The Concept and Types of Sexual Deviance - Essay Example

Crime Deviant s Sexual deviance has become one of the most researched problems of the XXI century. Today, sex is a common topic, which is appropriate for consideration among all nations. It became normal to talk about the intimate problems of the couple with the psychiatrist. The internet is filled with the provocative information, representing the cases of sexual abuse. All these items gave birth to the so-called “social deviance”, which has recently became a wide spread notion. The aim of this work is to study the content of “sexual deviance” in terms of social standards and analyze its influence on the society. This paper contains the information, about different types of sexual deviance and the view of the world on this topic. The latest researches revealed, that the content of sexual deviance is not used in modern medicine. However, some psychiatrists consider it not as a violation of the commonly accepted rules and standards, but as a psychological issue, requiring treatment. By sexual deviance, we understand any type of intense and persistent sexual interest, which excludes the relation with sexually mature human subject. It acquired also the notion of “paraphilia”. Paraphilia is not concerned as a mental disorder, but it causes stress or violations in the important areas of person’s functioning, leading to changes in behavior and sexual activity. The term also refers to the sexual behavior of the person, which does not correspond to the gender norms accepted in the society. Modern society, however, influences the emergence of sexual deviance by development sex industry. “Sexuality in the United States has never been more socially acceptable. Sex has become part of mainstream culture as reflected through the explicit coverage of sexual behaviors in the media, movies, newspapers, and magazines. In many ways, sexual expression has become a form of accepted entertainment similar to gambling, attending sporting events, or watching movies” (Fong, T., 2006, p.8). We can even find the computer games, which contain the elements of sex and sexual deviance. Recently, a list of classic sexual deviancies has significantly been enriched with new, previously unknown forms, the occurrence of which is predetermined by the technological progress (telephone, TV, video), the customs of some cultural flows (for example, group sex in hippie communes) or by the action of certain chemicals (for example, sexual acts with the usage of certain drugs). There are some criteria in the literature, under which sexual deviation is recognized as a disease and requires further treatment: 1) Constant repetition of deviant sexual experiences for at least 6 months. 2) Committing of deviant acts or having deviant fantasies, which cause suffering for the patient and is detrimental in relation to his social welfare (dismissal from work or punishment for committing of antisocial acts). 3) The absence of signs of other mental disorders. 4) The deviations are not caused by alcohol or drug abuse. 5) Committing deviant acts and loss of control over ones behavior, despite the subsequent consequences. If these signs are absent, the diagnosis of "paraphilia" is not appropriate for the problem. According to the opinion of medical scientists, sexual deviance does not require medical intervention, if it does not harm the social well-being of the person. There is no standard classification of the sexual deviances in medicine, but Polish sexologist Zbigniew Lion Starovich, classified them in the following way: According to the object of sexual desire: fetishism, narcissism According to the method of achieving sexual satisfaction: sadism, vampirism. The author also singled out the complex sexual deviation, which refers to a separate group (pathological autoerotism, homosexuality, bisexuality, incest, sexual abuse, prostitution) and disorders of sexual autoidentification (transsexualism, the syndrome of failure to distinguish a sexual object). Modern science cannot still reveal the reasons of the emergence of sexual deviants among people. There are different theories, which concern the formation of these abnormalities, but most of them represent paraphilia as a psychological issue. Consequently, sexual deviance is a problem, formed under the influence of the society. Today, one of the most important sex topics is the question of homosexuality. Homosexuality in its broad sense - is a form of human sexuality, made ​​up of the homosexual orientation (sexual attraction to the people of the same sex) and homosexual behavior (sexual practices with people of the same sex). As a rule, in many countries of Western Europe people of homosexual orientation have equal rights with the heterosexuals. In many American and African countries, such couples can even enter into the so-called civil partnerships or marriages. At the same time, discrimination of people of homosexual orientation is a phenomenon, rooted in the history. “The cultural myths and legal restrictions that create social hardships for gay adoptive parents forge a vicious and discriminatory cycle of marginalization that American legal history illustrates is best remedied through judicial intervention at the Supreme Court level» (Arntsen, N., 2009). There is a significant number of states, where the law pursues non-violent homosexual acts. The sociological researches show that same-sex couples are much more likely express a desire to adopt and raise children with disabilities than the ordinary couples. Many activists, advocating the right of same-sex couples to adopt children, note that there is a lack of foster parents for the certain categories of children. While foster parents prefer to adopt infants, other older children, with disabilities and difficult diagnosis roam the various shelters, remaining orphans. The latest researches