Genital exhibitionism: Courtship disorder or narcissism?

Abstract

The present study contrasted the courtship disorder and narcissism hypotheses of genital exhibitionism. Two offender groups-34 "persistent" exhibitionists and 20 nonviolent nonsex offender controls-were compared on measures of gender identity and sexual and criminal history. The results revealed various things. (1) A surprising number of exhibitionists (41%) were transvestitic but, overall, (2) gender identity was masculine and not significantly different from controls. (3) In partial support of Freund et al.'s (1983) theory of the courtship disorders, exhibitionists also engaged in a variety of other sexually anomalous behaviours, namely, voyeurism (71%), obscene telephone calling (32%), frottage (38%), toucheurism (26%), and attempted rape (18%). However, the majority of these sexual outlets were not associated with orgasm. (4) The highest correlation of exhibiting frequency was with voyeurism and, with the hope that the female would be impressed by penis size during exhibiting. Frequency of exhibiting was uncorrelated with desire for resulting intercourse with the victim. Nearly all exhibitionists (94%) hoped the unsuspecting female would enjoy the experience and 19 (56%) of the men would have gone with the complainant, if invited to do so. (5) A noteworthy 20% of exhibitionists had a history of violence-related offences. The composite sexual behaviour of the exhibitionist involving under-age victims, transvestism, voyeurism, and behaviour during exhibiting, were interpreted as best supporting the narcissism hypothesis.Genital exhibitionism usually has been treated as more of a social nuisance than as a serious problem. Even today, it remains poorly understood and little researched. Theories attempting to explain exhibitionism fall into four overlapping major categories: personality pathology, inadequate heterosexuality, problems in parentchild relations, and biological anomalies. The first two sets of theories are the topic of this paper. The last two sets of theories have little empirical work on them and will not be considered here (cf. Langevin, 1985b).PERSONALITY PATHOLOGY Personality characteristics have been considered etiologically significant in a range of sexually anomalous men (cf.

Neuropsychological deficits in sexual offenders: Implications for treatment

“…In her 1985 doctoral study, Baker found that the exhibitionists she examined displayed deficits on tasks involving oral word fluency, speech sounds perception and rote verbal learning suggestive of some left frontal-temporal impairment. Genital exhibitionists are an interesting group to explore since they share some common features with rapists as well as paedophiles in that about one-fifth of exhibitionists are aggressive (Rooth, 1973;Lang et al , 1987). Freund, Scher & Hucker (1 983) and Freund & Blanchard (1986) have also noted that exhibitionism, voyeurism, toucherism, frotteurism and preferential rape pattern often co-occur as varying phases of an underlying courtship disorder.…”

Sexual Deviation: Paraphilias

“…Sexual dysfunctions such as erectile failure and premature ejaculation are reportedly uncommon (Lang et al, 1987). Although some authors believe that the presence of other sexual deviations is uncommon, several studies reveal that exhibitionism may be associated with voyeurism (Langevin, 1983;Langevin et al, 1979;Rooth, 1973); 50% of the exposers studied by Lang et al (1987) had been voyeurs, as were 32% of the 241 exhibitionists described by Freund (1990). Exhibitionism may also be associated with frotteurism and obscene telephone calling (Freund & Watson, 1993).…”

“…Contrary to popular belief, exhibitionists do not typically seek to shock or frighten their victims. Most exposers report that they hope the victim will derive enjoyment and sexual arousal from the sight of the exposed penis (Lang, Langevin, Checkley, & Pugh, 1987;Langevin et al, 1979). The desire for sexual intercourse with the victim apparently plays a secondary role because less than one-third of exposers claim that they desire sexual relations with the victim (Langevin et al, 1979).…”

“…Exhibitionism may also be associated with frotteurism and obscene telephone calling (Freund & Watson, 1993). Lang et al (1987) found that 41% of their sample of exposers had engaged in transvestic fetishism. It has been reported that exposers frequently choose children as victims, and it is estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of victims are female children (MacDonald, 1973;Mohr, Turner, & Jerry, 1964).…”

“…Other studies (e.g., Langevin et al, 1979), however, have found that exposers are unremarkable in terms of personality functioning. Gender identity is typically masculine, and narcissistic features may be noted in some cases (Lang et al, 1987;Langevin, 1983).…”