Paraphilias and fetishes

Paraphilias and Fetishes

Gabriella Gomez

PSYC 151 Human Sexuality

2 March 2019

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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

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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

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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.

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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.