"Exhibitionist" redirects here. For the racehorse, seeExhibitionnist.
Public exposure of intimate body parts
Naked exhibitionist woman on a Budapest street in 2007
Exhibitionism is the practice of exposing one'sintimate parts – such as thebreasts,genitals, orbuttocks – in a public or semi-public environment. This can be done live or virtually as with nudeselfies using technologies likesmartphones to take nude pictures of oneself for show.[1]
Such a display may be innocuous: to friends, acquaintances or strangers for their amusement or sexual satisfaction. It may also be to a bystander to shock them.[2] In the latter case it classically involves men showing themselves to women and goes by legal terms such asindecent exposure orexposing one's person.
Psychologists and psychiatrists are solely concerned with this case and speak of an "exhibitionistic disorder" rather than just "exhibitionism". This is specifically an uncontrollable urge to exhibit one's genitals to an unsuspecting stranger. It is anobsessive-compulsive paraphilic pathology requiring psychiatric treatment.[3]
Charles Lasègue was the first to use the termexhibitionist, in 1877.
The termexhibitionist was first used in 1877 by French physician and psychiatristCharles Lasègue.[4][5] Various earlier medical-forensic texts discuss genital self-exhibition, however.[6]
As observed in males,the largest demographic of exhibitionists, exhibitionism is associated with psychiatriccomorbidity and impairment,[7] including though not limited to, depression,psychopathy,psychosis,autism spectrum disorders,[8] andsubstance abuse. Exhibitionism is also associated with higher rates of singleness, high pornography consumption, frequent masturbation,sexism, andnarcissism.[9][10]
When performed on a non-consenting person or a recurrent interference withquality of life or otherwisenormal functioning, exhibitionism can be diagnosed asexhibitionistic disorder in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5).[3] The DSM reports the possible prevalence for exhibitionistic disorder in men as 2-4% maximum. It is thought to be less common in women.[3]
In a Swedish survey, 2.1% of women and 4.1% of men admitted to becoming sexually aroused from the exposure of their genitals to a stranger.[11]
A research team asked a sample of 185 exhibitionists, "How would you have preferred a person to react if you were to expose your privates to him or her?" The most common response was "Would want to have sexual intercourse" (35.1%), followed by "No reaction necessary at all" (19.5%), "To show their privates also" (15.1%), "Admiration" (14.1%), and "Any reaction" (11.9%). Only very few exhibitionists chose "Anger and disgust" (3.8%) or "Fear" (0.5%).[12]
A study conducted in Hong Kong among people who self-identified as perpetrators ofsexual assault found that exhibitionists andzoophiles are less likely to commit sexual assault by contact or rape than those who suffer fromvoyeurism,frotteurism, orscatophilia.[13] According to another study, serial sex murderers have different profiles from those who have committed a singlesexual homicide. Both groups often havepersonality disorders, but serial sex murderers are distinguished by a higher prevalence of narcissistic,schizoid, or obsessive-compulsive traits. They are also more likely to exhibit paraphilic behaviors such asmasochism,sexual fetishism,pedophilia, exhibitionism, or voyeurism.[14]
Exhibitionism, understood as self-promotion, is a fundamental driving force in human psychological life. When expressed constructively through sociability, creativity, volunteering, performance, or public responsibility, this dynamic promotes personal fulfillment and collective creativity. From this perspective, exhibitionism can be seen as a driving force, capable of connecting individuals and stimulating research. The forms this exhibition takes vary according to the individual and the circumstances, but could all unconsciously refer to a quest for recognition. Scenes of exhibitionism, whether they arise from dreams, fantasies, theater, aggression, or media culture, function as small dramatic devices in which issues of identity and sometimes deep suffering can be replayed.[15]
Exhibitionism is compulsive behavior and, as such, is one of the possible symptoms of childhood sexual abuse.[16] It can be linked totraumatic behaviors and traumatic sexualization.[17] Neglect and trauma during childhood, particularly sexual trauma, are strongly linked to the development ofparaphilias, of which exhibitionism may be one form.[18][19] This traumatic conditioning can lead exhibitionist women or men to prostitution orsex shows.[20]
Most often, the victims of exhibitionists are women, frequently children, the majority of whom are young girls. According to an American study, 48.6% of women have experienced such an assault, 37% of them more than once in their lives. Approximately 28% of victims report an increased fear ofsex crimes and changes in their social activities following the assault, while 68% of women surveyed consider exhibitionism to be dangerous.[21] Another study indicates that 58.7% of women have been victims of an exhibitionist, reporting that their initial feelings were disgust and fear. Twenty-nine percent changed their habits to avoid being assaulted again, and only 7% reported the incident to the police, although this figure is trending toward more reports to the authorities. The study shows that, for victims, exhibitionist assault is similar to any other sexual assault.[22][23]
