Sexual perversions (synonyms - sexual perversions, paraphilias), painful disturbances in the direction of sexual desire (libido) or ways of satisfying it. Previously, these included any sexual needs and actions of a person that differed from the dominant model of sexual behavior in society. Moreover, all sexual deviations, designated as sexual deviations, were considered painful disorders and, moreover, were strongly condemned from a moral point of view. Currently, many sexologists (see Sexology) are of the opinion that only some deviations are clearly pathological in nature.

Deviant sexuality is much more widely represented by deviations that do not have signs of unconditional pathology. These include deviant (perverse) tendencies that manifest themselves only in a person’s dreams and sexual fantasies, but for one reason or another are never realized in practice. There are also deviant elements that serve as additional stimuli that increase the individual’s sexual arousal during sexual intercourse, or are for him only one of the possible forms of achieving sexual pleasure. In some cases, persons with deviant sexuality are capable of erotic love, close partnerships and marriage.

True sexual perversions are sexual deviations that become practically the only source of sexual satisfaction for a person (ordinary sexual intercourse, even if possible, still does not provide the necessary sensations and complete sexual release), are obsessive and compulsory in nature, and tend to progress (increase perverse sexual actions and the gradual subordination of a person’s entire life to the satisfaction of distorted sexual desire), exclude deep partnerships, since the partner is assigned the role of an impersonal sexual stimulus necessary for the realization of perverse needs. In this case, strong sexual arousal and orgasm are achieved only in a strictly defined way, using special rituals that replace real coitus with fantasy or with the help of unusual sexual “techniques”.

With sexual perversions, the opportunity to experience sexual pleasure in another way is often sharply limited or absent, and perverse forms of sexual behavior gradually acquire a forced, inevitable character. A person loses volitional control over his actions and perverse sexuality takes an increasing place in his life. Thus, isolated acts of exhibitionism become more frequent over time and, in severe cases, lead to the fact that the search for opportunities to perform exhibitionist actions becomes the meaning of existence of a person with this perversion and displaces all other interests.


An increase in the frequency of perverse actions is often combined with a decrease in the severity of sexual experiences and a simultaneous increase in irritability, a feeling of emptiness, and a feeling of dissatisfaction, which, in turn, encourages a person to resort even more often to perverse sexual contacts, which bring at least temporary relief. Sexual experiences take on the character of an irresistible, painful habit, an obsession that has a certain similarity with such painful addictions as the attraction to alcohol (see Alcoholism) or drugs. In people with pronounced perverse attraction, social inadaptability and isolation from the outside world gradually increase. They may feel inferior, incompetent, and internally divided. It is not uncommon to feel a sense of self-loathing after sexual tension is released.

The growing and insoluble conflict between perverse methods of sexual satisfaction and generally accepted sexual norms often leads such people to psychopathic personality, severe neurotic disorders and suicide attempts. However, options are possible when perverted sexual desire is so closely connected with a person’s deformed personality that it does not cause him serious emotional distress and a sense of guilt for what he has done, even after the most severe sexual violence (see Rape). Since in perversion there is virtually no partnership, sexual contacts are characterized by anonymity and manifestations of promiscuity. The “partner” is selected based on the presence of some purely external sexually exciting symbols, and his own feelings and desires are completely ignored. The choice of an object for perverse actions depends entirely on the nature of the pathological attraction. In some cases, the implementation of perversion requires persons of a certain gender, age or physique, in others the main sexual stimulus may be clothing or even smells, and sometimes certain emotional and behavioral reactions of a person are necessary (fear, shame, numbness or violent resistance to the rapist).



True perversions are characterized by a periodic increase in sexual anxiety. Such impulses in people with manifestations of perversions arise periodically and can appear in the intervals between periods of normal sexual behavior (see also Sexual Norm). Such a person at times begins to experience severe anxiety against the backdrop of growing sexual tension, which requires immediate release. During this period, the frequency of perverse sexual acts increases significantly.

The reasons for perversions are not fully understood. It is believed that many biological and socio-psychological factors play a role in the formation of all sexual deviations, including their pathological, perverse forms. Unfavorable heredity, hormonal disorders, organic brain damage due to birth trauma, intoxication, previous neuroinfections, various distortions of psychosexual development, including those caused by improper sex education, isolation from peers, asocial environment, mental disorders in schizophrenia, epilepsy, severe psychopathy are important. , organic psychoses, etc. Perversions are most often based on a combination of several factors that negatively affect a person’s sexual sphere and prevent the development of mature sexuality.

