Courtship disorder

Courtship disorder is a theoretical construct in sexology developed by Kurt Freund in which a certain set of paraphilias are seen as specific instances of anomalous courtship instincts in humans.[1] The specific paraphilias are biastophilia (paraphilic rape), exhibitionism, frotteurism, telephone scatologia, and voyeurism. According to the courtship disorder hypothesis, there is a species-typical courtship process in humans consisting of four phases, and anomalies in different phases result in one of these paraphilic sexual interests. According to the theory, instead of being independent paraphilias, these sexual interests are individual symptoms of a single underlying disorder.[2]

  1. ^ Aggrawal, Anil (2009). Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-4308-2.
  2. ^ Freund, K.; Kolářský, A. (1965). "Grundzüge eines einfachen bezugsystems für die analyse sexueller deviationen ['Basic features of a reference system for considering anomalous erotic preferences']". Psychiatrie, Neurologie, und Medizinische Psychologie. 17: 221–225.