Like all physical assaults, sexual assaults are predominantly committed by men. From a feminist perspective, exhibitionist assaults are a form ofviolence against women, a freedom that men grant themselves and which forms part of their strategies of coercion to maintain their domination and privileges.[24] The cultural and institutional frameworks that legitimize or tolerate these sexist assaults and fail to protect child victims condemn some to becoming victims again and others to possibly becoming perpetrators.[25]
Public exhibitionism by women has been recorded since classical times, often in the context of women shaming groups of men into committing, or inciting them to commit, some public action.[26] The ancient Greek historianHerodotus gives an account of exhibitionistic behaviors from the fifth century BC inThe Histories. Herodotus writes that:
When people travel toBubastis for the festival, this is what they do. Everybaris carrying them there overflows with people, a huge crowd of them, men and women together. Some of the women haveclappers, while some of the men have pipes which they play throughout the voyage. The rest of the men and women sing and clap their hands. When in the course of their journey they reach a community—not the city of their destination, but somewhere else—they steer thebareis close to the bank. Some of the women carry on doing what I have already described them as doing, but others shout out scornful remarks to the women in the town, or dance, or stand and pull up their clothes to expose themselves. Every riverside community receives this treatment.[27]
A case of what appears to be exhibitionism in a clinical sense was recorded in a report by the Commission against Blasphemy in Venice in 1550.[28]John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester was an earlylibertine in England, who was known for his exhibitionism.[29]
In the United Kingdom, the 4th draft of the revisedVagrancy Act 1824 included an additional clause "or openly and indecently exposing their persons" which gave rise to difficulties because of its ill-defined scope. During the course of a subsequent debate on the topic in Parliament, the then-Home SecretaryRobert Peel observed that "there was not a more flagrant offence than that of indecently exposing the person which had been carried to an immense extent in the parks ... wanton exposure was a very different thing from accidental exposure".[30]
Researchers have linked the sending of unsoliciteddick pics to exhibitionist and narcissistic biases and either ambivalent or aggressive sexism.[31] In England, a study revealed that 70% of women have received unwanted images of genitals.[32]
The transition from a society of secrecy to a culture of mass disclosure, encouraged by digital technologies, constant media coverage, and the incentive to "show off" in order to exist publicly, is reshaping certain manifestations of exhibitionism. This general trend can amplify individual tendencies, sometimes to spectacular effect.[15] Some authors, such as journalist Julien Picquart, draw an analogy between the constant sexualization of the media and that of individuals who expose themselves on digital social networks, referring to an exhibitionist society.[33]
Mooning: the display of barebuttocks by pulling down oftrousers and underwear. The act is most often done for the sake of humour, disparagement, or mockery.
Reflectoporn: the act of stripping and taking a photograph using an object with a reflective surface as a mirror, then posting the image on the Internet in a public forum.[35] Examples include images of naked men and women reflected in kettles, TVs, toasters and even knives and forks.[36] The instance generally credited with starting the trend involved a man selling akettle on an Australian auction site featuring a photograph where his naked body is clearly visible;[37] other instances followed,[38][39][40] and the specific term "reflectoporn" was coined by Chris Stevens ofInternet Magazine.[41]
Streaking: the act of running naked through a public place. The intent is not usually sexual but for shock value.
Telephone scatologia: the act of making obscene phone calls to random or known recipients. Some researchers have claimed that this is a variant of exhibitionism, even though it has no in-person physical component.[42][43]
Underwear as outerwear: the intentional display of underwear as a fashion statement or to be provocative can also be seen as exhibitionism.[44] When revealingthong underwear above pants or a skirt, the result is often called awhale tail.[45]
The DSM-5 diagnosis for exhibitionistic disorder has three subtypes: exhibitionists interested in exposing themselves to non-consenting adults, to prepubescent children, or to both.[3]
^abBaunach, Dawn Michelle (2010)."Exhibitionism".Sex and Society. New York: Marshall Cavendish. p. 220.ISBN978-0-7614-7906-2.Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved22 May 2017.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toExhibitionism.
Nancollas, Chris (2012).Exhibitionism: The Biography: A Popular History of Performance and Display. London: Darton Longman & Todd.ISBN9780232529159.OCLC1062174649.
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