View source for Paraphilia

{{short description|Atypical sexual attraction}}
{{distinguish|Paraphyly|Paraphernalia}}
{{unbalanced|date=October 2025}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox gender and sexual identity
 | title = Paraphilia
 | coined_by = [[Friedrich Salomon Krauss]]
 | {{cite journal |last=Allely |first=Clare Sarah |date=2020-01-30  |title=Autism spectrum disorder, bestiality and zoophilia: a systematic PRISMA review |url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIDOB-06-2019-0012/full/html|journal=Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=75–91 |doi=10.1108/JIDOB-06-2019-0012 |issn=2050-8824}}</ref>

{{Infobox medical condition
|
field = [[Psychiatry]] }}

 | etymology = παρά (''para''; other) + φιλία (''philia''; loving)
 | synonyms =
* [[Perversion#Sexual usages|Sexual perversion]] (1880s–1920)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118896877 |title=The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality |date=2015-04-10 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-9006-0 |editor-last=Bolin |editor-first=Anne|edition=1|language=en|doi=10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs344 |editor-last2=Whelehan |editor-first2=Patricia|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* Sexual deviation (1952–1980; [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|DSM]] and [[ICD]])
 | associated_terms = Normophilia (antonym)
 | definition = Atypical sexual interest
}}
A '''paraphilia''' is a rare and uncommon intense and  persistent sexual arousal or attraction to anything not sexual by nature.<ref name="DSM-5, intro">{{cite book|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|edition=Fifth|chapter=Paraphilic Disorders|year=2013|publisher=[[American Psychiatric Publishing]]|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|pages=685–686}}</ref><ref name="DSMTR">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis00amer_0|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (Text Revision)|title-link=|date=2000|publisher=[[American Psychiatric Publishing]]|isbn=978-0-89042-024-9|volume=1|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3SQrtpnHb9MC&pg=PA566 566–76]|doi=10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |url-access=registration}}</ref> It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human partner.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vandiver|first1=Donna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lW2uDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|title=Sex Crimes and Sex Offenders: Research and Realities|last2=Braithwaite|first2=Jeremy|date=8 December 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-38524-0|accessdate=2022-10-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Worthen|first1=Meredith G. F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QSE-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA333|title=Sexual Deviance and Society: A Sociological Examination|date=2021-09-30|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-42106-4|accessdate=2022-10-08}}</ref> Paraphilias are contrasted with normophilic ("normal") sexual interests,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Joyal |first=Christian C. |date=2018-10-01 |title=Controversies in the Definition of Paraphilia |url=https://academic.oup.com/jsm/article/15/10/1378/6980379 |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |language=en |volume=15 |issue=10 |pages=1378–1380 |doi=10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.08.005 |pmid=30219664 |issn=1743-6109|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":2" /> although the definition of what makes a sexual interest normal or atypical remains controversial.

The exact number and [[taxonomy]] of paraphilia is under debate; [[Anil Aggrawal]] has listed as many as 549 [[List of paraphilias|types of paraphilias]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Anil|last=Aggrawal|author-link=Anil Aggrawal|title=Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices|date=2008|pages=369–382|chapter=Appendix 1|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNkNhPZQprcC&pg=PA369|publisher=[[CRC Press]]|location=Boca Raton, Florida|isbn=978-1-4200-4308-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118896877 |title=The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality |date=2015-04-10 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-9006-0 |editor-last=Bolin |editor-first=Anne |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs344 |editor-last2=Whelehan |editor-first2=Patricia}}</ref> Several sub-classifications of paraphilia have been proposed; some argue that a fully dimensional, spectrum, or complaint-oriented approach would better reflect the evident diversity of [[human sexuality]].<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Jack D.|last1=Maser|date=2002|title=Spectrum concepts in major mental disorders|journal=Psychiatric Clinics of North America|volume=25|issue=4|pages=xi–xiii|first2=Hajop S.|last2=Akiskal|pmid=12462854|doi=10.1016/S0193-953X(02)00034-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Robert F.|last1=Krueger|first2=David|last2=Watson|first3=David H.|last3=Barlow|title=Introduction to the Special Section: Toward a Dimensionally Based Taxonomy of Psychopathology|journal=[[Journal of Abnormal Psychology]]|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|location=Washington, DC|volume=114|issue=4|pages=491–3|year=2005|pmid=16351372|pmc=2242426|doi=10.1037/0021-843X.114.4.491|url=http://content.apa.org/journals/abn/114/4}}</ref> Although paraphilias were believed in the 20th century to be rare among the general population, subsequent research has indicated that some level of paraphilic interests are relatively common.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Moser |first1=Charles |last2=Kleinplatz |first2=Peggy J. |date=2020-05-07 |title=Conceptualization, History, and Future of the Paraphilias |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095548 |journal=Annual Review of Clinical Psychology |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=379–399 |doi=10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095548 |pmid=32023092 |issn=1548-5943|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Coinage of the term ''paraphilia'' (''paraphilie'') has been credited to [[Friedrich Salomon Krauss]] in 1903, and it was used with some regularity by [[Wilhelm Stekel]] in the 1920s.<ref name="stekel">{{cite book |last=Stekel |first=Wilhelm |title=Sexual Aberrations: The Phenomenon of Fetishism in Relation to Sex |publisher=[[Boni & Liveright]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-4179-3834-6 |edition=translated from the 1922 original German |location=New York City |translator-last=Parker |translator-first=S. |author-link=Wilhelm Stekel |orig-year=1930}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gherovici |first1=Patricia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pggqDwAAQBAJ&dq=paraphilia+english+coined&pg=PA48 |title=Transgender Psychoanalysis: A Lacanian Perspective on Sexual Difference – Patricia Gherovici – Google Books |date=2017-07-14 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-59418-5 |accessdate=2022-10-08}}</ref> The term comes from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] παρά (''para''), meaning 'other' or 'outside of', and φιλία (''-philia''), meaning 'loving'.<ref name="wiederman2003" /> The word was popularized by [[John Money]] in the 1980s as a non-[[pejorative]] designation for unusual sexual interests. It was first included in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|DSM]] in its 1980 edition.<ref name="wiederman2003" /><ref name="bullough1995" /><ref name="moser2001" />

==Definition==
There is no broad [[scientific consensus]] for definitive boundaries between what are considered "unconventional sexual interests", [[Kink (sexuality)|kinks]], [[Sexual fetishism|fetishes]], and paraphilias.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Joyal|first=Christian C.|date=20 June 2014|title=How Anomalous Are Paraphilic Interests?|journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]]|location=New York City|publisher=[[Springer Science + Business Media]]|volume=43|issue=7|pages=1241–1243|doi=10.1007/s10508-014-0325-z|issn=0004-0002|pmid=24948423|s2cid=34973560}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Joyal|first1=Christian C.|last2=Cossette|first2=Amélie|last3=Lapierre|first3=Vanessa|year=2015|title=What Exactly is an Unusual Sexual Fantasy?|journal=[[The Journal of Sexual Medicine]]|location=Amsterdam, Netherlands|publisher=[[Elsevier]]|volume=12|issue=2|pages=328–340|doi=10.1111/jsm.12734|pmid=25359122}}</ref> As such, these terms are often used loosely and interchangeably, especially in common parlance.

