FAQs
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What is Exhibitionism?
Mere exposure of the genitals does not define exhibitionism.
Nor is exhibitionism a public display to anyone and everyone, as for example on a nudist beach.
Rather, the exhibitionist usually selects a target and maneuvers himself into such a position that that targeted person, and only she, can see the display of genitals.
Usually, the target is unsuspecting, and hence the display comes as a surprise, or shock.
It is the goal of the exhibitionist to elicit some sort of reaction from his targets; the more intense the reaction, the more heightened the pleasure and the more successful the flash.
Do Exhibitionists Masturbate while Exposing themselves?
There are many “varieties” of exhibitionists. Some flashers openly display themselves, some do so only through clothing – using either transparent clothing, or very tight clothing that shows their bulge.
Some are “career” flashers, some are occasional flashers.
Career flashers are always on the lookout for an opportunity to display their wares, and will sometimes display to several dozen girls in a single day, day after day.
Occasional flashers on the other hand are not usually on the lookout for an opportunity to expose, but will do so in response to certain circumstances – perhaps at a party, or while they’re on holidays, or when they are under a lot of stress – and when these circumstances pass, they return to their normal status quo.
Likewise, some will masturbate, and some won’t.
There are no hard and fast answers to the subject of exhibitionism.
Is exhibitionism a sexual disorder?
A sexual disorder is a medical condition. Examples of sexual disorders are…
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Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder occurs when a person has a decreased desire for sexual activity
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Sexual Aversion Disorder occurs, as the name says, when people have an aversion to genital sexual contact
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Female Sexual Arousal Disorder occurs when a woman is unable to complete sexual activity with adequate lubrication. Swelling of the external genitalia and vaginal lubrication are generally absent
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Male Erectile Disorder occurs when a male is unable to maintain an erection throughout sexual activity
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Female orgasmic disorder occurs when there is a significant delay or total absence of orgasm associated with the sexual activity
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Male Orgasmic Disorder occurs when a male experiences significant delay or total absence of orgasm following sexual activity
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Premature Ejaculation occurs when minimal sexual stimulation causes orgasm and ejaculation on a persistent basis for the male
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Dyspareunia is genital pain that accompanies sexual intercourse. Both males and females can experience this disorder, but the disorder is more common in women. Dyspareunia tends to be chronic in nature.
Exhibitionists are not known to suffer from these or other medical conditions, at least no more so than the rest of the population.
Indeed the majority of exhibitionists have either girlfriends or wives and children and appear to enjoy accepted and satisfying heterosexual activity.
Is Exhibitionism a Psychiatric Disorder?
Psychiatry is trying desperately to become a hard science and thankfully they haven’t succeeded yet. Had they done so we would be no different to robots: totally predictable.
Psychiatry’s predications are based on a set standard of behaviour, or the “norm”, against which they measure all behaviour. This norm is an entire fiction, as there is no one (once again thankfully) who conforms to this norm.
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Two conditions must be present before a behaviour can be classified as a psychiatric sexual disorder, or paraphilia.
First, the behaviour must be abnormal, and second, the deviation must be such that it replaces normal behaviour and the person becomes dependent on the abnormal behaviour for sexual gratification.
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Let’s take the first one first: is exhibitionism abnormal?
Well, exhibitionism certainly deviates from the norm that psychiatry has laid down. No one can argue with that. If psychiatry says that blue is the norm then all other colours, by definition, deviate from the norm.
But a strange sleight of hand occurs here. “Deviation from the norm” somehow becomes “abnormal”, meaning that there is something wrong with that deviation.
And that definitely does not follow. It is in fact totally and entirely normal to deviate! That is how the world evolves. What is a deviation today becomes the norm tomorrow.
Just think…sex before marriage was taboo not all that long ago, now it is the norm.Just think…swimsuits in the early 1900s v. swimsuits today.
So, yes, exhibitionism is a deviation from the norm, but no, it is not abnormal. We hope that makes sense. One needs only to look at other cultures to see that exhibitionism is often viewed not only as normal, but highly desirable. (Read “The Exhibitionist” for more details)
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Now let’s look at the second condition necessary for exhibitionism to qualify as a paraphilia, or psychiatric sexual disorder: namely, that the so-called abnormal behaviour be such that it replaces normal behaviour and the exhibitionist becomes dependent upon it for sexual gratification.
In the case of exhibitionism, it is now well established through multiple studies that most exhibitionists have girlfriends, or are married and have children. Thus it is readily apparent that exhibitionists are not dependent on flashing for their gratification. Indeed there is some evidence that many exhibitionists do NOT obtain sexual gratification from an act of exposure. Once again, read “The Exhibitionist” for more details.
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To conclude…
The evidence does not indicate with any degree of certainty that exhibitionism is abnormal, nor does the evidence show that exhibitionists are dependent on self-exposure for their gratification. There are some who are, of course, but they are the exception. So we cannot concur with psychiatric theory that exhibitionism is a paraphilia or psychiatric sexual disorder.
Our own assessment is that psychiatrists know very little about exhibitionism, and not knowing where to put it, they have dumped it into the paraphilia basket. At least now they can call it something and pretend they know what they are talking about.
This allows them to charge a fortune for tending to a condition of which they know little, with treatments of which they know even less!
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