Sex and Love: Are You in the Mood? 181
Sexual Variance: Of Fetishes and Voyeurism
The term sexual varianceis used to characterize sexual behaviors that are statis-
tically deviant. This means only that these are behaviors that most people do not
engage in. Statistical variance does not necessarily imply pathology,meaning
sickness. A person who exhibits a form of sexual variance may be emotionally
troubled or suffer from a mental disorder, but not necessarily.
The classical term for the behaviors identified in this section is paraphilias.
This term comes from Greek roots meaning, roughly, “love on the edge” or
“love on the borderline.” This term is still employed widely in both psychiatry
and general psychology. Here are the principal paraphilias, or kinds of sexual
variance, that will be identified in this section: (1) bestiality, (2) exhibitionism,
(3) fetishism, (4) incest, (5) masochism, (6) pederasty, (7) pedophilia, (8) sadism,
(9) sodomy, (10) transsexualism, (11) transvestic fetishism (transvestism), and
(12) voyeurism. A discussion of the relationship between homosexual behavior
and sexual variance will be included toward the end of the section.
Bestialityrefers to sexual contact between a human being and an animal.
Another term for this kind of behavior is zoophilia.Although about 2 to 3 per-
cent of females and about 6 to 8 percent of males report at least one sexual con-
tact with an animal, overall sexual contact with animals tends to be low—probably
less than 1 percent.
(a) The term is used to characterize sexual behaviors that are statistically
deviant.
(b) What is the classical term for behaviors that might be called “love on the edge” or “love
on the borderline”?
(c) Name two terms that refer to sexual contact between a human being and an animal.
and
Answers: (a) sexual variance; (b) Paraphilias; (c) Bestiality; zoophilia.
Exhibitionismis characterized by sexual excitement associated with the vol-
untary exposure of one’s body, including the genitals. The large majority of exhi-
bitionism is associated with the self-exposure of a male to a female stranger. A
common pattern is exhibition with simultaneous masturbation.
Fetishismis characterized by the use of an inanimate object such as a stock-
ing, a pair of underwear, or a shoe as a sexual stimulus. A person who manifests
fetishism finds the object capable of inducing sexual excitement. A relatively com-
mon practice is to masturbate in association with the object.
Incestrefers to sexual relations with a close relative such as a parent or a sib-
ling. The most common form of incest is between siblings. The next most com-
mon is father and daughter. The least common is mother and son. Although a