===History of paraphilic terminology ===
Many terms have been used to describe atypical sexual interests, and there remains debate regarding technical accuracy and perceptions of stigma.<ref name="wiederman2003">{{cite journal|first=Milan|last=Weiderman|date=2003|title=Paraphilia and Fetishism|journal=[[The Family Journal]]|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|location=Thousand Oaks, California|volume=11|issue=3|pages=315–321|doi=10.1177/1066480703252663|s2cid=146788566}}</ref><ref name="bullough1995">{{cite book|first=Vern L.|last=Bullough|author-link=Vern Bullough|date=1995|url=http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/LIBRO.HTM|title=Science in the Bedroom: A History of Sex Research|page=281|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-465-07259-0|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022080700/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/LIBRO.HTM|archive-date=22 October 2006|accessdate=5 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="moser2001">{{cite book|last=Moser|first=Charles Allen|authorlink=Charles Allen Moser|date=2001|chapter=Critiques of conventional models of sex therapy|editor-first=Peggy J.|editor-last=Kleinplatz|editor-link=Peggy J. Kleinplatz|title=New directions in sex therapy: innovations and alternatives|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis|Psychology Press]]|location=London, England|isbn=978-0-87630-967-4}}</ref><ref name="mccammon2004">{{cite book|last1=McCammon|first1=Susan|last2=Knox|first2=David|last3=Schacht|first3=Caroline|date=2004|title=Choices in sexuality|page=476|publisher=Atomic Dog Publishing|location=Mason, Ohio|isbn=978-1-59260-050-2}}</ref> [[John Money]] described paraphilia as "a sexuoerotic embellishment of, or alternative to the official, ideological norm".<ref name="money1990">{{cite book|last=Money|first=John|author-link=John Money|date=1990|title=Gay, Straight, and In-Between: The Sexology of Erotic Orientation|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-506331-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/gaystraightinbet0000mone/page/139 139]}}</ref> Psychiatrist [[Glen Gabbard]] writes that despite efforts by [[Wilhelm Stekel]] and John Money, "the term ''paraphilia'' remains pejorative in most circumstances."<ref name="gabbard2007">{{cite book|last=Gabbard|first=Glen O.|author-link=Glen O. Gabbard|date=2007|title=Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders|publisher=American Psychiatric Press|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page=581|isbn=978-1-58562-216-0}}</ref>

In the late 19th century, psychologists and psychiatrists began to categorize various paraphilias so as to have a more descriptive system than the legal and religious constructs of [[sodomy]],<ref name="dailey1989">{{cite book |last=Dailey |first=Dennis M. |title=The Sexually Unusual: Guide to Understanding and Helping |date=1989 |publisher=[[Haworth Press]] |isbn=978-1-4179-3834-6 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |pages=15–16}}</ref> as well as [[perversion]].<ref name="purcell2006">{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Catherine E. |title=The psychology of lust murder: paraphilia, sexual killing, and serial homicide |last2=Arrigo |first2=Bruce A. |date=2006 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |isbn=978-0-12-370510-5 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=16}}</ref> In 1914, [[Albert Eulenburg]] observed a commonality across paraphilias, using the terminology of his time writing, "All the forms of sexual perversion ... have one thing in common: their roots reach down into the matrix of natural and normal sex life; there they are somehow closely connected with the feelings and expressions of our physiological erotism. They are ... hyperbolic intensifications, distortions, monstrous fruits of certain partial and secondary expressions of this erotism which is considered 'normal' or at least within the limits of healthy sex feeling."<ref>[[Albert Eulenburg|Eulenburg]] (1914). ''Ueber sexualle Perversionen. Ztschr. f. Sexualwissenschaft''. Vol. I, No. 8. Translated by [[Wilhelm Stekel|Stekel, Wilhelm]] (1940). ''Sexual Aberrations: The Phenomena of Fetishism in rRelation to Sex''. New York: Liveright, p. 4. {{OCLC|795528}}.</ref>

Before the introduction of the term ''paraphilia'' in the [[DSM-III]] (1980), the term ''sexual deviation'' was used to refer to paraphilias in the first two editions of the manual.<ref>Laws & O'Donohue, p. 384</ref> In 1981, an article published in ''[[American Journal of Psychiatry]]'' described paraphilia as "recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors generally involving":<ref name="AJP">{{cite journal|last1=Spitzer|first1=Robert L.|author-link=Robert Spitzer (psychiatrist)|title=The diagnostic status of homosexuality in DSM-III: A reformulation of the issues|journal=[[The American Journal of Psychiatry]]|publisher=[[American Psychiatric Association]]|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|volume=138|issue=2|pages=210–215|date=February 1981|pmid=7457641|doi=10.1176/ajp.138.2.210}}</ref>
* [[Object sexuality|Non-human objects]]
* [[BDSM|The suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner]]
* [[Pedophilia|Prepubescent children]]
* Non-consenting persons

===Definition of typical versus atypical interests===
Clinical literature contains reports of many paraphilias, only some of which receive separate entries in the diagnostic taxonomies of the [[American Psychiatric Association]] or the [[World Health Organization]].<ref>{{cite web |title="Axis I. Clinical Disorders, most V-Codes and conditions that need Clinical attention". Retrieved: 23 November, 2007 |url=http://psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/Axis_I.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219132536/http://psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/Axis_I.jsp |archive-date=19 December 2010 |access-date=2013-03-14 |publisher=Psyweb.com }}</ref><ref>World Health Organization, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, (2007), [https://www.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/icd10online/ Chapter V, Block F65; Disorders of sexual preference.] Retrieved 2007-11-29.</ref> There is disagreement regarding which sexual interests should be deemed paraphilic disorders versus normal variants of sexual interest.<ref>[http://www.dsmivtr.org/2-3changes.cfm Summary of Practice-Relevant Changes to the DSM-IV-TR] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511220758/http://www.dsmivtr.org/2-3changes.cfm|date=11 May 2008}} from [http://www.dsmivtr.org/ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517004926/http://www.dsmivtr.org/|date=17 May 2008}}</ref> The DSM-IV-TR also acknowledges that the diagnosis and classification of paraphilias across cultures or religions "is complicated by the fact that what is considered deviant in one cultural setting may be more acceptable in another setting".<ref name="auto">American Psychiatric Association. (2000). ''Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders'' (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.</ref> Some argue that [[cultural relativism]] is important to consider when discussing paraphilias because there is wide variance concerning what is sexually acceptable across cultures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bhugra |first1=Dinesh |last2=Popelyuk |first2=Dmitri |last3=McMullen |first3=Isabel |date=30 March 2010 |title=Paraphilias Across Cultures: Contexts and Controversies |journal=[[Journal of Sex Research]] |location=London, England |publisher=[[Routledge]] |volume=2 |issue=47 |pages=242–256 |doi=10.1080/00224491003699833 |pmid=20358463 |s2cid=40452769}}</ref> [[Consensual]] adult activities and [[adult entertainment]] involving [[sexual roleplay]]; novel, superficial, or trivial aspects of [[sexual fetishism]]; or incorporating the use of [[sex toys]] are not necessarily paraphilic.<ref name="auto" />

