List of paraphilias explained
Paraphilias are sexual interests in objects, situations, or individuals that are atypical. The American Psychiatric Association, in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM), draws a distinction between paraphilias (which it describes as atypical sexual interests) and paraphilic disorders (which additionally require the experience of distress, impairment in functioning, and/or the desire to act on them with a nonconsenting person).[1] [2] Some paraphilias have more than one term to describe them, and some terms overlap with others. Paraphilias without DSM codes listed come under DSM 302.9, "Paraphilia NOS (Not Otherwise Specified)".
In his 2008 book on sexual pathologies, Anil Aggrawal compiled a list of 547 terms describing paraphilic sexual interests. He cautioned, however, that "not all these paraphilias have necessarily been seen in clinical setups. This may not be because they do not exist, but because they are so innocuous they are never brought to the notice of clinicians or dismissed by them. Like allergies, sexual arousal may occur from anything under the sun, including the sun."[3]
Most of the following names for paraphilias, constructed in the nineteenth and especially twentieth centuries from Greek and Latin roots (see List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes), are used in medical contexts only.
Paraphilias
A
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Abasiophilia | People with impaired mobility.[4] |
Acrotomophilia | People with amputations.[5] [6] |
Agalmatophilia | Statues, mannequins and immobility.[7] |
Algolagnia | Pain, particularly involving an erogenous zone; differs from masochism as there is a biologically different interpretation of the intense sensation rather than a subjective interpretation.[8] |
Amaurophilia | Being unable to see.[9] [10] [11] |
Amokoscisia | To slash and mutilate women.[12] |
Andromimetophilia | Trans men.[13] |
Anililagnia | Attraction by young men to older women.[14] |
Anthropophagolagnia | Raping and then cannibalizing another person.[15] |
Apotemnophilia | Being an amputee.[16] |
Aquaphilia | A sexual fetish that involves people swimming, posing, or even drowning in water. |
Armpit fetishism/maschalagnia | Armpits. |
Asphyxiophilia | Asphyxia or strangling of oneself or others.[17] |
Attraction to disability | People with one or more physical disabilities.[18] |
Autagonistophilia | Being on stage or on camera.[19] [20] |
Autassassinophilia | Being in life-threatening situations. |
Autoandrophilia | Sexual arousal of a female in response to the image of herself as male. |
Autoerotic asphyxiation | Self-induced asphyxiation, sometimes to the point of near unconsciousness. |
Autogynephilia | Sexual arousal of a male in response to the image of himself as female.[21] |
Autohemofetishism | Making oneself bleed, a type of hematolagnia.[22] |
Autonepiophilia | The image of oneself in the form of an infant. |
Autopedophilia | The image of oneself in the form of a child.[23] |
Autoplushophilia | The image of oneself in the form of a plush. |
Autovampirism/vampirism | The image of oneself in the form of a vampire.[24] [25] [26] Involves ingesting or seeing one's own blood. |
Autozoophilia | The image of oneself in the form of an animal.[27] [28] | |
B
C
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Candaulism | Exposing one's partner or images of their partner to others. |
Cannibalism/anthropophagy | Ingesting human flesh. |
Canophilia | Dogs.[29] |
Capnolagnia | Smoking.[30] |
Chremastistophilia | Being robbed or held up. |
Chronophilia | Partners of a widely differing chronological age. |
Coprophilia/scatophilia/fecophilia | Feces.[31] |
Coulrophilia | Clowns[32] |
Cuckolding fetishism/troilism | Observing one's partner engaged in sexual activities with another person.[33] | |
D
E
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Emetophilia | Vomit. |
Eproctophilia | Flatulence. |
Erotophonophilia/dacnolagnomania | Murder, often of strangers. |
Exhibitionism/peodeiktophilia | Exposing one's genitals to unsuspecting and nonconsenting others. |
Exophilia | Extraterrestrials.[36] | |
F
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Fat fetishism/adipophilia | Overweight or obese people.[37] |
Feederism | Eating, feeding, and weight gain.[38] |
Fictosexuality/fictophilia | Fictional characters.[39] |
Foot fetishism/podophilia | Feet.[40] |
Formicophilia | Being crawled on by insects.[41] |
Forniphilia | Turning a human being into a piece of furniture. |
Free use | Being "used" sexually by a sexual partner whenever they are aroused.[42] |
Frotteurism | Rubbing against a non-consenting person. | |
G
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Gerontophilia | Elderly people.[43] |
Gynandromorphophilia/gynemimetophilia | Transgender women.[44] |
Gynephilia | Females or femininity, regardless of one's own sex or gender identity.[45] | |
H
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Hair fetishism/trichophilia | Hair. |
Hand fetishism/cheirophilia | Hands. |
Hematolagnia | Drinking or looking at blood.[46] |
Heterophilia | Idealization of heterosexuality and/or people who are "straight-acting", especially by non-heterosexual people.[47] [48] [49] |
Hierophilia | Religious/sacred objects. |
Hoplophilia | Firearms, guns.[50] |