To treat perversions, various methods of psychotherapy are used, which are aimed at gradually reducing pathological desire, correcting sexual behavior and providing a profound impact on the patient’s personality. Abroad, attempts are being made to eliminate certain types of perversions using brain surgery. However, there are serious objections to this method of treatment: the irreversibility of surgical effects on the brain centers, danger to human life and health. More often, to suppress perverse desires, reduce sexual excitability and aggressiveness of patients, antiandrogens and various psychotropic drugs are prescribed against the background of individualized psychotherapeutic influence.

Sexual perversion represent certain disorders of sexual desire and the way of satisfying it. As a rule, sexual perversions are based on reasons that are organic in nature, for example, injuries to the genital organs, drug or alcohol use) or psychosocial factors - mental disorders, interpersonal relationships. Manifestations of sexual perversions are characterized by behavioral characteristics, perception of the surrounding world, and psychopathic characteristics. Many of the sexual perversions are accompanied by serious mental disorders, such as schizophrenia.

To date, doctors have compiled a list of unusual sexual perversions:

Narratophilia is a sexual perversion in which a person feels sexually aroused by swearing and vulgarity. As a rule, narratophiles use swearing and obscenities during sexual intercourse; many of them, after completing the act, do not even remember what they said during the process.

Pictophilia– this is a sexual perversion, for people suffering from which it is typical to derive pleasure from pictures. In other words, pictophiles prefer to derive pleasure from pornographic films and photographs than from sexual intercourse. One of the most famous pictophiles in the whole world is the Pole Tomasz Jurynovic, who saw a painting of a girl in an art gallery and fell in love with her. For many years, Tomas tried to find the “original” picture, but he never succeeded. Therefore, he decided to “marry” a work of art.

Podophilia, better known as food fetish and is quite widespread today. Podophiles are very partial to the soles of their feet. Among the world celebrities who consider themselves podophiles are: Quentin Tarantino, Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin.

Lactophilia– This sexual perversion refers to nursing mothers and human breast milk. In Muslim countries, it is even considered that if a husband has tried his wife’s breast milk, they are already considered divorced.

Dendrophilia– This sexual perversion is characterized by sexual attraction to trees. Dendrophiles believe that trees have not only a soul, but also genitals, so they have sex right in forests and park areas.

Mechanophilia– represents an attraction to mechanisms, most often cars. It is a widely known fact that some race car drivers experience orgasms from speed. For many who have at least once felt an orgasm from speed, ordinary sex becomes unattractive.

Pyrophilia– this sexual perversion is the receipt of sexual pleasure from the sight of fire. Some pyrophiles experience orgasms from setting something on fire.

Is it possible to cure sexual perversions?

If sexual perversions are caused by trauma or pathology of the genital organs, then they can be cured quite easily, usually with the help of surgery and several sessions of psychotherapy. If there are no organic causes of sexual perversion, it is necessary to contact a sex therapist who can identify the cause and determine how correctable it is. For treatment to be as successful as possible, both partners should contact a sex therapist.

If the disease is mental in nature and manifests itself in the form of sexual dysfunction, you should contact a psychiatrist. Many patients suffering from sexual perversions carefully hide them from their family and close circle, which makes it difficult to contact a specialist in a timely manner and, as a result, the disease can worsen.

What shocks some people about sex is common practice for others. Much of the confusion arises because our ideas about what is acceptable are rapidly changing. Condoms, which were once sold only in some pharmacies, are now at the checkout counters of every supermarket. Until recently, intimate lubricants and vaginal balls could only be found in sex shops, but now they have migrated to pharmacies.

“The norm changes depending on time and place,” says sexologist Naida Dobaeva. “What is considered immoral or seen as a manifestation of illness in one society is considered acceptable deviation in another.”

“The boundaries are gradually expanding,” agrees sexologist Sergei Agarkov. - Several decades ago, the generally accepted idea was that man is a heterosexual being. We now believe that a person has three possible sexual orientations: hetero-, homo- and bisexual. And all these are variants of the norm. There are simply more people with heterosexual orientation than others. Perhaps one day sadomasochism will also be considered a sexual preference option.”

There is also a reverse trend: what was considered natural for the majority is becoming a thing of the past forever. For example, the system of family attitudes of house-building (implying the complete subordination of a woman to a man, the admissibility of physical punishment against her). Today, “submission”, one of the varieties of BDSM, perhaps reminds us of domostroy.

We no longer choose whether to receive information of a sexual nature or not - the space around us is saturated with it. We are exposed to environmental pressures that encourage sexual activity. But the choice is always ours.