=== Criticism of common definitions ===
There is scientific and political controversy regarding the continued inclusion of sex-related diagnoses such as the paraphilias in the DSM, due to the stigma of being classified as a mental illness.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kleinplatz |first1=Peggy J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcZDghztlpMC&pg=PA135 |title=Politics versus science: An addendum and response to Drs. Spitzer and Fink |last2=Moser |first2=Charles |journal=[[Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7890-3214-0 |volume=17 |location=London, England |pages=135–139 |doi=10.1300/J056v17n03_09 |issue=3/4 |authorlink2=Charles Allen Moser |s2cid=142960356|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some groups, seeking greater understanding and acceptance of [[sexual diversity]], have lobbied for changes to the legal and medical status of unusual sexual interests and practices. [[Charles Allen Moser]], a physician and advocate for sexual minorities, has argued that the diagnoses should be eliminated from diagnostic manuals.<ref name="moser2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Moser |first1=Charles Allen |last2=Kleinplatz |first2=Peggy J. |year=2005 |title=DSM-IV-TR and the Paraphilias: An argument for removal |journal=[[Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality]] |location=London, England |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=17 |issue=3/4 |pages=91–109 |doi=10.1300/j056v17n03_05 |s2cid=7221862 |authorlink1=Charles Allen Moser}}</ref> [[Ray Blanchard]] stated that the definition of paraphilia in the DSM done by concatenation (i.e., by listing a set of paraphilias) and that defining the term by exclusion (anything that is not normophilic) is preferable.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moser |first=Charles |date=2011 |title=Yet Another Paraphilia Definition Fails |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10508-010-9717-x |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |language=en |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=483–485 |doi=10.1007/s10508-010-9717-x |pmid=21210203 |issn=0004-0002|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Inclusion and subsequent exclusion of homosexuality===
[[Homosexuality]], a widely accepted variant of human sexuality, was once categorized as a sexual deviation.<ref name="hutchinson">{{cite journal|last=Hutchinson|first=Gerald E.|author-link=Gerald Hutchinson|date=1959|title=A speculative consideration of certain possible forms of sexual selection in man|journal=[[American Naturalist]]|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|volume=93|issue=869|pages=81–91|doi=10.1086/282059|bibcode=1959ANat...93...81H |s2cid=86617336}}</ref> [[Sigmund Freud]] and subsequent [[psychoanalytic]] thinkers considered homosexuality and paraphilias to result from [[psychosexual]] non-normative relations to the [[Oedipal complex]],<ref name="lacan">Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre IV. La relation d'objet, 1956–57. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 201</ref><ref name="Karpman1951">{{cite journal|last1=Karpman|first1=Benjamin|title=The sexual psychopath|journal=[[Journal of the American Medical Association]]|publisher=[[American Medical Association]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|volume=146|issue=8|pages=721–726|date=23 June 1951|pmid=14832048|doi=10.1001/jama.1951.03670080029008}}</ref> although not in the antecedent version of the 'Three Essays on Sexual Theory' where paraphilias are considered as stemming from an original polymorphous perversity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Freud|first=Sigmund|date=1971|title=Three essays on the theory of sexuality (1905). Summary|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/e417472005-189|access-date=2023-06-30|website=PsycEXTRA Dataset|doi=10.1037/e417472005-189|url-access=subscription}}</ref> As such, the term ''sexual perversion'' or the [[epithet]] ''pervert'' have historically referred to [[gay]] men, as well as other [[non-heterosexual]]s (people who fall outside the perceived norms of sexual orientation).<ref name="hutchinson"/><ref name="lacan"/><ref name="kafka1996">{{cite journal|last=Kafka|first=Martin P.|author-link=Martin Kafka|year=1996|title=Therapy for Sexual Impulsivity: The Paraphilias and Paraphilia-Related Disorders|journal=[[Psychiatric Times]]|publisher=MJH Associates|location=New York City|volume=13|issue=6}}</ref><ref name="Cantor2012">{{cite journal|last1=Cantor|first1=James M.|author-link=James M. Cantor|title=Is Homosexuality a Paraphilia? The Evidence for and Against|journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]]|publisher=[[Springer Science + Business Media]]|location=New York City|volume=41|issue=1|pages=237–247|date=February 2012|pmid=22282324|pmc=3310132|doi=10.1007/s10508-012-9900-3}}</ref>

By the mid-20th century, mental health practitioners began formalizing "deviant sexuality" classifications into categories. Originally coded as 000-x63, homosexuality was the top of the classification list (Code 302.0) until the [[American Psychiatric Association]] removed homosexuality from the DSM in 1973. [[Martin Kafka]] writes, "Sexual disorders once considered paraphilias (e.g., homosexuality) are now regarded as variants of normal sexuality."<ref name="kafka1996"/>

A 2012 literature study by clinical psychologist [[James Cantor]], when comparing homosexuality with paraphilias, found that both share "the features of onset and course (both homosexuality and paraphilia being life-long), but they appear to differ on sex ratio, [[fraternal birth order]], [[handedness]], [[IQ]] and [[Constructive developmental framework#The cognitive profile of a person|cognitive profile]], and [[neuroanatomy]]." The research then concluded that the data seemed to suggest paraphilias and homosexuality as two distinct categories but regarded the conclusion as "quite tentative" given the current limited understanding of paraphilias.<ref name=Cantor2012/>

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Paul Rader - Over Exposed - 1962.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration of a voyeuristic fantasy, 1962]]
Paraphilias typically arise in late adolescence or early adulthood. Persons with paraphilias are generally [[egosyntonic]] and view their paraphilias as something inherent in their being, although they recognize that their sexual fantasies lie outside the norm and may attempt to conceal them.<ref name="wiederman2003" /> Paraphilic interests are rarely exclusive<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last1=Joyal |first1=Christian |title=Paraphilia |date=2021 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science |pages=5692–5696 |editor-last=Shackelford |editor-first=Todd K |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_3387 |access-date=2024-01-24 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_3387 |isbn=978-3-319-19649-7 |last2=Antfolk |first2=Jan |editor2-last=Weekes-Shackelford |editor2-first=Viviana A|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and some people have more than one paraphilia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Castellini |first1=Giovanni |last2=Rellini |first2=Alessandra H. |last3=Appignanesi |first3=Cristina |last4=Pinucci |first4=Irene |last5=Fattorini |first5=Matteo |last6=Grano |first6=Elisa |last7=Fisher |first7=Alessandra D. |last8=Cassioli |first8=Emanuele |last9=Lelli |first9=Lorenzo |last10=Maggi |first10=Mario |last11=Ricca |first11=Valdo |date=2018-09-01 |title=Deviance or Normalcy? The Relationship Among Paraphilic Thoughts and Behaviors, Hypersexuality, and Psychopathology in a Sample of University Students |url=https://academic.oup.com/jsm/article/15/9/1322/6980467 |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |language=en |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=1322–1335 |doi=10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.07.015 |issn=1743-6109 |pmid=30224020 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Some people with paraphilias may seek occupations and avocations that increase their access to objects of their sexual fantasies (e.g., voyeurs working in rental properties to "peep" on others or pedophiles working with Boy Scouts).<ref name="wiederman2003" />

