Draft:Sexual deviance

Sexual deviance is a subsection of social deviance that pertains to sexual behaviors. Psychiatrists and psychologists have struggled for centuries to agree upon a definition for sexual deviance. Cultural and societal norms are subject to change over time; therefore, the definition of sexual deviance is also subject to change. The American Psychological Association’s current definition of sexual deviance is, any sexual behavior regarded as significantly different from the standards of a culture or subculture, such as voyeurism, fetishism, bestiality (zoophilia), etc. . It is important to note that sexual deviance does not equate to paraphilia or paraphilic disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, paraphilia is defined as “any intense or persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in genital stimulation or preparatory fondling with phenotypically normal, physically mature, consenting, human partners”. So long as the sexual act is performed with a consenting partner, done without harm to oneself or others, and does not cause distress or impairment, it is not considered a paraphilic disorder.

By definition sexually deviant behaviors must be significantly different from societal norms. When applied these behaviors to the statistical model of the normal distribution it can be concluded that behaviors less than 15.9% are unusual and behaviors less than 2.3% are rare. A 2017 study done by Joyal and Carpentier that examines interest and experience with various sexually deviant behaviors shows that the majority of these behaviors are not considered rare or unusual (excluding sadism [5.5% overall experience] and transvestism [4.9% overall experience]). While these behaviors may not be considered statistically abnormal, it is possible that they are considered abnormal when examining sexual deviance from a different lens of normality. There are four ways in which we can define normality: biological, psychological, moral, and statistical. In regards to sexual behavior, biological normality is considered using our physical anatomy to perform sexual acts (e.g. penetrative vaginal sex); however, this definition is very limiting and not inclusive. Note that until the publication of the DSM-5, homosexuality was considered a sexually deviant behavior. Psychological normality means that the sexual act and/or behavior does not cause negative emotion (e.g. anxiety, fear, sadness). Moral normality is based on specific cultural and historical context, this definition is subject to change within different cultures. Statistical normality, as described above, means the behavior occurs frequently within the population. Behaviors are much more likely to be considered sexually deviant when considered under biological, psychological, or moral normality.

Throughout history biological and moral normality have primarily been how deviance is determined. However, with the publication of Richard Von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (1886), psychological normality gained much influence. While Krafft-Ebing shared the common view that sexually deviant behaviors were due to “diseases of the sexual instinct”, meaning individuals use sex in ways other than to reproduce. Psychopathia Sexualis is considered influential due to its idea that to understand perversions you must understand the personality of the perverted individual. The book also carefully distinguished perversions from outright criminal behavior. It was not until the publication of the first edition of the DSM that a formal categorization for sexual deviant behaviors. Sexual deviance was considered a “sociopathic personality disturbance”, meaning "Individuals to be placed in this category are ill primarily in terms of society and of conformity with the prevailing cultural milieu, and not only in terms of personal discomfort and relations with other individuals". The DSM-II slightly expands upon this notion by adding eight categories of sexual deviance: homosexuality, fetishism, pedophilia, transvestism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, sadism, and masochism. The DSM-III went on to assign a new name to these behaviors, “paraphilias”, and slightly expanded the definition stating. “that unusual or bizarre imagery or acts are necessary for sexual excitement," involving "sexual objects or situations that are not part of normative arousal-activity patterns and that in varying degrees may interfere with the capacity for reciprocal affectionate sexual activity" . Later editions, such as the DSM-IV and DSM-V, better defined criterion for paraphilic disorder. They emphasize the minimum duration for the behaviors, distress and impairment to the individual, harm to oneself or others, and necessity of consent . The DSM-V holds the most current definition for sexual deviation; however, it is likely to change over time.