30-year-old Marina made this choice spontaneously: “We had known Alexey for several months, when one day, leaving me in the morning, he left a box on the bed. Inside were black and red stockings, high-heeled shoes, panties with slits and leather men's thongs. I still remember this with a shudder. The underwear smelled of sweat - it had already been put on. I sent him this box by courier without a word. He didn't even call me back."

“Alexey told Marina in this way that he had non-standard needs,” explains Sergei Agarkov. - In this case we are talking about fetishism, the cult of clothing items associated with sex. The fact that underwear was worn is just natural, otherwise it cannot become a fetish. He probably expected Marina to take a step forward, question him, and then he would explain to her what was going on.”

How does is called?

According to our experts, the following practices include perversion.

Masochism- pleasure from the pain caused by another person.

Sadism- pleasure from causing pain to another person.

Transvestism- the pleasure of dressing in women's clothing.

Fetishism- pleasure caused by a thing directly or indirectly related to the sexual sphere (panties, shoes).

Exhibitionism- pleasure from showing your naked body to another person without his consent.

Voyeurism- the pleasure of looking at a naked person, which occurs without his knowledge.

Who does this appeal to?

Sexual life is the zone of greatest openness to others and, therefore, our vulnerability. Here you should not rush to judgment, much less condemnation. Naida Dobaeva reminds us that there is no general rule for everyone. “After all, we are dealing with a huge variety of properties and character traits,” says the expert. “I would call perverted sexual behavior in which a person cares only about satisfying his own sexual desires and uses his partner, not paying attention to his feelings and state of mind.”

“Perversion, perversion, occurs when a person can satisfy his sexual desire in only one single way,” clarifies Sergei Agarkov. - Often he needs a certain, specially created environment. Other sexual practices are only deviations from the usual, traditional.”

What to do when faced with a perverted attitude towards sex? There is only one thing - to run away from such a person

Do we have a chance to see at the beginning of dating that the prospective partner has some special preferences in sex? “No,” says Naida Dobaeva, “because what is condemned in society is usually hidden at first. All that remains is to pay attention to indirect signs: what makes a person happy or sad, what makes him happy or sad, whether there are mood swings for no apparent reason...”

What to do when faced with an obvious, truly perverted attitude towards sex? There is only one thing - to run away from such a person, our experts say. You cannot re-educate your partner or convince him. It's an illusion.

“Sexual preferences are formed in adolescence, when sexual energy is so great that it is directed “in all directions” and can move in any direction,” explains Sergei Agarkov. - Later, sexual preferences cannot be changed. A sexologist can only teach how to realize unusual desires without conflicting with culture and law.”

Depends on us

The boundaries of the norm are vague, which means that the area of ​​our personal responsibility is large. Instead of asking “Is this normal?” came “Do I want this? Will this be pleasant for me or will it harm me? But what if we feel that our desires are unusual? Should you tell your partner about this?

“First it’s better to weigh the pros and cons,” says Naida Dobaeva. - Try to understand whether your partner is ready to hear what you want to tell him. He may respond to your frankness with frankness, but he may not accept it.”

By confessing our secrets, we reveal our inner world and become very vulnerable.

Sergei Agarkov is more decisive: “A story about secret desires is intimate communication. By confessing our secrets, we reveal our inner world and become very vulnerable. But when we don’t do this, we distrust our partner or even deceive him.”

And Marina’s experience confirms this. “If Alexey had asked me to change clothes, maybe it would have seduced me,” Marina admits. “But clothes that had already been used... It was too rude, I felt used myself.” Perhaps Marina was offended by this act, since she knew her friend too little.

Principle of consent

Voluntariness - safety - reasonableness. It is essential that any sexual desires are discussed in advance and are voluntary for all involved. Violence is absolutely unacceptable. Both over the other person and over yourself. Can one of the partners stop the experiment at will without fear of rejection? If yes, then the principle of voluntariness was observed.

29-year-old Alexander received a refusal that made him think: “I liked filming my partners during oral sex. Not to show the video to others, but because it increased my desire. And then we met Zhenya. When, in the midst of a sex scene, I took out my cell phone, she simply kicked me out the door in the middle of the night. The next day I brought her flowers to apologize. We've been living together for a year now. I put the thought of the video out of my head. But that doesn’t stop us from being creative!”

Sometimes having sex with your loved one means giving up some part of your desires. This is the price of intimacy - both sexual and human.

Discoverer of the world of perversions

It may seem that the concept of kink has been around as long as sex itself. But in fact, we know about sexual perversions thanks to Baron Krafft-Ebing. Sexologist Sergei Agarkov tells.