Research has found that some paraphilias, such as [[voyeurism]] and [[sadomasochism]], are associated with more lifetime sexual partners, contradicting theories that paraphilias are associated with [[courtship disorder]]s and arrested social development.<ref name=":1" /> Scientific literature includes some single-case studies of very rare and idiosyncratic paraphilias. These include an adolescent male who had a strong fetishistic interest in the exhaust pipes of cars, a young man with a similar interest in a specific type of car, and a man who had a paraphilic interest in sneezing (both his own and the sneezing of others).<ref>{{cite journal |author=Padmal de Silva |date=March 2007 |title=Sexual disorder and psychosexual therapy |journal=Psychiatry |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=130&ndash;134 |doi=10.1016/j.mppsy.2006.12.009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=King |first=Michael B. |year=1990 |title=Sneezing as a fetish object |journal=[[Sexual and Marital Therapy]] |location=London, England |publisher=[[Routledge]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=69&ndash;72 |doi=10.1080/02674659008407999}}</ref>

[[Egosyntonicity|Ego alien]] sexual interests in an individual can cause individuals to become [[Suicidal ideation|suicidal]] due to the embarrassment or shame that it causes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yakeley |first1=Jessica |last2=Wood |first2=Heather |date=2 January 2018 |title=Paraphilias and paraphilic disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/paraphilias-and-paraphilic-disorders-diagnosis-assessment-and-management/8DA2119F2AE98194BDFD48D7FC883D67 |journal=Advances in Psychiatric Treatment |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=202–213 |doi=10.1192/apt.bp.113.011197 |issn=1355-5146}}</ref>

=== Causes and correlations ===
The causes of paraphilias in people are unclear, but it is believed to be a mixture of neurological, cultural, and [[Psychodynamics|psychodynamic]] factors. No two or more people with a paraphilia will develop it for the same reasons or be interested in the same qualities of the specific sexual interest.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview of Paraphilias and Paraphilic Disorders - Psychiatric Disorders |url=https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/paraphilias-and-paraphilic-disorders/overview-of-paraphilias-and-paraphilic-disorders |access-date=2025-09-07 |website=Merck Manual Professional Edition |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thibaut |first1=Florence |last2=Barra |first2=Flora De La |last3=Gordon |first3=Harvey |last4=Cosyns |first4=Paul |last5=Bradford |first5=John M. W. |last6=the WFSBP Task Force on Sexual Disorders |date=2010 |title=The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for the biological treatment of paraphilias |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/15622971003671628 |journal=The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=604–655 |doi=10.3109/15622971003671628 |pmid=20459370 |issn=1562-2975}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

A 2008 study analyzing the sexual fantasies of 200 heterosexual men by using the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire exam determined that males with a pronounced degree of fetish interest had a greater number of older brothers, a high 2D:4D [[digit ratio]] (which would indicate excessive prenatal estrogen exposure), and an elevated probability of being [[left-handed]], suggesting that "disturbed" hemispheric [[brain lateralization]] may play a role in paraphilic attractions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Quazi |first1=Rahman |last2=Symeonides |first2=Deano J. |date=February 2007 |title=Neurodevelopmental Correlates of Paraphilic Sexual Interests in Men |journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]] |location=New York City |publisher=[[Springer Science + Business Media]] |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=166–172 |doi=10.1007/s10508-007-9255-3 |pmid=18074220 |s2cid=22274418}}</ref> [[Behaviorism|Behavioral]] explanations propose that paraphilias are [[Classical conditioning|conditioned]] early in life, during an experience that pairs the paraphilics stimulus with intense sexual arousal.<ref name="Nolen-Hoeksema2013">{{cite book |last=Nolen-Hoeksema |first=Susan |url=http://connect.customer.mheducation.com/products/connect-for-nolen-hoeksema-abnormal-psychology-6e/ |title=Abnormal Psychology |date=2013 |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]] |isbn=978-0-07-803538-8 |edition=6th |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=385 |author-link=Susan Nolen-Hoeksema |access-date=15 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104143831/http://connect.customer.mheducation.com/products/connect-for-nolen-hoeksema-abnormal-psychology-6e/ |archive-date=4 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Susan Nolen-Hoeksema]] suggests that, once established, [[masturbatory]] fantasies about the stimulus reinforce and broaden the paraphilic arousal.<ref name="Nolen-Hoeksema2013" />

Genetic causes, particularly genes that encode the behavior of [[neurotransmitter]] receptors and [[androgen]] release have been implicated in studies, though others have shown no correlation between genetics and paraphilic behavior.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jakubczyk |first1=Andrzej |last2=Krasowska |first2=Aleksandra |last3=Bugaj |first3=Marcin |last4=Kopera |first4=Maciej |last5=Klimkiewicz |first5=Anna |last6=Łoczewska |first6=Agata |last7=Michalska |first7=Aneta |last8=Majewska |first8=Aleksandra |last9=Szejko |first9=Natalia |last10=Podgórska |first10=Anna |last11=Sołowiej |first11=Małgorzata |last12=Markuszewski |first12=Leszek |last13=Jakima |first13=Sławomir |last14=Płoski |first14=Rafał |last15=Brower |first15=Kirk |date=2017-01-01 |title=Paraphilic Sexual Offenders Do Not Differ From Control Subjects With Respect to Dopamine- and Serotonin-Related Genetic Polymorphisms |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743609516308268 |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=125–133 |doi=10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.11.309 |pmid=27989490 |issn=1743-6095}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alanko |first1=Katarina |last2=Gunst |first2=Annika |last3=Mokros |first3=Andreas |last4=Santtila |first4=Pekka |date=2016-05-01 |title=Genetic Variants Associated With Male Pedophilic Sexual Interest |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743609516003477 |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=835–842 |doi=10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.02.170 |pmid=27114195 |issn=1743-6095}}</ref>

It is possible for an individual to acquire a paraphilia from various types of brain [[lesion]]s and [[epilepsy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baird |first1=Amee D. |last2=Wilson |first2=Sarah J. |last3=Bladin |first3=Peter F. |last4=Saling |first4=Michael M. |last5=Reutens |first5=David C. |date=22 December 2006 |title=Neurological control of human sexual behaviour: insights from lesion studies |journal=Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry |volume=78 |issue=10 |pages=1042–1049 |doi=10.1136/jnnp.2006.107193 |issn=1468-330X |pmc=2117556 |pmid=17189299}}</ref>

==Prevalence==
Although paraphilic interests in the general population were believed to be rare, research has shown that fantasies and behaviors related to voyeurism, sadomasochism and couple [[exhibitionism]] are not statistically uncommon among adults.<ref name=":1" /> In a study conducted in a population of men, 62% of participants reported at least one paraphilic interest. In another sample of college students, voyeurism was reported in 52% of men.<ref name=":0" /> The DSM-5 estimates that 2.2% of males and 1.3% of females in Australia engaged in bondage and discipline, sadomasochism, or dominance and submission within the past 12 months. The population prevalence of sexual masochism disorder is unknown.<ref name="DSM-5">{{Citation|last=American Psychiatric Association|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition|date=2013|pages=694|edition=5th|id={{ASIN|0890425558|country=uk}}}}</ref>

