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.