Societal views and conceptions on disability and disabled sexuality have undergone many changes throughout history. However, negative, misinformed, and neglectful views on the sexuality of the disabled have been prevalent for centuries and can be traced back to 1614 when the first diagnosis of "mental retardation" was recorded, with the cause of the mental condition being stated as an "overindulgence in sexual pleasure" (Wade, 12). These views continued into the first half of the 20th century, seeing some improvement starting in the 1940s, when eugenic sterilization was eradicated in the United States. During the second half of the 20th century, there was some progress made in the way people with disabilities were regarded and treated in society, …show more content…
The German Richard Von Krafft Ebing was one of the first scientists to conduct a “study on sexuality and the sexual perversions”. In his publication “Psychopathia Sexualis” (1886) he writes extensively about the sexuality of disabled peoples under a pathologizing scope. His fourth chapter, titled “Special Pathology, pathological exuality in the various forms of mental disturbance” addresses and lists the sexualities of those listed under a taxonomy of mental illnesses: imbecility, dementia, paretic dementia, epilepsy, periodical insanity, psychopathia sexualis periodica, mania, satyriasis and nymphomania, melancholia, hysteria and paranoia. He also has a section within his fifth chapter titled “Pathological Sexuality in its Legal Aspects” in which he discusses “Immoral acts with persons in the care of others”. Krafft-Ebing takes great interest in disabled sexuality throughout his texts, the issue with his writings is that while seeking to define the concept of a “normal sexuality” he pathologized many sexual acts and sexualities. In his discussion, he states how people of various ranges of mental disability are “more likely” to engage in sexual violence, incest, and immoral acts with animals or even children (Krafft-Ebing, 359-364). Krafft-Ebing, among his many accounts of the “perversions” carried by the mentally disabled, also mentions that in the case that the mentally ill are not sexually perverse, then they are not sexual at all; “Here the sexual life is usually abnormally affected; in the incipient stages of the disease, as well as in episodical states of excitement, it is intensified,and sometimes perverse. In the final stages libido and sexual power usually become nil.” (Krafft-Ebing, 363). Although Krafft-Ebing does mention that in some cases for the mentally disabled “the sexual instinct
...ng on Justice Douglas view, it is not right to use genetics and issues of hereditary in legal decisions (Reilly, 1991). Such natural aspects should not violate the individual’s right of procreation and fourteen amendments. Everybody is therefore entitled to basic civic rights. Eugenics movement disappeared after the atrocities by the Germany regime. Although Holmes there was overturning of Homes decision eventually, Ms. Buck and many feebleminded American citizens were victims of State and Supreme Court immorality. Reviewing of the focus period, neither society nor individual got benefits of Compulsory sterilization statutes. The change of attitudes towards mental handicapped people over time is interesting. From late 1950s in the United States, civil and women rights movement, contribute to acts governing the handicapped rights including their rights to reproduce.
But if you were different, suffering from a mental disability, you would have been given the job title of Court Jester or Village Idiot. Society mocked intellectually disabled individuals because they were different from the norm, but that is not the worst of it. Carter and VanAndel (2011) leading professionals in the field of Therapeutic Recreation explain the appalling treatment of the mentally disabled during the Middle Ages. These individuals were locked away in dank, dark cells within the walls of the dungeon, hidden from society, (p. 29) all the while tethered to the wall like a wild animal. Even though the times were primitive, little regard or medical attention was awarded to the mentally disabled. French Physician, Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) did not like the treatment the mentally ill received so he decided to advocate on their behalf. He felt all individuals had the right to live as productive members of society. Carter and VanAndel highlight how Pinel ventured out to change the living conditions for the intellectually disabled. (p. 30) Unfortunately, during the Victorian Era society felt demon possession caused the mental illness. In some instances, individuals were killed in the process of exorcism. Many years later intellectually disabled individuals were housed in prisons with murderers and thieves. They were treated like common criminals just because they were different. In later years, they were segregated from society and institutionalized. (Carter & VanAndel, 2011, p. 31) Throughout the years, the treatment of the mentally disabled individuals changed. Today, in some areas the mentally disabled are still segregated; however, the stigma is still present. They attend schools that are specifically designed to support their needs and teachers trained to instruct individuals with disabilities. The living conditions have also
Yet medical writers voiced more than a certain anxiety as to how to regulate marital pleasure, especially for the female partner. The conjugal "genital act" may have been the best medicine in preventing hysteria and maintaining general health, but only when dispensed in exactly the right dosage. Too much or too little could also unleash fatal female instincts, making marriage not the cure to a woman 's debauchery, past or future, but rather the gateway. Thus, while for men marriage itself seemed to offer enough of a cure for unregulated passion, for women another layer of surveillance was needed: enter the husband, dispenser and moderator of pleasure and passion. '” (Mesch
For example, In the case of Jacob, an ordinary guy who faces many obstacles including the focus of his desire for women 's feet. It seems impossible to define normal sexual behaviors because sexual behaviors that are considered normative vary within the cultural context of the culture and other factors. For instance, in Jacob 's case, there seems to be a deviation involving the object of his sexual attraction. Jacob 's intense sexual desire to touch, to gaze upon, and to suck women 's feet displays an inconsistency to what contemplates as normal sexual desire and behavior among man in his cultural context. For instance, when comparing Jacob 's sexual desire of women 's feet to what was considered normal among men, which were breast, legs, buttocks, and genitals. It seems that there is a distinct deviation in Jacob 's desires from the norm. To further expand, wanting to press his cock against women 's feet demonstrates the intensity of having a fetishistic disorder. Jacob 's erotic distortions made him feel hideous and mortified by his longing. Jacob meets the full criteria for a fetishistic disorder. His sexual arousal is focused on nongenital body parts, which is manifested by fantasies, urges, and behaviors. Jacob 's fetish is causing him significant distress and impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning. For instance, Jacob no longer engages in sexual intercourse with his wife, and thus, his marriage has been
Medicalization describes the shift in authority concerning abnormal human conditions. Quirks previously seen as by-products of maturation began to see heavy examination and were classified under medical terms. As a result, the past few decades have seen an obscene number of compulsions and disorders deemed medical conditions, further exacerbating the unnecessary institutionalization of many harmless irregularities. This string coincides with the growing popularity of sex addiction and the debate over its inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The mere thought of such a neurotic desire potentially joining the DSM alongside major mental and learning disorders epitomizes the depths to which society has sunk in recognition of truly straining abnormalities.
