I want to make it clear that doctors do not include among the perversions all forms of sexual activity that vary from the usual.
Deviations, as doctors prefer to call them, are emotional illnesses, maladjustments, or immaturities that reveal themselves in the individual’s sexual behaviour. It is generally accepted that such behaviour results from emotional difficulties that must, if possible, be corrected —while at the same time the actions of deviates must be controlled in order to prevent them from harming themselves or others.
I want to remind you that mature people often carry about with them certain holdovers from their childhood. You may therefore find in yourself traces of some of the sexual deviations I shall describe. Do not decide for that reason that you are perverted!
Deriving the most, or only, sexual satisfaction from watching or peeping (voyeurism) is one form of sexual deviation. Here are some of the others:
Homosexuality. This term was formerly applied only to people having actual physical relations with members of their own sex. It is now used to include those for whom deep emotional attachment (that is, love), whether or not it is sexually expressed, is possible only with a member of their own sex.
Amateur psychiatrists have done a great deal of harm by speaking glibly about ‘latent homosexuality,’ ‘bisexuality,’ and so on. I hope I can prevent them from causing you needless worry by stating emphatically: A homosexual experience (or experiences), especially in adolescence, does not mean that an individual is homosexual; and neither does a homosexual dream or fantasy. There is a certain amount of basic homosexuality in the normal individual, as well as some holdovers from the period shortly before adolescence and in early adolescence during which he or she preferred the company of his or her own sex. Homosexuality is a complicated problem and in itself is only one factor of the maladjusted individual’s personality.
Exhibitionism (the act of publicly revealing one’s body, usually the genital organs). This is, in its essence, similar to peeping. A certain amount of showing off is normal and is not to be confused with the exhibitionism of the maladjusted individual, who may be attempting to reassure himself against fears of sexual inferiority.
Narcissism, or self-love. The term comes from the name of the Greek youth Narcissus who, according to the myth, saw his own reflection in a pond and was so enamoured of it that he fell in and was drowned while attempting to embrace himself. Most children go through a period of being attracted to their own image in a mirror, stating, ‘You’re pretty,’ or ‘I love you.’ People who do not outgrow this stage are often basically so insecure that they feel no one else will ever love them. Narcissism is often accompanied by a preference for masturbation to sexual intercourse. Such people usually are incapable of loving anyone else.
Nymphomania and satyriasis. These conditions, the excessive desire for intercourse in a woman and a man, are relatively rare. Although the terms are often applied to people who are promiscuous or highly sexed, they should be reserved for compulsive sexuality that cannot be satisfied. Like compulsive eating, it often springs from insecurity and may be indulged in to ward off anxiety.
Bestiality (the act of having intercourse with animals). This is fairly common among shepherds and others who are isolated from women. However, preference for sex relations with animals is due to a maladjustment usually springing from feelings of inferiority.
Sadism and masochism (deriving pleasure from giving or receiving pain). Sadists may inflict pain on animals or on people, usually their sexual partners. They wish to dominate, to prove their strength or virility by being aggressive.
Masochists derive pleasure and satisfaction from being treated cruelly, from being hurt physically or emotionally, or from hurting themselves. Since masochism and sadism spring from similar maladjustments, they may both exist in the same person.
Sexual criminality. The unscientific term ‘sex maniac’ covers people who commit violent sex crimes, such as rape and murder. In some sex criminals, the mechanisms that control the fantasies of healthy people are defective and break down. In others, deep-rooted feelings of guilt, inferiority, or insecurity may cause their sexual instincts to be shunted in abnormal, sometimes dangerous, directions.
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