Paraphilia
A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a consenting human partner. Paraphilias are contrasted with normophilic ("normal") sexual interests, though the definition of what makes a sexual interest normal or atypical remains controversial.
Podophilia (foot fetishism), a paraphilia | |
| Etymology | παρά (para; other) + φιλία (philia; loving) |
|---|---|
| Definition | Atypical sexual interest |
| Coined by | Friedrich Salomon Krauss |
| First used | 1903 |
| Other terms | |
| Synonyms |
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| Associated terms | Normophilia (antonym) |
The exact number and taxonomy of paraphilia is under debate; Anil Aggrawal has listed as many as 549 types of paraphilias. Several sub-classifications of paraphilia have been proposed, although some argue that a fully dimensional, spectrum or complaint-oriented approach would better reflect the evident diversity of human sexuality.
Although paraphilias were believed in the 20th century to be rare among the general population, recent research has indicated that paraphilic interests are relatively common.