Eugenics- Eugenics is a term coined by Francis Galton in 1883 and it is the belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human population. This idea that one could trace hereditary problems and find solutions for them gained significant ground in addressing certain societal issues such as poor people and welfare. Two types of eugenics emerged, positive and negative, but the U.S., negative eugenics was preferred. This is the idea of destroying defectives and degenerates from the population to promote and preserve the fittest, a very social Darwinist idea. This is important to sexuality because many homosexuals were sterilized, thus creating the stigma that homosexuality was a disease that could be cured.
Society must realize the “collective obligation and responsibility to treat people with disabilities not as recipients of charity and goodwill, not as objects of compassion, but as the primary subjects of justice” (Kuick 292). Every individual deserves the opportunity to be sexually active, regardless of his or her physical or mental abilities.
References to Kurt Freund’s studies to “assess sexual arousal in men and women” and Alfred Kinsey’s “sexual orientation” scale are made to further explain how sexuality and asexuality are not solid concepts with strict definitions of their own but rather more multifarious. For
Freud has multiple known theories all describing the unconsciousness, the human defense mechanism, the clinical conversation between patients and psychoanalyst, and most prominently he discussed about sexual desire. He explained sexual desire as the key motivating energy for humans, and he discussed about its magnitude. On the same topic of sexual desire, Freud also discussed about homosexuality and how it’s acquired (Freud’s View of Homosexuality, 2013). Sigmund Freud discussed the concept of homosexuality as deterministic. According to Feud, human beings are born with unfocused sexual libidinal d...
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian psychoanalyst in the twentieth century whose studies and interests were focused on psychosexual behavior, psychosocial behavior, and the unconscious. He blames incestual desires and acts on neurosis and believes neurotics were victimized and molested in their youth. Congruently, this is his explanation for sexual urges in children. He watched psychiatrists fail at inventions of electrical and chemical treatments for mental disorders, only for them to turn to treatments that followed concepts of psychoanalysis. Even though drugs diminish symptoms of suffering he believed psychoanalytic or talking therapy would truly restore a patient’s self-esteem and welfare. As quoted by Ernst G. Beier:
It could be said that in modern industrial society, Disability is still widely regarded as tragic individual failing, in which its “victims” require care, sympathy and medical diagnosis. Whilst medical science has served to improve and enhance the quality of life for many it could be argued that it has also led to further segregation and separation of many individuals. This could be caused by its insistence on labelling one as “sick”, “abnormal” or “mental”. Consequently, what this act of labelling and diagnosing has done, is enforce the societal view that a disability is an abnormality that requires treatment and that any of its “victims” should do what is required to be able to function in society as an able bodied individual.
Thesis: In a society ruled by hypersexulaity, asexuals are often depicted as freaks with a mental or physical disabilities, however
Sexual orientation describes patterns of sexual and romantic attraction towards someone else. Normally one pole attracts the other, but in this case, it does not work like that. There is little information on why a person’s sexual orientation might be deviated from what is normal. Research shows that this problem may be due to the role of genes, the environment, hormones, the way a family raised the kids, or because of the brain itself. According to Sigmund Freud, all human beings are bisexual, but they become heterosexual or homosexual because of the experiences they live with their parents and other people. Psychologists and psychiatrists have a negative attitude towards homosexuality. However, there are no norms, or empirical evidence supporting the idea that attraction towards the same sex is a form of mental illness or a psychopathology. Homosexuality is a matter of choice rather than an abnormality due to brain dysfunction (APA, 1975; 1987).
Disability: Any person who has a mental or physical deterioration that initially limits one or more major everyday life activities. Millions of people all over the world, are faced with discrimination, the con of being unprotected by the law, and are not able to participate in the human rights everyone is meant to have. For hundreds of years, humans with disabilities are constantly referred to as different, retarded, or weird. They have been stripped of their basic human rights; born free and are equal in dignity and rights, have the right to life, shall not be a victim of torture or cruelty, right to own property, free in opinion and expression, freedom of taking part in government, right in general education, and right of employment opportunities. Once the 20th century
The question fundamental to the philosophy of sex is the question probing into the nature of sexual activity. What is sex? Many have postulated on the subject, but have only further clouded the waters surrounding the subject. There are a multitude of philosophical answers addressing the question of sex ranging from the natural to the phenomenological to everywhere in between. It is essential to the discussion that a proper definition of sex be established before addressing any other issues. I plan to establish a proper definition of sex with an account of sexual perversion and then continue on discussing the nature of cybersex, infidelity, and love.