The 15 Most Common Paraphilias (and Their Characteristics)
People have many different tastes and, of course, this is also reflected in sex. What attracts people sexually can be very diverse or occur in striking and unconventional situations.
Paraphilias are unusual patterns of sexual behavior where the source of pleasure can be an object, a specific situation or a special type of person. Thanks to the media and works such as “50 Shades of Grey” by EL James, general knowledge about them has been increasing.
They have also been the subject of controversy, especially in the field of psychology and psychiatry, since there has been discussion about whether they should be considered pathological behaviors.
Although some paraphilias involve crimes, such as voyeurism and pedophilia, most of them are not harmful and are part of human sexual diversity
There are countless paraphilias, practically one for every situation or object imaginable. Those that are the most common are described below.
1. Exhibitionism
It is about feeling pleasure when exposing your genitals to strangers in an unexpected way Showing the private parts without warning creates a situation of sexual gratification for the exhibitionist.
This practice, which involves crime, is more common in men than in women, and has been related to the fact of having grown up in a strict environment and having an unassertive and shy personality, with few social skills.
Fetishism is defined as the set of sexual behaviors, fantasies and needs in which the use of an inanimate object is required to feel pleasure Some of the most common objects among fetishists are shoes, lingerie, leather and rubber.
Everything that is done with the object and generates sexual pleasure is considered fetishism, such as stealing it, masturbating with it or simply seeing it. This paraphilia has become so common that there are specialized websites where you can purchase objects to satisfy the fetish.
3. Frotism or froteurism
It involves feeling sexual pleasure when touching the genitals of an unknown person and that she has not consented to it.
It is more common in men than in women and is a behavior that involves sexual harassment. Smearers can take advantage of situations where there are large crowds of people, such as on public transportation or on busy streets, and rub themselves on their victims.
4. Pedophilia
It is defined as the strong desire to have sexual relations with a minor , especially if you are under 14 years old. Those who carry out this criminal behavior benefit from the inequality of power between the child and the adult.
The profile of the sexual abuser of children has been related to a difficult childhood, in which they were victims of this type of violence, especially from a man in the family. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all people abused in their childhood they will end up being pedophiles when they reach adulthood.
5. Sexual masochism
Sexual masochists feel pleasure in situations in which they are humiliated both physically and psychologically, beaten, tortured and tied up. It is more common in women.
If masochism is the face, sadism is the tail of the same coin This paraphilia involves feeling sexual gratification when humiliating, exercising domination and torturing another person in a non-simulated way.
Sadomasochistic practices are among the most common and require that they be carried out consensually and according to the degree of intensity that those who perform them agree upon in advance.
Among the most common scenarios are flogging the victim’s buttocks and back, tying up with rope or bondage, and torture of nipples and genitals.
7. Cross-dressing fetishism
It is common in heterosexual men and It is defined as feeling sexual pleasure when dressing as the other gender
It should be taken into account that cross-dressing fetishism and transvestism are not the same. This second term refers in a more general sense to dressing as the other gender. Thus, transsexual people and drag queens do cross-dress, but not in a fetishistic way, since they do not do it to feel sexual pleasure.
8. Voyeurism
It involves sexual enjoyment when observing a naked person , without her being aware that she is being spied on. This paraphilia implies a crime against the privacy of others.
To consider it voyeurism, it is necessary that the observer has planned it and done it on several occasions. Having seen a naked person and having enjoyed it but unintentionally would not be considered paraphilic behavior.
9. Partialism
It consists of feeling sexual pleasure towards a specific part of the body, with the exception of the genitals It is similar to fetishism, but the nuance between these two paraphilias is the fact that in one the object of pleasure is inanimate, while in partialism sexual pleasure is felt by something that is in the body of a living person.
Partialism is quite common and can manifest itself in multiple ways depending on which part you feel pleasure in: podophilia (feet), oculophilia (eyes), maschalagnia (armpits), nasophilia (nose), alvinophilia (navel). ..
10. Necrophilia
Necrophiliacs are sexually attracted to corpses , both humans and animals. This preference is considered pathological and implies a crime if carried out.
A famous case of necrophilia is the case of Carl Tanzler, who was able to exhume the corpse of the woman in his life and have relations with her.
11. Urophilia and coprophilia or scat
In the case of urophilia, the object of desire is urine, either ingesting it or being wet with it (golden shower). Touching, seeing, hearing someone urinate can be enough stimulation to generate sexual gratification.
Coprophilia is a paraphilia practically identical to urophilia, except that the object of pleasure is feces and everything related to them.
12. Zoophilia
Zoophiles fantasize about the idea of performing sexual acts with animals or even do it. This type of sexual attraction is common to find in rural areas.
13. Knismolagnia or tickling
It involves any erotic activity in which doing or receiving tickling generates pleasure It is considered a paraphilia as long as tickling acts as an element to achieve orgasm.
14. Asphyxiophilia or breath control play
It consists of feeling pleasure when breathing is intentionally restricted , either one’s own (autoerotic asphyxiation) or on one’s partner. It is one of the most dangerous since it can lead to accidental death due to hypoxia.
15. Gerontophilia
It is the sexual preference for elderly people or whose age is strikingly older than that of the gerontophile.