“Baron Richard von Krafft-Ebing is an Austrian psychiatrist and sexologist. No one before him had dared to talk so openly about sexuality. He is the author of the terms “sadism”, “masochism”, and “bestiality” that are widely used today. At the end of the 19th century, he also described necrophilia and fetishism for the first time. Society has developed an idea of ​​perversion.

However, let’s not forget that Krafft-Ebing’s book “Sexual Psychopathy” (Republic, 1996), which is still popular today, has the subtitle “Forensic Essay for Doctors and Lawyers.” Krafft-Ebing was a forensic psychiatrist, and people with serious pathologies came to him for examination.”

Perversion (paraphilia, sexual perversion) - behavior of a sexual nature that deviates from generally accepted norms in society, can sometimes be called sexual deviation.

This condition may accompany some physiological or mental illnesses. It can manifest itself in two forms. The first involves a deviation from the norm within the framework of the choice of a sexual object for satisfaction, for example, sexual attraction to individuals of advanced age. The second form is characterized by perverted ways of obtaining pleasure, for example, sadomasochism or fetishism.

Moreover, in both cases, traditional intimacy with a partner may not interest the patient; he simply does not receive the desired satisfaction.

For some people with paraphilia, direct intimate contact does not play as significant a role as “ritual” actions in front of it, which cause strong arousal. In addition to the fact that this negative condition can accompany various mental illnesses (epilepsy or schizophrenia), it is progressive.

If a person has signs of sexual perversion, then such a person needs mandatory treatment and a course of psychotherapy.

Sexual perversion can occur due to physiological or psychological conditions; in rare cases, they can reinforce each other.

The development of perversion can be noticed even in childhood. In the child's games or hobbies, hints of the condition may slip through. Parents should not turn a blind eye to this, especially in a situation where the child is additionally suspected of psychopathy or another mental disorder, or there is some physiological disease.

Physiological reasons

Among the various reasons that affect physiology and provoke the development of sexual perversion, the following can be identified:

In a situation where a person's limbic system is damaged, sexual perversion can be a combination of aggression and strong sexual arousal at the same time. Such patients take pleasure in harming their sexual partner, humiliating him, and crippling him.

In some cases, taking psychotropic substances (drugs) or large doses of alcohol can also negatively affect a person, causing perverted sexual desire.

Psychological reasons

The psychological factors that cause this disorder can also be varied. These include disorders in psychosexual development (lag or advance). In the context of Freud's psychoanalytic theory, perversion is associated with abnormal development of the child in the prephallic and phallic stages. Because of this, there is a connection between the disease and neurotic conditions, as well as such a disorder as infantile sexuality.

Incorrect sex education or its complete absence affects the child, distorting ideas about sex life. An antisocial environment has a negative impact. A child deprived of the opportunity to contact his peers may also be susceptible to developing sexual perversion. Improper upbringing in the family or any psychological trauma can become grounds for sexual perversion.

Lack of contact with the mother in the early years of life can cause sexual perversion. It is characterized by a lack of empathy, the inability to understand or feel the state of another person. Because of this, the patient does not think about the consequences of his actions if there is any violent or frightening influence on the sexual object.

Moreover, in one case, a person with perversion may not remember his actions (information about actions is repressed from consciousness until a certain moment) or may experience a feeling of guilt. Due to the second basis, individuals with a tendency towards sexual perversion often experience severe obsessive thoughts, fall into a depressive state that requires intervention from doctors, and may experience a feeling of fear based on guilt.

Perversion often occurs against the background of various personality disorders, neuroses, and a distorted idea of ​​gender-role relationships.

Signs of the disorder

It is not difficult to recognize a paraphilia. It is very noticeable in the behavior, actions, hobbies, and addictions of the patient. Perversion can manifest itself in the form of fetishism, voyeurism, necrophilia, transvestism, incestophilia, and so on. Depending on what underlies sexual satisfaction, various violent actions can be traced.

If sexual perversion is based on achieving pleasure through atypical means, for example, through the use of only foreign objects, then such a person excludes traditional sexual relations with his partner.

Psychological state of the patient

If a person has perversion, then this disorder is accompanied by constant obsessive thoughts about perverted sexual pleasure. These thoughts may be accompanied by anxiety, shame, or guilt about your wants and needs. Often, in the case of paraphilia, the patient does not achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse, which leads to anxiety, depressive moods, aggression, mental anguish and generally disrupts the usual course of life.

For such people it is very difficult to maintain love and friendships. As paraphilia progresses, the patient may strive for isolation, complete loneliness.

Often this mental disorder becomes the reason for taking drugs and developing alcoholism. Due to the possible strong intrapersonal conflict, suicidal attempts are possible. The condition may worsen under the influence of symptoms of concomitant perversion of mental illness.