showed that the same-sex couples may represent the new ways and approaches of child-upbringing, which may go beyond the traditional gender roles. These results are important for the professionals and other people, working with the adoptive families. Most of homosexual couples face problems with the procedure of child adoption. The topic of homosexual relation is an open fact for lots of people, nowadays, and is not a secret. Most of homosexual couples easily talk about their relations on public. The society looked more attentive at their style of life and made conclusion that homosexual couples act as the ordinary people, who watch favorite TV serials, make sandwiches and play soccer. No one feels threat from them anymore and the past theories, which represented homosexual couples as an anomaly of the society failed. “There are many examples of behaviors that went unpunished in the past but are now subject to formal social controls, including civil lawsuits and criminal proceedings» (Karmen, Andrew, 1994). However, currently, in all democratic states homosexual relationships are legalized. The prosecution of homosexual relationships is still preserved in 76 countries around the world, including Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Sudan as well as in some parts of Niger and Somalia, where homosexual relations are punishable by death. Homosexuality is usually represented by the inner crisis of the person. It contradicts the customs of the society and therefore creates social difficulties, even under the most favorable circumstances. One more widespread sexual deviation in the modern society is pedophilia. “Pedophilia has become a topic of increased interest, awareness, and concern for both the medical community and the public at large. Increased media exposure, new sexual offender disclosure laws, Web sites that list the names and addresses of convicted sexual offenders, politicians taking a "get tough" stance on sexual offenders, and increased investigations of sexual acts with children have increased public awareness about pedophilia” (Ryan, C. W., 2009, p. 41). Pedophilia is a mental disorder, one of different kinds of paraphilia. In its broadest sense, "pedophilia" means sexual attraction to children. However, the term is often used to refer to sex appeal not only in relation to children, but generally to people under the age of majority. The main part of pedophiles implements sexual needs only in their fantasies. Pedophilia is diagnosed more in male’s heterosexuals, than females. The treatment of pedophilia is a quite difficult process, which requires patient’s consent and solid installation on therapy. The prognosis of recovery in most cases is doubtful. According to the opinion of psychologists, pedophile behavior is connected with the impossibility or inability of the individual to build the mature relationships with the sexual partner of his age. “Despite an enduring fear of strangers abusing children, therefore, the evidence demonstrates that in the vast majority of cases, children’s abusers are known to them” (Richards, Kelly, 2011). The society considers the cases of sexual abuse as a threat from outside, while the situations of home violation are more frequent and widespread nowadays. Concluding this article, it is important to state that, sexual deviance is accepted differently among people. It depends upon the country and society, the person lives in. Sexual deviance looks like a painful habit, which is difficult to overcome. It can be compared with the attraction of a person to drugs or alcohol. People, who experience sexual deviance, constantly live with the inferiority complex, internal split and insolvency. Those, who suffer from the problems of sexual behavior, are subject in the future to severe neurological disorders, which may be accompanied by further suicide attempts. “Advances in knowledge of crime and delinquency over the life course require not only rethinking what we mean by stability and change, but a fresh infusion of data we can use to address key limitations of past research” (Sampson, R., 1992). The experience, received in the studies of cases of sexual deviance, changed the opinions of different people in relation to this problem. However, it is impossible to predict and eliminate all kinds of paraphilia. Consequently, the only way for the modern society is just to accept it as a social phenomenon. However, the cases of sexual deviance can be predicted by means of limitations and restrictions of the rights of industries, which made sex the mean of their enrichment and development. References Arntsen, N. (2009). Gay Parenthood and the Revolution of the Modern Family: An Examination of the Unique Barriers Confronting Gay Adoptive Parents. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065&context=srhonors_theses Fong, Timothy W. (2006, November). Understanding and managing compulsive sexual behaviors, page 8. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2945841/ Karmen, Andrew (1994). "Defining Deviancy Down": How Senator Moynihans Misleading Phrase About Criminal Justice Is Rapidly Being Incorporated Into Popular Culture”. Retrieved from: http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol2is5/deviancy.html Richards, Kelly. (2011, September). Misperceptions about child sex offenders. Retrieved from: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/421-440/tandi429.html Ryan, C. W., Hall, M. D. (2009, September). A Profile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders, Recidivism, Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues, page 41. Retrieved from: http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=53036 Sampson, Robert J., Laub, John H. (1992). Crime and Deviance in the Life Course. Retrieved from: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/sampson/files/1992_ars_laub.pdf Read More