Alexander Pham
Test 3
Question 1:
Paraphilia is a word used to describe types of sexual expression that are typically uncommon. There are
many different types of paraphilia in our world; some of which are legal, and many that are illegal.
Noncoercive paraphilia are the ones that are legal, whereas coercive paraphilia are those that are illegal.
I will first go ever a few noncoercive paraphilia, then a few of the coercive ones.
Noncoercive (legal):
The first one I want to go over is called fetishism. This is when an individual because extremely aroused
by inanimate objects or certain body parts; for example, if someone really likes feet, they have a foot
fetish. More common fetishes include things like women undergarments and/or shoes. Many times the
person with the fetish will not be able to orgasm without their object there with them.
Another common, yet atypical, sexual expression is known as sadism and masochism. These can be put
together and called sadomasochism, or SM for short. The partners engaged in the kind of activity
become aroused sexually by pain. This involves activities such as being whipped, cut, and pierced. There
have been many reports of people enjoying things like being tied up and humiliated. Even though this is
a potentially dangerous paraphilia, both partners usually know when they are taking it too far. There is
also a difference between sadism and masochism. In sadism, the person enjoys inflicting pain on
someone else; in masochism, the individual enjoys having pain inflicted upon him or her.
The last paraphilia I want to mention is coprophilia and urophilia. These two can be grouped together
because they are kind of similar. Coprophilia is where people become sexually aroused from poop. This
can include actions such as getting pooped on, or pooping on your partner. Urophilia is the same thing,
but with urine instead of feces.
Coercive (illegal):
Exhibitionism is an illegal atypical sexual act. This is also known as indecent exposure, and is mostly done
by men. They will go around places that are easy to escape from and flash their genitals to unwilling
females and run away. Once they have done that, they will masturbate shortly after to the reaction of
the girl being flashed.
Zoophilia, or bestiality, is when a human has sexual contact with an animal. They could do things such as
having intercourse with an animal, masturbating an animal, or having the animal touch them. The
animals that are most common to do with this are farm animals, cats, and dogs. This is rarer, but
research shows that individuals who participate in this activity usually have some form of hatred of the
opposite sex.
The last paraphilia I am going to mention is known as necrophilia. This is when an individual becomes
aroused by watching people have intercourse with a corpse, or having sex with a corpse themselves.
This is an atypical sex behavior that has exclusively male participants. Some people will go to morgues
and dig up dead bodies there. Others have even killed people to gain access to a dead body.
Question 2:
Rape is a fairly common crime in our country, yet it is the most under reported crime. There are 6 beliefs
about rape pertaining to both the rapist and the victim.
1) “Women cannot be raped if they really don’t want to be.” This is implying that a women can
fend for herself. This is a false belief because usually the rapist is bigger than the woman. The
rapist also has the element of surprise and can have weapons to hurt her if she resists. All of
these things makes it harder for the victim to resist the assaulter.
2) “Women say no when they mean yes.” Rapist often think that when a women says no, that she
is being sarcastic or something. In their minds they claim the women was being playful and that
the rapist himself did not believe he was committing rape. This can have a negative effect on the
victim because they can feel as if their voices don’t matter.
3) “Many women cry rape.” This is basically saying that many women will lie about beings raped.
This is extremely false. They try to make the victim feel guilty by saying she consented in some
sort of way. They are pretty much calling the victim a liar in front of everyone there. This is a
huge lie because only about 1 in 10 rape accusations are false.
4) “All women want to be raped.” This is probably the worst belief on the list. I’m not really sure
how people can say this. It is true that some women often have fantasies about being
dominated by someone they consent to, but this is not all women and this is not saying they
want to be raped by a stranger. This statement is basically saying all women want to be harmed,
which completely makes no sense.
5) “Rapists are obviously mentally ill.” This is saying that women should be able to ‘obviously’ tell
who is and who isn’t a rapist. This is extremely false because most people who commit rape not
mentally ill and know the woman, which is the main reason why rape goes unreported so many
times. If she knew he was a rapist, she probably would not hang out with him. This again is
trying to place the blame on the victim.
6) “The male sex drive is too high that men often cannot control their sexual urges.” This again is a
saying that is trying to make the rapist seem more innocent. They will use the fact that the
woman agreed to go into his house with him, therefore consented. This can also make the
victim feel bad or embarrassed in court.
