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Arch Sex Behav (2012) 41:237247 DOI 10.1007/s10508-012-9900-3
ORIGINAL PAPER
Is Homosexuality a Paraphilia? The Evidence For and Against
James M. Cantor
Published online: 27 January 2012 The Author(s) 2012. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract Whetherhomosexualityshouldbedescribedasone among many paraphilic sexual interests or an altogether different dimension of sexual interest has long been discussed in terms of its political and social implications. The present article examined the question instead by comparing the major correlates and other features of homosexuality and of the paraphilias, including prevalence, sex ratio, onset and course, fraternal birth order, physical height, handedness, IQ and cognitive neuro-psychological prole, and neuroanatomy. Although those literatures remain underdeveloped, the existing ndings thus far suggest that homosexuality has a pattern of correlates largely, but not entirely, distinct from that identied among the paraphilias.Atleast,ifhomosexualityweredeemedaparaphilia,itwould be relatively unique among them, taxonometrically speaking.
Keywords Fraternal birth order Handedness
Neuroanatomy Neuropsychology Physical height
Sexual orientation
Introduction
Is homosexuality a paraphilia? In the science of sexology, this isafundamentalquestionforunderstandinghumansexualinterests; however, there also exist authors interested in the question
because of perceived political implications. Atypical sexual interests remain highly stigmatized in Western society, especially in the United States. Homosexuality, more than any other atypical sexual interest, has achieved greater social acceptance over time, and advocates for other atypical sexual interests BDSM, cross-dressing, diaperism, etc.understandably seek the same recognition and rights. Thus, thinking of paraphilias as merely another sexual orientation suggests the conclusion that everyone with an atypical sexual interest should benet from greatertolerance.(Conversely,thereexistgroups,typicallyconservativereligiousgroups,whoclaimthatonlymainstream,nonparaphilicheterosexualityisacceptable,makinganydistinctions among other sexual interests entirely moot.)
ItisherethatImustdrawanimportant,butusuallyunmarked, distinction: I personally agree wholeheartedly that everyone with atypical sexual interests deserves respect and full recognitionofalltheircivilrights;however,Idisagreethatanswersto scientic questions can be identied by presuming the desired outcome and then backwards-engineering ones interpretation of the research data to guarantee arrival at that outcome. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, questions of rights fall outside the purview of science. People deserve respect and civil rights regardless of the scientic classication of their sexual interests.
Whether homosexuality is a paraphilia can be addressed bydeningthosetermsasdesired.Thatis,becausetheeldhas not yet identied any objective, observable characteristic by which to draw the line between sexual interests that are paraphilic and those that might be called euphilic (i.e., non-paraphilic), one can reasonably compose either broader or narrower denitions.Forexample,paraphiliasmightreasonablybedened as sexual interests that...