raymond,& Grant, 2008, p.277). Some people suffering from paraphilia depend on paraphilic behavior and fantasy for all sexual activities while for others, only a transitory paraphilic fantasy is enough to perform sexual activity (Raymond,& Grant, 2008, p.277). However, what makes paraphilia more threatening and harmful disorder are the disorders that co-occur with paraphilia. Among the people suffering from paraphilia, 31-71% were found suffering from mood disorder, 19-64% from anxiety disorder, 23-60% from substance abuse and 60-68% from other personality disorder (Raymond,& Grant, 2008, p.277). This shows that paraphilia also makes a person vulnerable to other personality and mental disorders, which in turn make them more incapable of functioning normally in their personal and professional life. But among all the paraphilias, the ones which make a person dangerous and violent are the paraphilias of sexual masochism and sexual sadism. Sexual Masochism According to APA (2000), sexual masochism is diagnosed in people when their social, occupational and other important areas of life are impaired to a great extent due to their paraphilic behavior, sexual urges and fantasies (Pukall, Meana & Fernandez, 2010, p.286). The gender ratio of diagnosis of sexual masochism has been found to be 20 males for each female (Pukall, Meana & Fernandez, 2010, p.286). Males suffering from masochism experience the sexual pleasure and arousal through different methods of self infliction of pain like wearing a collar or leash, tying with rope, handcuffing etc., while engaged in sexual activity (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.374). Hence, they usually seek a partner who is willing to inflict pain on them while having in sex with them. Masochism in human beings was discussed originally by Freud (Heller, 2005, p. 167). According to him, it was a type of mental perversion and people suffering from it get sexual arousal and gratification through passive seeking of physical and mental suffering (Heller, 2005, p. 167). Freud concluded that women were biologically predisposed to ‘masochism’ as according to him, femininity was equal to ‘passivity’, which is an important aspect of masochism (Heller, 2005, p. 167). Moreover, Helen Dutch (1944) believed that the tendency of women to embrace the painful things like “defloration, penetration, menstruation, childbirth and motherhood” joyfully makes females intrinsically masochistic by nature (Meyers, 1988, p. 186). Unfortunately, women’s tendency to sacrifice their happiness and desires for their loved ones, and their ‘understanding’ behavior, is often used as an evidence of masochism (Caplan, 2005, p. 2). However, according to Blum (1977), the theories stating that masochism in females occur due to the defects in their developmental stages have been discarded and no evidence has been found which proves that females have greater endowment for deriving pleasure from pain, than males (Meyers, 1988, p. 186). It has been found that women who suffer from masochism develop it during their childhood through difference in social attitudes towards boys and girls, learning and identifying with mother’s masochistic representation and learning the gender role model from parents where girls are expected to be passive, giving, childlike and weak (Meyers, 1988, p. 186). The cause of masochism in females is the kind of rearing they get in their childhood. Hence, Freud’s belief that females are biologically programmed to become masochistic is wrong. Sadism Sadism is a mental disorder in which a person gets sexual arousal and pleasure by inflicting mental or physical pain and suffering to other people (Heller, 2005, p. 167). According to Freud, the cause of sadism lies in the aggression and ‘activity’ visible in masculinity (Heller, 2005, p. 167). Hence, it is not surprising to find that sadism is found more in males than in females (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.377). People who suffer from sadism commit crimes like child molestation, violent rape and ‘lust’ murders. Males suffering from sadism molest children and sometimes even murder them in the feat of aggression and violence (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.377). They rationalize their crime of molestation by saying that they were just displaying their love (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.377). Also, even though the crime of rape is not considered as paraphilic crime, people suffering from sadism are strong threat for the safety of women (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.377). Some males who commit rape are extremely violent and sadistic in their acts and hence, their crime does come under the category of paraphilic crimes (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.377). However, sadism occurs not only in males. Even females suffer from sadism and commit crimes of sadistic nature. Different studies have revealed violence and torture of children at the hands of their mothers. A study by Tardiff, Auclair, Jacob and Carpenter (2005) revealed that children were not only being sexually abused by their mothers but were also physically abused and psychologically tortured (Duncan, 2010, p. 58). These mothers also displayed ‘homicidal tendencies’ and jealous rage towards their children which put the lives of their children in danger (Duncan, 2010, p. 58). In some cases, mothers were involved in causing pain and torture to their children through sexual abuse, forced oral genital abuse by the victim, digital penetration, sexual intercourse etc. (Duncan, 2010, p. 58). The study also revealed that the majority of the women who had committed sadistic crimes had experienced sexual, physical and mental abuse at the hands of their parents and family members in their childhood (Duncan, 2010, p. 58). This shows that it is a vicious cycle of mental associations and the victims of paraphilic crime often develop deviant sexual behavior patterns and hence, develop paraphilia in their adulthood. Hence, to remove the chances of developing paraphilia, it is it is extremely necessary to understand its causes. Causes Of Paraphilia It has been found that the causes of paraphilia lie in the mental associations related to sexual arousal that a person makes in his childhood. Most of the time, the sexual and social problems suffered during the childhood develop the deviant patterns of sexual arousal in people, which later develops in paraphilias (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). According to Barlow and Wincze (1980), many a times, people develop inappropriate ways of sexual outlets when they are not able to develop adequate social relationship with appropriate people (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). But most importantly, what causes people to develop deviant sexual patterns and behavior are the early childhood experiences (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). Fegan et al. (2002) has found in their studies that people who are victims of paraphilic crimes in their childhood (like sexual abuse etc.), ends up developing paraphilia in their adulthood (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). Moreover, person’s early sexual fantasies also play a major role in the development of paraphilias in them (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). According to Rachman and Hodgson (1968), individual can associate sexual arousal with an inanimate object if that object is repeatedly exposed to him while he was sexually aroused (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378).. Most importantly, the cause of violent patterns and unwanted sexual arousal observed in paraphilia is caused by the strong sexual pleasure gained through association of early sexual fantasies with masturbation (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). The sexual fantasies are mostly uncontrolled and violent and are repeatedly reinforced during the act of masturbation to experience the sexual arousal and gratification (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). This leads to development of fetishes and violent ways of gaining sexual gratification and pleasure. This shows that the criminal tendency and violent behavior patterns of people suffering from pedophilia and sadism are repeated in their minds thousands of times before it is actually brought into action while assaulting the victims (Barlow& Durand, 2009, p.378). Hence, the psychological associations of sexual arousal made during childhood are powerful factors in development of paraphilias in people. The associations not only become strong later, but also make a person to develop violent and criminal tendencies. Conclusion The literature review shows that the victims of paraphilic crimes are prone to develop paraphilia in their adulthood. They become socially maladjusted and are incapable of living a healthy life and developing relationships. Hence, to stop people from becoming a victim of paraphilic crimes, it is essential to take immediate steps in making people aware about the mental disorder of paraphilia. Only a timely help and awareness can stop people from getting into a vicious cycle of the mental disorder of paraphilia. References Barlow, D.H. & Durand, V.M. (2009). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Caplan, P.J. (2005). The Myth of Women’s Masochism (2nd ed). Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc. Duncan, K.A. (2010). Female Sexual Predators: Understanding them to Protect our Children and Youths. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Heller, S. (2005). Freud A to Z. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Pukall, C.F., Meana, M. & Fernandez, Y. (2010). Sexual Dysfunctions and Deviations. In D.L. Segal & M. Hersen (Eds.), Diagnostic Interviewing (283-314) (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer. Meyers, H. (1988). A Consideration of Treatment Techniques in Relation to the Functions of Masochism. In R.A. Glick & D.I. Meyers (Eds.), Masochism: Current Psychoanalytical Perspectives (175-188). Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytical Press. Raymond, N.C. & Grant, J.E. (2008). Sexual Disorders: Dysfunction, Gender Identity, and Paraphilias. In S.H. Fatemi & P.J. Clayton (Eds.), The Medical Basis of Psychiatry ( 267-284) (3rd ed.). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press. Read More