There are many things a woman can do to reduce the risks of both acquaintance rape and stranger rape.
To reduce the risk of acquaintance rape, the female can do a number of things such as having dates in
public places. Watch for indications like if your date is a controlling person or not. Many times a man
who pays for everything may believe he is justified to get in a girl’s pants. Avoid using drugs and alcohol.
She should make her intentions clear and avoid “teasing” behavior. If none of these work, the woman
should resort to getting physical and pushing him away or say something like “I’m calling the cops.” This
will make it extremely clear that she does not want to have intercourse.
To avoid stranger rape, the list is a lot longer. Women should not advertise that they are living alone.
Use secure locks on doors and windows. Do not open your door for strangers. Show confidence when
confronting strangers. Always have your cellphone with you. Lock your car when parked. Have keys in
your hand before going to the door, also check the backseat of your car. Carry a device capable of
making a loud noise such as a whistle. Do not hitchhike! If your car happens to break down, attach a
white cloth on it, lock the doors, and wait for a city official to come and help you.
Victims of rape can feel things such as helplessness and disgust. If you know someone who is a victim of
rape, there are meaningful things that you can do as a friend to help them recover. The most effective
thing you can probably do is listen. Professionals found that victims of rape need to talk about their
assault in order to come to terms on what happened. As a friend or partner, you should let her know
that believe her story about what happened. This shows that you are on her side and have empathy for
her. You must also let her know that is was not her fault in anyway. Many rapists will try to place the
blame on the victim making them feel even worse. It is your job to let her know she had nothing to do
with the crimes done against her. Retain your emotions. Do not have outbursts of anger or sadness. This
will make her even more uncomfortable. It is important to make her feel comfortable when something
like this happens. It is your job to give her the comfort she needs. Do not try to make decisions for her.
Let her decide herself on how she wants to deal with the assault. You can say subtle things like “would
you like me to call the cops for you?” Doing this still gives her the power to make her own decision.
Offer her a place to stay if she does not reside with you or is living alone. Continue to provide this
support over time, and if she is a sexual partner be patient about resuming your sexual behaviors
together.
Question 4:
Sexual abuse on children is a serious crime and usually happens to the child by someone the kid
trusts, such as a relative or community leader. Research shows that child sexual abuse is extremely
traumatizing for the child, and has many negative long term effects. The longer the abuse goes on, the
harder it is for the child to recover from it in the future. There are many factors that will affect how
badly the child is traumatized such as how old they are when it happened, and how many different
people have abused them. Children who are victims of this often feel confusion and betrayal. They don’t
really know who to tell because it is usually a respected person who is abusing them. A lot of the times
when they do tell someone what had happened to them, the adult will not believe them.
Many victims of child sexual abuse have issues creating relationships when they are adults, and
if they do, it lacks sexual and emotional fulfillment. Many people who are sexually abused as a child
have a hard time making sexual relationships as adults. Other symptoms that frequently occur to
individuals who’ve been harassed as a child include low self-esteem, guilt, shame, and low expectations
toward the future. Their suicide rates also increase. They are also more prone to substance abuse
and/or eating disorders. Some children even experience PTSD which is a stress disorder that people get
after something really traumatizing has happened to them. For children, this includes symptoms such as
night terrors, lack of interests, avoiding thoughts and feelings, and even memory deficits.
Fortunately for us, there are many ways we can help prevent child sexual abuse. The first thing
we can do is to inform young children sexual abuse prevention strategies. This is important because
most victims of this are under the age of 7. When talking to the children about this, do not make them
scared of it. Make them feel confident in knowing what to do to avoid these situations. Thoroughly
explain to the children the kind of touches that are acceptable, such as a pat on the back, and those that
are not acceptable, such as a sensual rub. Also explain the places that are not okay for people to touch.
Make sure the kids know they have a right to say no if they are not comfortable being touched a certain
way. Make sure the children know to tell someone right away if they have been touched. The kids must
be taught the methods some adults will use to lure children into being touched. You should also inform
them on what to do if they are put in a dangerous situation; for example you should teach them that it is
okay to scream and to run. Make sure the kids know who to tell if an adult touches them and make sure
the kids know how to tell the assaulter that they will tell on them. While explaining all of this to the
children, make sure you let them know that private touching is also a form of love so that they do not
have negative sexual views their entire lives.