Main Points
- There is a frame of mind that is present in the background which compels the person to do so and it would be unjustified to consider the person’s act of exhibitionism without considering that frame of mind at work in the background.
- The person is more than often aware of the fact that social boundaries are being breached
- There have been instances where people have chosen to take their desire to exercise exhibitionism to the next level and have chosen to remain undressed as much as they can during their lives
- In order for an act of exhibitionism to be considered as an act of sexual exhibitionism, it is essential that the person performing the act chooses to display one or the other private parts of the body
- To the person performing the act, there is no reason because of which he/she cannot indulge in it.
- The subject does not refrain from performing the act of sexual exhibitionism repeatedly.
- Conditions such as these can be classified in one of the four categories of martymachlia, anasyrma, mooning and flashing.
Elaboration
When a person exercises exhibitionism, the person does not simply choose to show off a part a part of one’s body (Block and Bakos). There is a frame of mind that is present in the background which compels the person to do so and it would be unjustified to consider the person’s act of exhibitionism without considering that frame of mind at work in the background.
When a person exercises one or the other form of exhibitionism, it is essential to note the person is more than often aware of the fact that social boundaries are being breached and that some of those present in the perimeters of the subject scenario may be offended in some way (Eysenck and Gudjonsson).
However, exhibitionism has evolved from being an element that was meant to symbolize a tendency to rebel against social norms and has now taken on a form in which it is considered to be far more than only an act of rebellion. There have been instances where people have chosen to take their desire to exercise exhibitionism to the next level and have chosen to remain undressed as much as they can during their lives (Block and Bakos). These naturalists of sorts believe that their bodies are a part of nature and that in order to remain a pure part of nature they have to keep their bodies pure of material clothing and in a state of stark nakedness.
However, in order for exhibitionism to be that of a sexual nature, there is certain criterion of sorts that the act of exhibitionism must adhere to. In order for an act of exhibitionism to be considered as an act of sexual exhibitionism, it is essential that the person performing the act chooses to display one or the other private parts of the body in a place where it is either not entirely appropriate to do so or in a manner that is not entirely suitable considering the time and/or the surroundings (Laws and O’Donohue). However, to the person performing the act, there is no reason because of which he/she cannot indulge in it.
In fact, the person performing the act feels a sense of pride and more than often a sense of pleasure while performing the act. People performing the act are more than often being subjected to either strong external motivation or are observed to experience a state of mind that gives them reason to engage in an activity of sexual exhibition. Also, to the subject performing the act, the reason is true and just without the shadow of a doubt.
Works Cited
Block, Joel D. and Susan Crain Bakos. Sex over 50. Perigee, 1999.
Eysenck, Hans Jürgen and Gisli H Gudjonsson. The causes and cures of criminality. Springer, 1991.
Laws, D. Richard and William T. O’Donohue. Sexual Deviance, Second Edition: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment. Guilford Press, 2008.