Paraphilia

Paper Summary:

The paper begins by posing questions such as whether there is an environmental factor that is making otherwise normal people engage in deviancy and whether our definitions of "normal" are changing and that these behaviors have always been a part of our culture, but were considered taboo. It then goes on to give a thorough definition of paraphilia. Next the paper explores the influence of culture of sexual practices. It does this within a historical context. The paper then raises common issues experienced by sufferers of paraphilia, deals with treatment of this condition and discusses the specific deviation of sexual sadism. The paper concludes with a synopsis of the issues it contains.

From the Paper:

"A New York Times article recently reported that clinical psychologists are seeing an increasing number of patients reporting that they engage in abnormal sexual behavior (Goleman, 1991). Kinsey noted that in the years 1948 and 1953 as many as half of the Americans surveyed participated in sexual activities that could be considered masochistic or sadistic (such as biting or spanking) (Kinsey, et. al, 1948: Kinsey, et. Al., 1953). This trend seems to have slightly increased in prevalence, however, still remains close to the 61% mark (Donelly and Straus, 1994)."

More papers on Paraphilia:

• Essay # 26360 : "Paraphilias"
• Case Study # 135314 : "Criminal Profiling: A Paraphilia Case Study"
• Research Paper # 26504 : "Pharmacological Treatment for Paraphilias"

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