=== Among women ===
Paraphilias are often observed in women,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Sensual, Erotic, and Sexual Behaviors of Women from the "Kink" Community | journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior | date=2015 | volume=44 | issue=4 | pages=825–836 | doi=10.1007/s10508-015-0524-2 | pmid=25795531 | pmc=4379392 | vauthors = Rehor JE }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Kinky Sex Survey Says: You're Not as Deviant as You Think | date=11 November 2014 | url=https://reason.com/2014/11/11/kinky-sex-survey-finds-everybodys-weird/ }}</ref> and there have been some studies focusing exclusively on females with paraphilias.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Eva W. C. Chow|author2=Alberto L. Choy|date=April 2002|title=Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Response to SSRI in a Female Pedophile|url=http://0-download.springer.com.mercury.concordia.ca/static/pdf/886/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1014795321404.pdf?auth66=1425842757_14e2bfac5512359c2fbdb237bd2d809b&ext=.pdf|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|volume=31|issue=2|pages=211–215|doi=10.1023/A:1014795321404|pmid=11974646|s2cid=20845516|access-date=14 March 2015}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Men and women differ on the content of their sexual fantasies, with the former reporting greater proportions of [[Sexual fetishism|fetishism]], exhibitionism and sadism, and the latter reporting greater proportions of masochism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dawson |first1=Samantha J. |last2=Bannerman |first2=Brittany A. |last3=Lalumière |first3=Martin L. |date=2016 |title=Paraphilic Interests: An Examination of Sex Differences in a Nonclinical Sample |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1079063214525645 |journal=Sexual Abuse |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=20–45 |doi=10.1177/1079063214525645 |pmid=24633420 |issn=1079-0632|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sexual masochism has been found to be the most commonly observed paraphilia in women, with approximately 1 in 20 cases.<ref name="DSM" /><ref name="DSM-V">{{Citation|last=American Psychiatric Association|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition|date=2013|pages=685–706|edition=5th|id={{ASIN|0890425558|country=uk}}}}</ref>

== In ancient cultures ==
Paraphilic fantasies and behaviors have been registered in multiple old and ancient sources. Voyeurism, bestiality and exhibitionism have been described in the [[Bible]]. Sexual relations with animals have also been depicted in [[cave painting]]s.<ref>{{Citation |last=Balon |first=Richard |title=General Information: History, Etiology and Theory (e.g., Courtship), Diagnosis, Comorbidity and Prevalence |date=2016 |work=Practical Guide to Paraphilia and Paraphilic Disorders |pages=15–29 |editor-last=Balon |editor-first=Richard |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-42650-1_2 |access-date=2024-01-25 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-42650-1_2 |isbn=978-3-319-42648-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some ancient sex manuals such as the ''[[Kama Sutra]]'' (450), ''[[Ratirahasya|Koka Shastra]]'' (1150) and ''[[Ananga Ranga]]'' (1500) discuss biting, marks left after sex and love blows. Although evidence suggests that paraphilic behaviors have existed prior to the [[Renaissance]], it is difficult to ascertain how common they were and how many people had persistent paraphilic fantasies in ancient times.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Esther Huillard - Leda et le cygne.jpg|thumb|"Leda and the Swan" (from [[Leda and the Swan|the Greek tale]]) by Esther Huillard]]
[[Bestiality]] has been depicted multiple times in Greek mythology, although the act itself usually involved a deity in zoomorphic form, such as Zeus seducing [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]], [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]] and [[Persephone]] while disguised as a bull, a swan and a serpent, respectively. Zeus was also depicted, in the form of an eagle, abducting [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]], an act that alludes to both bestiality and pederastry. Some fragments of [[Hittite laws|Hittite law]] include prohibitions of and permissions to engage in specific acts of bestiality.<ref>Peled, Ilan (2020). "Bestiality in Hittite Thought." ''Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society'' 34 (1).</ref>

[[Havelock Ellis]] pointed to an example of sexual masochism in the fifteenth century. The report, written by [[Giovanni Pico della Mirandola]], described a man who could only be aroused by being beaten with a whip dipped in vinegar.<ref name=":2" /> Wilhelm Stekel also noted that [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau|Rousseau]] also discussed his own masochism in his ''[[Confessions (Rousseau)|Confessions]]''.<ref name="Stekel 2013 p. 17">{{cite book |last=Stekel |first=W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tih-CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT17 |title=Sadism and Masochism – The Psychology of Hatred and Cruelty – Vol. II. |publisher=Read Books Limited |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4733-8951-9 |page=17 |access-date=2023-06-14 |issue=v. 2}}</ref> Other similar instances of persistent paraphilic fantasies were reported between 1516 and 1643 by [[Coelius Sedulius]], [[Caelius Rhodiginus|Rhodiginus]], Brundel and [[Meibomius]].<ref name=":2" />

== Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) ==
{{main|Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders}}

=== DSM-I and DSM-II ===
In American psychiatry, prior to the publication of the DSM-I, paraphilias were classified as cases of "[[psychopathic]] personality with pathologic sexuality". The DSM-I (1952) included sexual deviation as a [[personality disorder]] of [[Antisocial personality disorder|sociopathic]] subtype. The only diagnostic guidance was that sexual deviation should have been "reserved for deviant sexuality which [was] not symptomatic of more extensive syndromes, such as [[schizophrenic]] or obsessional reactions". The specifics of the disorder were to be provided by the clinician as a "supplementary term" to the sexual deviation diagnosis; there were no restrictions in the DSM-I on what this supplementary term could be.<ref>Laws and, O'Donohue (2008) pp. 384–385 citing DSM-I pp. 7, 38–39</ref> Researcher [[Anil Aggrawal]] writes that the now-obsolete DSM-I listed examples of supplementary terms for pathological behavior to include "homosexuality, [[transvestism]], [[pedophilia]], [[Sexual fetishism|fetishism]], and [[sexual sadism]], including [[rape]], [[sexual assault]], mutilation."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aggrawal|first=Anil|author-link=Anil Aggrawal|year=2008|title=Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices|page=47|chapter=Chapter 2: Pedophillia and Child Sexual Abuse|publisher=[[CRC Press]]|location=Boca Raton, Florida|isbn=978-1-4200-4308-2}}</ref>

The DSM-II (1968) continued to use the term ''sexual deviations'', no longer ascribed them under personality disorders but rather alongside them in a broad category titled "personality disorders and certain other nonpsychotic mental disorders". The types of sexual deviations listed in the DSM-II were: [[sexual orientation disturbance]] (homosexuality), fetishism, pedophilia, transvestitism, [[exhibitionism]], [[voyeurism]], [[sadistic personality disorder|sadism]], [[masochism]], and "other sexual deviation". No definition or examples were provided for "other sexual deviation" but the general category of sexual deviation was meant to describe the sexual preference of individuals that was "directed primarily toward objects other than people of opposite sex, toward sexual acts not usually associated with [[coitus]], or toward coitus performed under bizarre circumstances, as in [[necrophilia]], pedophilia, sexual sadism, and fetishism."<ref>Laws and, O'Donohue (2008) p. 385 citing DSM-II p. 44</ref> Except for the removal of homosexuality from the DSM-III onwards, this definition provided a general standard that has guided specific definitions of paraphilias in subsequent DSM editions, up to DSM-IV-TR.<ref name="Laws and, O'Donohue 2008 p. 386">Laws and O'Donohue (2008) p. 386</ref>

