Somnophilia (from Latin somnus "sleep" and Greek φιλία, -philia "friendship") is a paraphilia in which an individual becomes sexually aroused by someone who is unconscious. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The Dictionary of Psychology categorized somnophilia within the classification of predatory paraphilias. ^[4]

Origin

The term somnophilia was coined by John Money in 1986. ^{[1] [2]} He characterized the condition as a type of sexual fetishism, ^[1] described as a type of syndrome: "of the marauding-predatory type in which erotic arousal and facilitation or attainment of orgasm are responsive to and dependent on intruding upon" someone who is unable to respond. ^{[1] [5]} He wrote that often the condition then subsequently involves the individual waking the unresponsive sexual partner after the act has been committed. ^{[1] [5]}

According to Money, somnophilia may progress to necrophilia, the desire to have sexual relations with a dead body. ^[6] He characterized it as a form of "stealth and stealing paraphilias" including kleptophilia. ^[7] Money wrote that somnophilia has a high degree of correlation with acts of incest throughout history. ^[8] Abuse may follow from the condition including use of force or abduction. ^[6] Typically, the individual upon whom the sex act is committed by the somnophiliac is a stranger not previously known intimately to the individual. ^[9] The somnophiliac may create an unconscious state in the victim by drugging them, or may engage in sex with someone who is inebriated or asleep. ^[10] The perpetrator becomes attracted to the idea of a sexual participant who is unable to resist their advances. ^[10]

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classified the term in 2000 under DSM-IV TR code 302.9 and in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems under ICD-10 code F65.9. ^[11] The Dictionary of Psychology categorized somnophilia within the classification of predatory paraphilias. ^[4]

Prevalence

A 2015 study with a sample of 1516 participants reported that 22,6% of men and 10,8% of women have fantasized about "sexually abusing a person who is drunk, asleep, or unconscious." Another 2021 study by Michael Seto found that 9% of its participants have had interest in "sex with someone who is unconscious or sleeping" and 7,7% engaged in such behavior. A third study reported that 82% of its sample have had interest in engaging in consensual sexual activities with a sleeping partner, and 47% reported some interest in non-consensual somnophilic activities. These studies suggest that somnophilic fantasies are more common than previously thought, though possible sample biases have been identified in some of them. ^[12]

Treatment

Physicians have attempted to treat somnophilia with forms of psychotherapy, as well as with medications used for pedophilia. ^[1] James Cantor, psychologist and editor-in-chief of Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, stated: "There are occasional claims for treatment, but no one has presented meaningful, compelling evidence that someone with a paraphilia can be turned into someone without a paraphilia. As far as we can tell, it's like sexual orientation." ^[1] Somnophilia rises to the level of diagnosis when it causes "significant impairment", specifically, when the individual performing the sex act does so with a partner who does not give their consent. ^[1]

In popular culture

Somnophilia has presented itself as a recurring phenomenon in popular culture, including in the French film influenced by Alfred Hitchcock movies, Who Killed Bambi? ( French: Qui a tué Bambi ?). ^[13] The plot of the horror film involves a surgeon who drugs his female patients in order to rape them. ^[13] The assailant resorts to murder after one of the women wakes up from her unconscious state as he begins to remove her clothing. ^[13] The title character attempts to warn the board of directors at the hospital of the murderer's activity. ^[13]

See also

Notes

References

• Carey, Benedict (December 8, 2014). "Health – When a Rapist's Weapon Is a Drug". The New York Times. p. D7; Print version: When a Rapist's Weapon Is a Pill; Edition: December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
• Corsini, Raymond J. (2001). "Predatory paraphilias". The Dictionary of Psychology. Routledge. p.  747. ISBN  978-1583913284.
• Ferguson, Anthony (2010). The Sex Doll: A History. McFarland. ISBN  978-0786447947.
• Flora, Rudy (2001). How to Work with Sex Offenders: A Handbook for Criminal Justice, Human Service, and Mental Health Professionals. New York: Haworth Clinical Practice Press. p.  92. ISBN  0-7890-1499-8. OCLC  45668958.
• Laws, D. Richard; O'Donohue, William T., eds. (2008). "Somnophilia". Sexual Deviance, Second Edition: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment. The Guilford Press. p. 401. ISBN  978-1593856052.
• Levine, Stephen B.; Risen, Candace B.; Althof, Stanley E., eds. (2009). Handbook of Clinical Sexuality for Mental Health Professionals. Routledge. p. 407. ISBN  978-0415800761.
• Money, John (1986). Lovemaps: Clinical Concepts of Sexual/Erotic Health and Pathology, Paraphilia, and Gender Transposition of Childhood, Adolescence, and Maturity. Irvington. pp. 21, 26, 55, 79, 92. ISBN  978-0829015898.
• Nusbaum, Margaret; Jo Ann Rosenfeld (2005). Sexual Health across the Lifecycle: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. ISBN  978-0521534215.

External links

Look up somnophilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• "Doze Were the Days – A brief look at somnophilia" at Psychology Today