FRHD 2100 Lecture Notes - Paraphilia, Cross-Dressing, American Psychiatric Association
Document Summary
Paraphilias: a diagnostic category used by the american psychiatric association to describe atypical patterns of sexual arousal or behaviour that become problematic in the eyes of the individual or society, such as fetishism and exhibitionism. The urges are acted on or are distressing to the individual. Some paraphilias are generally harmless and victimless, such as fetishism and cross-dressing to achieve sexual arousal. Charles moser proposed that the concept of sexual interest disorder (sid) should be substituted for paraphilia. Key issue is whether that behaviour is causing distress or dysfunction for the individual. Sexual sadism in which sexual arousal is connected to hurting or humiliating another person, can be very harmful when it is forced upon a non-consenting person. Except for the case of sexual masochism, paraphilias are believed to occur mostly among men. Fetishism: a paraphilia in which an inanimate object such as an article of clothing or items made of rubber, leather, or silk elicit sexual arousal.