=== DSM-III through DSM-IV ===
The term ''paraphilia'' was introduced in the DSM-III (1980) as a subset of the new category of "psychosexual disorders". The DSM-III-R (1987) renamed the broad category to sexual disorders, renamed atypical paraphilia to paraphilia NOS (not otherwise specified), renamed transvestism as [[transvestic fetishism]], added [[frotteurism]], and moved [[zoophilia]] to the NOS category. It also provided seven nonexhaustive examples of NOS paraphilias, which besides [[zoophilia]] included [[exhibitionism]], [[necrophilia]], [[partialism]], [[coprophilia]], [[klismaphilia]], and [[urophilia]].<ref>Laws and, O'Donohue (2008) p. 385</ref> The DSM-IV (1994) retained the sexual disorders classification for paraphilias, but added an even broader category, "sexual and [[gender identity disorder]]s", which includes them. The DSM-IV retained the same types of paraphilias listed in DSM-III-R, including the NOS examples, but introduced some changes to the definitions of some specific types.<ref name="Laws and, O'Donohue 2008 p. 386" />

=== DSM-IV-TR ===
The DSM-IV-TR describes paraphilias as "recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors generally involving nonhuman objects, the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner, or children or other nonconsenting persons that occur over a period of six months" (criterion A), which "cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning" (criterion B). DSM-IV-TR names eight specific paraphilic disorders ([[exhibitionism]], [[Sexual fetishism|fetishism]], [[frotteurism]], [[pedophilia]], [[Sexual masochism disorder|sexual masochism]], [[sexual sadism]], [[voyeurism]], and [[transvestic fetishism]], plus a residual category, [[Paraphilia not otherwise specified|paraphilia—not otherwise specified]]).<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/55266|title=Paraphilias: Clinical and Forensic Considerations|website=psychiatrictimes.com|access-date=10 August 2008|archive-date=22 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122162131/http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/55266|url-status=dead}}</ref> Criterion B differs for exhibitionism, frotteurism, and pedophilia to include acting on these urges, and for sadism, acting on these urges with a nonconsenting person.<ref name=DSM>American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). pp. 569–570, 572, 574, Washington, DC: Author.</ref> [[Sexual arousal]] in association with objects that were designed for sexual purposes is not diagnosable.<ref name=DSM/> Some paraphilias may interfere with the capacity for sexual activity with consenting adult partners.<ref name="DSM" /> In the current version of the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]] (DSM-IV-TR), a paraphilia is not diagnosable as a [[psychiatric disorder]] unless it causes distress to the individual or harm to others.<ref name="DSMTR" />

=== DSM-5 ===
The [[DSM-5]] adds a distinction between ''paraphilias'' and ''"paraphilic disorders"'', stating that paraphilias do not require or justify psychiatric treatment in themselves, and defining ''paraphilic disorder'' as "a paraphilia that is currently causing distress or impairment to the individual or a paraphilia whose satisfaction has entailed personal harm, or risk of harm, to others".<ref name="DSM-5, intro"/> The DSM-5 Paraphilias Subworkgroup reached a "consensus that paraphilias are not ''ipso facto'' psychiatric disorders", and proposed "that the DSM-V make a distinction between ''paraphilias'' and paraphilic ''disorders''. One would ''ascertain'' a paraphilia (according to the nature of the urges, fantasies, or behaviors) but ''diagnose'' a paraphilic disorder (on the basis of distress and impairment). In this conception, having a paraphilia would be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for having a paraphilic disorder." The 'Rationale' page of any paraphilia in the electronic DSM-5 draft continues: "This approach leaves intact the distinction between normative and non-normative sexual behavior, which could be important to researchers, but without automatically labeling non-normative sexual behavior as psychopathological. It also eliminates certain logical absurdities in the DSM-IV-TR. In that version, for example, a man cannot be classified as a transvestite—however much he cross-dresses and however sexually exciting that is to him—unless he is unhappy about this activity or impaired by it. This change in viewpoint would be reflected in the diagnostic criteria sets by the addition of the word 'Disorder' to all the paraphilias. Thus, Sexual Sadism would become [[Sexual sadism disorder|Sexual Sadism Disorder]]; Sexual Masochism would become [[Sexual masochism disorder|Sexual Masochism Disorder]], and so on."<ref name="dsm5">{{cite web|url=http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid%3D186|title=302.2 Pedophilia|website=DSM-5|access-date=2012-02-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215165810/http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=186|archive-date=15 February 2010}}</ref>

[[Bioethics]] professor [[Alice Dreger]] interpreted these changes as "a subtle way of saying sexual kinks are basically okay – so okay, the sub-work group doesn't actually bother to define paraphilia. But a paraphilic disorder is defined: that's when an atypical sexual interest causes distress or impairment to the individual or harm to others." Interviewed by Dreger, [[Ray Blanchard]], the Chair of the Paraphilias Sub-Work Group, stated, "We tried to go as far as we could in depathologizing mild and harmless paraphilias, while recognizing that severe paraphilias that distress or impair people or cause them to do harm to others are validly regarded as disorders."<ref>Alice Dreger (19 Feb 2010) ''[http://www.thehastingscenter.org/of-kinks-crimes-and-kinds-the-paraphilias-proposal-for-the-dsm-5 Of Kinks, Crimes, and Kinds: The Paraphilias Proposal for the DSM-5]'', [[Hastings Center]]</ref> [[Charles Allen Moser]] stated that this change is not really substantive, as the DSM-IV already acknowledged a difference between paraphilias and non-pathological but unusual sexual interests, a distinction that is virtually identical to what was being proposed for DSM-5, and it is a distinction that, in practice, has often been ignored.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Moser C|year=2010|title=Problems with Ascertainment|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|volume=39|issue=6|pages=1225–1227|doi=10.1007/s10508-010-9661-9|pmid=20652734|s2cid=11927813}}</ref> Linguist Andrew Clinton Hinderliter argued that "including some sexual interests—but not others—in the DSM creates a fundamental asymmetry and communicates a negative value judgment against the sexual interests included," and leaves the paraphilias in a situation similar to [[ego-dystonic homosexuality]], which was removed from the DSM because it was no longer recognized as a mental disorder.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Andrew Clinton|last=Hinderliter|author-link=Andrew Clinton Hinderliter|year=2010|title=Defining paraphilia: excluding exclusion|journal=Open Access Journal of Forensic Psychology|volume=2|pages=241–271|url=http://web.me.com/gregdeclue/Site/Volume_2__2010_files/Hinderliter%202010.pdf|access-date=12 November 2010|archive-date=15 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015022211/http://web.me.com/gregdeclue/Site/Volume_2__2010_files/Hinderliter%202010.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[DSM-5]] has specific listings for eight paraphilic disorders.<ref name="DSM-5, intro"/> These are voyeuristic disorder, exhibitionistic disorder, [[frotteuristic disorder]], sexual masochism disorder, sexual sadism disorder, pedophilic disorder, fetishistic disorder, and [[Transvestic fetishism|transvestic disorder]].<ref name="DSM-5, intro"/> Other paraphilic disorders can be diagnosed under the [[Other Specified Paraphilic Disorder]] or Unspecified Paraphilic Disorder listings, if accompanied by distress or impairment.<ref>{{cite book|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|edition=Fifth|chapter=Other Specified Paraphilic Disorder; Unspecified Paraphilic Disorder|editor=American Psychiatric Association|year=2013|publisher=American Psychiatric Publishing|page=705}}</ref>