Treatment

Sexual dysfunction requires mandatory treatment. However, curing this disorder can be problematic.

Complete correction of the condition requires a lot of time, and it is necessary to act comprehensively, combining medication and psychotherapeutic influence.

Drug correction

There are no specific pills for paraphilia. Patients are often prescribed special hormonal therapy, which affects their physical condition.

If a person has additional abnormalities, then medications are selected based on existing mental problems. For depression, courses of antidepressants may be prescribed. Calming and sedatives are also prescribed to normalize sleep, relieve nervousness, and dull aggression. Strong tranquilizers are used for short-term relief of symptoms.

Psychotherapy

The main way to treat a person who has such a disorder is psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis, cognitive and behavioral therapy can be used here.

The main point is the process of teaching the patient to control the condition, restrain it, and redirect sexual energy in a different, non-perverted and non-violent direction.

Various communication techniques for correction can be selected. If there is anxiety, internal fears and other problems, work should be done with them. The specialist is faced with the task of simplifying the process of socialization of a person with paraphilia as much as possible until the negative condition is eliminated. An important role is given to the development of aesthetic understanding and empathy.

Despite the fact that sexual perversion is a progressive disorder, it is possible to get rid of it. It is worth understanding that no independent therapy will achieve the desired result. Therefore, it is important not to postpone a visit to a competent specialist if there is at least minimal concern about your condition.

The concepts of norm and normality are relative, because normal in our society is considered to be what is acceptable for most people. Many modern psychologists and sociologists believe that when characterizing personal relationships between people and especially sexual relationships, the criterion of “normality” is unacceptable, since the needs and preferences of each person are individual, and what is normal for one may be unacceptable for another. As for society's attitude towards various aspects of sexual life, people are now much more accepting of various deviations from the generally accepted norm than even 60-70 years ago. Nevertheless, with a fairly loyal attitude of society towards the diversity of sexual life, sex therapists and psychologists identify such a concept as sexual deviations (paraphilias, perversions) - deviations from socially accepted forms of sexual behavior.

Sexologists, doctors and psychologists have not come to a clear conclusion about which forms of human sexual behavior are considered deviant and which are within the normal range. For example, some sex therapists are confident that they are sexual deviations, while other scientists argue that these forms of human sexual behavior are natural sexual orientations. Separately, it should be noted the opinion of a certain circle of sex therapists who believe that sexual deviations or perversions are only those forms of human sexual behavior that are implemented through violence and aimed at causing moral or physical harm to other people.

The most common sexual perversions

There is no unified classification of human sexual deviations, however, according to experts, the most trustworthy is the so-called ICD-10 list - the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases developed by WHO, which includes sexual perversions. At the moment, according to this list, psychosexual deviations are considered to be:


Reasons for the formation of sexual perversions

The reasons for the formation of sexual deviations in the human psyche have not been fully studied, and scientists are still debating what factors may contribute to the formation of such deviations. Most psychologists and sexologists are of the opinion that sexual deviations in the human psyche are formed under the influence of one or more of the following factors:

  • Heredity
  • Birth trauma resulting in brain injury
  • Deviations in the functioning of the endocrine system, in which significant hormonal changes occur
  • Intoxication with narcotic and psychotropic substances
  • Irregularities and distortions in the process
  • Psychological trauma
  • Mental illness (schizophrenia, psychosis, etc.).

Treatment of sexual deviations

If the cause of sexual deviation is not a brain injury or mental illness, a person will most likely be able to get rid of his special addiction to sex by suppressing desire and gradually “displacing” it into the unconscious part of the psyche. In cases where sexual perversion is caused by the presence of a mental disorder or abnormalities in the functioning of the brain, a person should seek help from a psychopathologist or sex therapist. Also, a visit to a doctor should not be postponed for those people who cannot independently suppress perverted sexual desires and suffer due to an internal conflict between their desires and capabilities - without timely help, such people can either lose control over themselves or develop a severe neurotic disorder.

However, in most cases, treatment for sexual deviations is not required, and sexologists offer people whose inclinations do not contradict the law and morality to accept their own characteristics. Most often, doctors advise accepting deviation as a norm for themselves to those people whose inclinations may be acceptable to their potential partners. For example, a sexual sadist can achieve harmony in intimate relationships with a masochist, a fetishist can agree with his partner about the presence of a fetish during sexual intercourse (if the fetish is certain clothing or an object), etc. Of course, this does not apply to pedophilia and necrophilia - those who are prone to such forms of perverted sexual behavior are sent for compulsory treatment aimed at weakening sexual desire.