Topic Entry #2: Courtship Disorder Hypothesis

Courtship Disorder: is a theoretical construct in sexology in which a certain set of paraphilias are seen as specific instances of anomalous courtship instincts in men

"The paraphilias can be broadly divided into two categories, those involving anomalous target preferences and those involving anomalous activity preferences."
excerpt from "Preferential rape in the theory of courtship disorder." by Kurt Freund

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtship_disorder

The courtship disorder hypothesis originated from the psychologist Kurt Freund who broke down natural courtship into four phases.
1. Searching and analyzing potential sex parnters
2. Initiating conversation and potential flirtation
3. Slight physical interaction such as touching shoulder or hugging
4. Sexual intercourse
Freund hypothesized that paraphilias result from a disturbance in one of the phases. People with paraphilic conditions intensify one of the four phases and view the other three as minimal concern or as obsolete. The heightened first phase manifests as voyeurism; the subject focuses solely on arousal from watching others whereas others would watch in order to pick a suitable mate. The second phase becomes exhibitionism or telephone scatologia, obscene phone calls. These subjects blow past the conversational norm by flashing genitals or making lewd phone calls to strangers about their own sexual desires. The third phase evolves into frotteurism or toucherism, which are a sexual arousal from rubbing genitals on another fully clothed person. The fourth phase forms into biastophilia, which is categorized as paraphilic rape. The people suffering from these habits take social norms to different extremes that are overly forward and in many ways dangerous and detrimental to others. Freund believes that all of these conditions stem from one underlying disorder that connects all four. By determining the parent condition, psychologists will gain more understanding of these issues and perhaps discover their cause. With knowledge of a cause, preventative and potentially curative methods may be developed. This would eliminate dangers to non-consenting parties.

Artist Entry #2: Rick Castro

“I consider myself a folk artist, because my work is made for, and created with a kindred group. I find my subjects fascinating and become obsessed with wanting to know all about them, be it through photos, film, video, or writing. I'm fascinated with the process of original ideas, and the course it takes to becoming common place. I'm fully aware that whatever is initially considered bizarre will be the standard of the future.
Rick Castro, Hollywood, 2005

Rick Castro lives in Los Angeles and works as a photographer and filmmaker. He got his start as a wardrobe stylist for various fashion designers, which led him to styling wardrobe for major photographers. He learned the craft by watching them work and then tailored his knowledge to his own style. To break away from the constraints of the fashion industry, he started working on his own underground photography, focusing on documentary, fetish, and nude. He wanted to get away from the wardrobe styling that his career centered on. He developed a very severe, raw aesthetic with grainy, intense images that featured rough sexual acts. He is definitely not afraid to place his models into compromising positions and the quote at the beginning of the post aptly describes his mentality. He has published two book of photography and multiple films. He recently jumped back into the high fashion world, working on more controversial ad campaigns and editorials for a vast array of well known magazines and designers. His images ooze of confidence and drip with sexuality. They are very raw and very powerful.

Artist Website: http://www.rickcastro.com/mainpage.html

Gallery: http://www.rickcastro.com/antebellum/antebellum2.html

Interview:http://home.snafu.de/fablab/queerview/099hustlerwhite/interview099ef.html

Topic Entry #1: Paraphilia

Paraphilia:
a condition involving sex fetishes where a person's sexual arousal and gratification depend on fantasizing about, and engaging in, sexual behavior that is atypical and extreme

"The boundary for social as well as sexual deviance is largely determined by cultural and historical context. As such, sexual disorders once considered paraphilias (e.g., homosexuality) are now regarded as variants of normal sexuality; so too, sexual behaviors currently considered normal (e.g., masturbation) were once culturally proscribed." -Martin P. Kafka, M.D.

Sinclair Intimacy Institute 2002
http://health.discovery.com/centers/sex/sexpedia/paraphilia.html

Paraphilia is a natural formation that connects certain acts or objects to sexual pleasure. There are many different subcategories such as fetishism, sadomasochism, voyeurism, and pedophilia. It is unknown exactly what causes a person to develop a paraphilia though links have been made to early stages of life and to the presence of a recurring object, imagery, or experience during sexual gratification. It occurs more often in males than in females, which leads some to believe that a higher level of testosterone makes a person more prone to developing a condition. A paraphilia is not considered when dealing with people who like to experiment or people that enjoy different methods of sexual gratification from time to time, such as dirty talk. A condition develops when a person must experience a certain fetish in order to orgasm or to even be aroused sexually. They depend on it and enjoy it to the extent that considering giving it up is blasphemous. As long as they are not ordered to seek treatment or are encouraged to seek it, then these people continue to go through the same motions. Some treatments have been utilized in deterring paraphilia such as, behavioral modification, hypnosis, and the use of antiandrogens. The antiandrogen drug works by lowering the testosterone levels, which drops the libido to a lower drive and also obstructs constant mental fantasies of sexual situations.