==International Classification of Diseases==
{{Main|International Classification of Diseases}}

=== ICD-6,&nbsp; ICD-7,&nbsp; ICD-8 ===
In the ICD-6 (1948) and ICD-7 (1955), a category of "sexual deviation" was listed with "other Pathological personality disorders". In the ICD-8 (1965), "sexual deviations" were categorized as homosexuality, fetishism, pedophilia, transvestism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, sadism and masochism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moser|first1=Charles|authorlink1=Charles Allen Moser|last2=Kleinplatz|first2=Peggy J.|authorlink2=Peggy J. Kleinplatz|date=7 May 2020|title=Conceptualization, History, and Future of the Paraphilias|journal=[[Annual Review of Clinical Psychology]]|volume=16|pages=379–399|doi=10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095548|issn=1548-5951|pmid=32023092|s2cid=211048724|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== ICD-9 ===
In the ICD-9 (1975), the category of sexual deviations and disorders was expanded to include [[transgender|transsexualism]], sexual dysfunctions, and psychosexual identity disorders. The list contained homosexuality, bestiality, pedophilia, transvestism,&nbsp;exhibitionism, transexualism, Disorders of psychosexual identity, [[frigidity]] and [[impotence]], Other sexual deviations and disorders (including fetishism, masochism, and [[sexual sadism disorder|sadism]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=ICD-9-CM Diagnosis and Procedure Codes: Abbreviated and Full Code Titles – CMS|url=https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coding/icd9providerdiagnosticcodes/codes|access-date=2022-06-20|website=www.cms.gov}}</ref>

=== ICD-10 ===
In the ICD-10 (1990), the category "sexual deviations and disorders" was divided into several subcategories. Paraphilias were placed in subcategory of "sexual preference disorders". The list included fetishism, fetishistic transvestism, exhibitionism, [[voyeurism]], pedophilia, [[sadomasochism]] and other disorders of sexual preference (including [[frotteurism]], [[necrophilia]], and [[zoophilia]]). Homosexuality was removed from the list, but [[ego-dystonic sexual orientation]] was still considered a deviation which was placed in subcategory "psychological and behavioural disorders associated with sexual development and orientation".<ref>{{cite web|title=ICD-10 Version:2019|url=https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/F65|access-date=2022-06-20|website=icd.who.int}}</ref>

=== ICD-11 ===
In the ICD-11 (2022), "paraphilia" has been replaced with "paraphilic disorder". Any paraphilia and any other arousal pattern ''by itself'' no longer constitutes a disorder. To date, the diagnosis must meet criteria of paraphilia ''and'' one of the following: 1) a marked distress associated with arousal pattern (but not one that comes from rejection or fear of rejection); 2) the person has acted on the arousal pattern towards unwilling others or others considered as unable to give [[consent (law)|consent]]; 3) a serious risk of injury or death. The list of the paraphilic disorders includes: Exhibitionistic Disorder, Voyeuristic Disorder, Pedophilic Disorder, [[Sexual sadism disorder|Coercive Sexual Sadism Disorder]], Frotteuristic Disorder, Other Paraphilic Disorder Involving Non-Consenting Individuals, and Other Paraphilic Disorder Involving Solitary Behaviour or Consenting Individuals. As of now, disorders associated with sexual orientation have been removed from the ICD. Gender issues have been removed from the mental health category and have been placed under "Conditions related to sexual health".<ref>{{cite web|title=ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics|url=https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/2110604642|access-date=2022-06-20|website=icd.who.int|archive-date=1 August 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180801205234/https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en%23/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/294762853#/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/2110604642|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Paraphilic disorders==

=== Therapeutic management ===
Most clinicians and researchers believe that paraphilic sexual interests cannot be altered,<ref name="SetoAhmed2014">{{cite journal|first1=Michael C.|last1=Seto|authorlink1=Michael C. Seto|first2=AG|last2=Ahmed|title=Treatment and management of child pornography use|journal=Psychiatric Clinics of North America|volume=37|issue=2|pages=207–214|year=2014|pmid=24877707|doi=10.1016/j.psc.2014.03.004}}</ref> although evidence is needed to support this.<ref name="SetoAhmed2014"/> Instead, the goal of therapy is normally to reduce the person's discomfort with their paraphilia and limit the risk of any harmful, anti-social, or criminal behavior.<ref name="SetoAhmed2014"/> Both [[psychotherapeutic]] and [[Chemical castration|pharmacological methods]] are available to these ends.<ref name="SetoAhmed2014"/> [[Cognitive behavioral therapy]], at times, can help people with extreme paraphilic disorders develop strategies to avoid acting on their interests.<ref name="SetoAhmed2014" /> Patients are taught to identify and cope with factors that make acting on their interests more likely, such as stress.<ref name="SetoAhmed2014" /> It is currently the only form of psychotherapy for paraphilic disorders supported by randomized [[double-blind]] trials, as opposed to case studies and consensus of expert opinion.<ref name="thibaut2010" /><!-- p. 646 -->

=== Medications ===
[[Pharmacological]] treatments can help people control their sexual behaviors, but do not change the content of the paraphilia.<ref name="thibaut2010"/> They are typically combined with [[cognitive behavioral therapy]] for best effect.<ref name="assumpcao2014">{{cite journal|last1=Assumpção|first1=Alessandra Almeida|last2=Garcia|first2=Frederick Duarte|last3=Garcia|first3=Heloise Delavenne|last4=Bradford|first4=John M.W.|last5=Thibaut|first5=Florence|title=Pharmacologic treatment of paraphilias|journal=[[Psychiatric Clinics of North America]]|publisher=[[Elsevier]]|location=Amsterdam, Netherlands|volume=37|issue=2|pages=173–181|date=June 2014|pmid=24877704|doi=10.1016/j.psc.2014.03.002}}</ref>

