Introduction
Sexual deviance is also known as paraphilia, an atypical sexual behavior considered deviant in a society (Weinberg & Williams, 2015). It is called sexual deviance or a sexual disorder, which involves an unusual way of fulfilling needs that is considered socially immoral (Mokros, 2018).
There are ten main types of sexual deviance:
Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism involves a person exposing their sexual organs to other people who do not want them to do so.
Fetishism
It is another type of sexual deviance. In this type, people achieve sexual satisfaction by using objects like women’s clothing, tissue paper, or other such things.
Frotteurism
In this type, people engaging in sexual deviance rub or touch their sexual organs against others without consent. This behavior mostly occurs in busy, crowded places like bus stops.
Pedophilia
This is another type of sexual deviance in which most teenagers are involved. People with pedophilia are attracted to boys or girls, and they are more interested in boys.
Sexual Masochism
This is another type of sexual deviance. Masochism is a term used for sexual disorders. Masochism is the only sexual deviance that is practiced by women.
Sexual Sadism
In this type, individuals achieve sexual gratification by hurting other people.
Transvestic Fetishism
This is another type of sexual deviance in which a person is unhappy with their original gender and then, with hormonal therapy or sex change operations, changes their gender.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is a paraphilia in which a person finds sexual pleasure by watching sexual videos, viewing nude pictures, or observing sexual activity. These disorders mainly occur in males.
Zoophilia
This type describes sexual feelings or behavior in which domestic animals are involved, like dogs, goats, sheep, etc.
Necrophilia
This type describes sexual feelings involving a dead body.
Analyze whether sexual deviance may derive from psychological or biological issues.
There are different views among scientists about whether sexual deviance is a psychological or biological issue. There is one school of thought that argues that sexual deviance is a psychological issue, while on the other hand, there is another school of thought that argues that sexual deviance is a biological issue.
There are many psychological and biological theories related to sexual deviance that explain its causes and propose solutions. Many psychological theories have been developed during the last few decades. Psychological theories focus on human thought and behavior. A number of psychological theories of sexual deviance focus more on male-perpetrated rape cases and child molestation, sexual sadism, or female-perpetrated abuse (Aguilar, 2016).
Supporters of the psychological school of thought argue that sexual deviance is all because of psychological issues. Other factors may play a role, but they make a smaller contribution than psychological elements.
Biological Theories of Sexual Deviance
Biological theories of sexual deviance see sexual deviance as a form of biological illness (Tamatea, 2015). Supporters of biological theories of sexual deviance assume that people are criminals by nature. They are different from non-criminals. This, as a result, leads to criminal behaviors.
The Biological Theory of Y Chromosome
The theory of chromosomes explains that sexual criminals have an extra Y chromosome that gives them an XYY chromosome pattern rather than an XY pattern; due to that, they commit crimes. The XYY chromosome pattern, also called the supermale pattern, has extra sexual powers.
Analyze whether the field of psychopathology can provide solutions to the problem of sexual deviance.
Psychology can provide a better solution to the problems of sexual deviance compared to other solutions. Most cases involving deviant behavior are closely related to psychological issues. There are different types of sexual deviance that are closely linked with psychology, such as zoophilia, transvestic fetishism, and sexual sadism. These are some major types in which the element of psychology is more dominant than other factors.
There are a number of psychological tests that have measured different aspects of psychological functioning, such as locus of control and pro-sexual attitudes (Mahmut et al., 2016).
There are a number of psychological ways through which sexual deviance can be addressed in society. Such cases of sexual deviance mainly occur, or their rates are high, in areas where society is congested and people have less social interaction compared with an open society. Immaturity is one of the main factors in sexual deviance.
Validity Scales
Sexual/Social Desirability measures sex drives and interests and identifies whether clients are responding in a socially desirable environment; Sexual Obsession measures an offender’s obsession with sex and any tendency to exaggerate his problems; and the Lie Scale measures the extent of denial and minimization.
Bibliography
Aguilar, J. E. (2016). Sexual Child Abuse Classification: An Analysis of Variables Associated with Child Molestation(Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology).
Mokros, A. (2018). Sexual Offending. The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Forensic Neuroscience, 333.
Mahmut, M. K., Cridland, L., & Stevenson, R. J. (2016). Exploring the Relationship between Psychopathy and Helping Behaviors in Naturalistic Settings: Preliminary Findings. The Journal of General Psychology, 143(4), 254-266.
Tamatea, A. J. (2015). ‘Biologizing ’Psychopathy: Ethical, Legal, and Research Implications at the Interface of Epigenetics and Chronic Antisocial Conduct. Behavioral sciences & the law, 33(5), 629-643.
Weinberg, M. S., & Williams, C. J. (2015). Sociology and sexual deviance. The Handbook of Deviance, 369-400.
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