Hybristophilia | Criminals, particularly those who committed cruel or outrageous crimes.[51] | |
I
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Infantophilia | Children less than five years old; a recently suggested term that is not in general use.[52] |
Impregnation fetishism | The event of being impregnated or impregnating another person.[53] | |
K
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Kleptolagnia/kleptophilia | Stealing; a form of kleptomania. |
Klismaphilia | Enemas, arousal and enjoyment in receiving, administering, or both.[54] | |
L
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Lactophilia/galactophilia | Breast milk, breastfeeding or sucking on a woman's breasts.[55] |
Leg fetishism/crurophilia | Legs.[56] |
Liquidophilia | Immersing genitals in liquids. | |
M
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Macrophilia | Giant beings; imagined growth of beings. |
Masochism | Suffering or humiliation; being beaten, bound, or otherwise abused. |
Mechanophilia | Cars or other machines; also "mechaphilia".[57] [58] [59] |
Melolagnia | Music.[60] |
Menophilia | Menstruation. |
Metrophilia | Poetry. |
Microphilia | Shrunken beings; imagined shrinking of beings. |
Morphophilia | Particular body shapes or sizes. |
Mucophilia | Mucus. |
Mysophilia | Dirtiness, soiled or decaying things. | |
N
O
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Objectophilia | Specific inanimate objects. |
Oculolinctus | The act of licking the eyes of another person for the purpose of gratification. |
Odaxelagnia | Biting or being bitten. |
Olfactophilia/bromidrophilia | Smells and odors (particularly foul ones) emanating from the body, especially the sexual areas and/or from the opposite sex (as from bad breath, urine, feces, flatulence, etc.). |
Omorashi | Having a full bladder and/or wetting oneself, or from seeing someone else experiencing a full bladder and/or wetting themself. | |
P
S
T
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Teratophilia | Deformed or monstrous people. The term is also sometimes used in a more literal sense (from ancient Greek,, meaning monster) for attraction to monstrous mythical and fictional creatures such as werewolves. |
Tickling fetishism/knismolagnia | Tickling.[74] |
Toucherism | Touching an unsuspecting, non-consenting person with the hand.[75] |
Toxophilia | Archery. |
Transvestic fetishism | Cross-dressing.[76] |
Timophilia | Gold, wealth, or social status.[77] | |
V
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Vorarephilia/vore | The idea of one person or creature eating or being eaten by another; usually swallowed whole, in one piece.[78] |
Voyeurism/scopophilia | Watching others while naked or having sex, generally without their knowledge. | |
Z
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
---|
Zoophilia | Non-human animals. |
Zoosadism | Inflicting pain on animals, or seeing animals in pain.[80] | |
See also
Notes and References
- DSM to Distinguish Paraphilias From Paraphilic Disorders. Psychiatric News . American Psychiatric Association. Moran. Mark. May 3, 2013. 48 . 9 . 10–261 . 10.1176/appi.pn.2013.5a19 . 16 June 2013.
- Book: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV. American Psychiatric Association. 2000. 978-0-89042-025-6. Washington, DC. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
- Book: Aggrawal, Anil . Anil Aggrawal . Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices . 2008 . 369–382 . Appendix 1 . https://books.google.com/books?id=uNkNhPZQprcC&q=a%20comprehensive%20list%20of%20paraphilias&pg=PA369 . . 978-1-4200-4308-2.
- Book: Milner, JS . Laws DR & O'Donohue WT . Dopke CA . Sexual Deviance, Second Edition: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment . . New York . 2008 . 384–418 . 978-1-59385-605-2 . Paraphilia Not Otherwise Specified: Psychopathology and theory.
- Money . J . 1984 . Paraphilias: Phenomenology and classification . John Money . 6234812 . . 38 . 2 . 164–78 . 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1984.38.2.164 .
- Money . J . John Money . Simcoe KW . 1986 . Acrotomophilia, sex, and disability: New concepts and case report . Sexuality and Disability . 7 . 43–50 . 10.1007/BF01101829 . 1/2. 145239837 .
- Scobie . A . Taylor J . 1975 . Perversions ancient and modern: I. Agalmatophilia, the statue syndrome . 10.1002/1520-6696(197501)11:1<49::AID-JHBS2300110112>3.0.CO;2-6 . Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences . 11 . 49–54 . 11609831 . 1 .
- Book: Kelley, K. Byrne D . Alternative Approaches to the Study of Sexual Behavior . 1986 . 13–38 . . Hillsdale, N.J. . 978-0-89859-677-9 .
- Web site: Amaurophilia Kinkdictionary. 17 April 2022.
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- Book: Fedoroff, J. Paul . The Paraphilias . https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190466329.003.0010 . 217–C10.P205 . October 2019 . Other Specified Paraphilic Disorders . 10.1093/med/9780190466329.003.0010 . 978-0-19-046632-9 .
- Web site: Amokoscisia Kink dictionary. 17 April 2022.
- Money . J . John Money . Lamacz, M . 1984 . Gynemimesis and gynemimetophilia: Individual and cross-cultural manifestations of a gender-coping strategy hitherto unnamed . 6467919 . Comprehensive Psychiatry . 25 . 4 . 392–403 . 10.1016/0010-440X(84)90074-9.
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