====SSRIs====
[[Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor]]s (SSRIs) have been well received and are considered an important pharmacological treatment of severe paraphilic disorders.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kraus|first1=Christoph|last2=Strohm|first2=Kate|last3=Hill|first3=Andrew|last4=Habermann|first4=Niels|last5=Berner|first5=Wolfgang|last6=Briken|first6=Peer|date=June 2007|title=Selective serotonine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in the treatment of paraphilia|journal=Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie|location=Melbourne, Australia|publisher=[[University of Melbourne]]|volume=75|issue=6|pages=351–356|doi=10.1055/s-2006-944261|issn=0720-4299|pmid=17031776}}</ref> They are proposed to work by reducing sexual arousal, [[compulsivity]], and depressive symptoms. They have been used with exhibitionists, non-offending pedophiles, and compulsive masturbators.<ref name="assumpcao2014"/>

====Antiandrogens====
[[Antiandrogen]]s are used in more extreme cases.<ref name="assumpcao2014"/> Similar to physical [[castration]], they work by reducing [[androgen]] levels, and have thus been described as [[chemical castration]].<ref name="assumpcao2014"/> The antiandrogen [[cyproterone acetate]] has been shown to substantially reduce sexual fantasies and offending behaviors.<ref name="assumpcao2014"/> [[Medroxyprogesterone acetate]] and [[gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist]]s (such as [[leuprorelin]]) have also been used to lower sex drive.<ref name="assumpcao2014"/> Due to the side effects, the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry recommends that hormonal treatments only be used when there is a serious risk of sexual violence, or when other methods have failed.<!-- p. 647 --><ref name="thibaut2010">{{cite journal|vauthors=Thibaut F, De La Barra F, Gordon H, Cosyns P, Bradford JM|title=The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for the biological treatment of paraphilias|journal=The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry|volume=11|issue=4|pages=604–655|year=2010|pmid=20459370|doi=10.3109/15622971003671628|s2cid=14949511|url=https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/164990 }}</ref> Surgical [[castration]] has largely been abandoned because these pharmacological alternatives are similarly effective and less invasive.<ref>{{cite book|first=Michael C.|last=Seto|authorlink=Michael C. Seto|date=2008|title=Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment|edition=2nd|publisher=[[The Guilford Press]]|location=New York City|pages=199–200|chapter=Pedophilia: Assessment and Treatment|editor1-first=D. Richard|editor1-last=Laws|editor2-first=William T.|editor2-last=O'Donohue}}</ref>

===Legality===
{{Citation style|section|reason=Cited court cases appear inside parentheses, which is a deprecated style.|date=May 2025}}
In the United States, since 1990 a significant number of states have passed [[sexually violent predator law]]s.<ref name="First 2014">{{cite journal|last=First|first=Michael B.|title=DSM-5 and paraphilic disorders.|journal=The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law|volume=42|issue=2|year=2014|issn=1093-6793|pmid=24986346|pages=191–201|url=http://jaapl.org/content/42/2/191}}</ref> Following a series of landmark cases in the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], persons diagnosed with extreme paraphilic disorders, particularly pedophilia (''[[Kansas v. Hendricks]]'', 1997) and others that cause serious difficulty controlling behavior (''[[Kansas v. Crane]]'', 2002), can be held indefinitely in [[civil confinement]] under various state legislation generically known as [[sexually violent predator laws]]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=First|first1=M. B.|last2=Halon|first2=R. L.|title=Use of DSM paraphilia diagnoses in sexually violent predator commitment cases|journal=The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law|volume=36|issue=4|pages=443–454|year=2008|pmid=19092060|url=http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/reprint/36/4/443.pdf}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6MQj-mjHgBIC&pg=PA248 248]|title=Legal aspects of corrections management|isbn=978-0-7637-2545-7|last1=Cripe|first1=Clair A|last2=Pearlman|first2=Michael G|year=2005}}</ref> and the federal [[Adam Walsh Act]] (''[[United States v. Comstock]]'', 2010).<ref name="apabc">JESSE J. HOLLAND, [https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=10666088 Court: Sexually dangerous can be kept in prison], [[Associated Press]]. Retrieved 16 May 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://capcentral.org/civil/svpa/svpa_article_USsupreme.asp|title=Civil: SVPA – CCAP|publisher=Capcentral.org|access-date=2013-03-14|archive-date=29 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629163853/http://capcentral.org/civil/svpa/svpa_article_USsupreme.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Psychology|Human sexuality|Psychiatry}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Courtship disorder]]
* [[Erotic target location error]]
* [[Gender identity]]
* [[Human sexuality]]
* [[Hypersexuality]]
* [[Kink (sexuality)]]
* [[List of paraphilias]]
* [[Lovemap]]
* [[Object sexuality]]
* [[Perversion]]
* [[Psychosexual development]]
* [[Sex and the law]]
* [[Sexual ethics]]
* [[Sexual fetishism]]
* [[Richard von Krafft-Ebing]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===General bibliography===
* D. Richard Laws, [[William T. O'Donohue]] (ed.), ''Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment'', 2nd ed., Guilford Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-59385-605-2}}

==Further reading==
* Kenneth Plummer, ''Sexual stigma: an interactionist account'', Routledge, 1975, {{ISBN|0-7100-8060-3}}
* [[Elisabeth Roudinesco]], ''Our Dark Side, a History of Perversion'', Polity Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0-7456-4593-3}}
* [[David Morgan (psychoanalyst)]], ''[[Married to the Eiffel Tower]]''. ''[https://documentaryheaven.com/married-to-the-eiffel-tower Married to the Eiffel Tower]'', a post on the blog ''Documentary Heaven''.
* {{Cite journal|last1=Castellini|first1=Giovanni|author2=Alessandra H. Rellini, PhD|author3=Cristina Appignanesi, MD|author4=Irene Pinucci, MD|author5=Matteo Fattorini, BA|author6=Elisa Grano, BA|author7=Alessandra D. Fisher, PhD|author8=Emanuele Cassioli, MD|author9=Lorenzo Lelli, MD|author10=Mario Maggi, MD|author11=Valdo Ricca, MD|date=1 September 2018|title=Deviance or Normalcy? The Relationship Among Paraphilic Thoughts and Behaviors, Hypersexuality, and Psychopathology in a Sample of University Students|url=https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(18)31100-7/fulltext|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324020113/https://dl.uswr.ac.ir/bitstream/Hannan/73816/1/2018%20JSM%20Volume%2015%20Issue%209%20September%20(9).pdf|archive-date=24 March 2020|url-status=live|journal=[[Journal of Sexual Medicine]]|volume=15|issue=9|pages=1322–1335|doi=10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.07.015|pmid=30224020|s2cid=52290404|url-access=subscription}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Paraphilias}}
{{wikiversity|Motivation and emotion/Textbook/Motivation/Paraphilias}}
*[https://archive.today/20120727082434/http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/paraphilias.htm DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR list of paraphilias]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100316063851/http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/SexualandGenderIdentityDisorders.aspx Proposed diagnostic criteria for sex and gender section of DSM5]

{{Medical resources
|DiseasesDB = 
|ICD11 = {{ICD11|6D30}}–{{ICD11|6D35}}
|ICD10 = {{ICD10|F65}}
|ICD9 = 
|ICDO = 
|OMIM = 
|MedlinePlus = 
|eMedicineSubj = 
|eMedicineTopic = 
|MeshID = D010262
}}
{{Paraphilia}}
{{Human sexuality}}
{{Sex}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Paraphilias| ]]
[[Category:Sexology]]