| Voyeurism | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration of a voyeuristic fantasy, 1962 | |
| Specialty | Psychiatry |
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Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature.[1]
The term comes from the French voir which means "to see". A male voyeur is commonly labelled as "Peeping Tom" or a "Jags", a term which originates from the Lady Godiva legend.[2] However, that term is usually applied to a male who observes somebody secretly and, generally, not in a public space.
The American Psychiatric Association has classified certain voyeuristic fantasies, urges and behaviour patterns as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) if the person has acted on these urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.[3] It is described as a disorder of sexual preference in the ICD-10.[4] The DSM-IV defines voyeurism as the act of observing "individuals, usually strangers, engaging in sexual activity, exhibitionism, or disrobing".[5] The diagnosis as a disorder would not be given to people who experience typical sexual arousal or amusement, simply by seeing nudity or sexual activity.[6]
- ^ Hirschfeld, M. (1938). Sexual anomalies and perversions: Physical and psychological development, diagnosis and treatment (new and revised edition). London: Encyclopaedic Press.[page needed]
- ^ DNB 1890
- ^ "BehaveNet Clinical Capsule: Voyeurism". Behavenet.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ "ICD-10". Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ Metzl, Jonathan M. (2004). "Voyeur Nation? Changing Definitions of Voyeurism, 1950–2004". Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 12 (2): 127–31. doi:10.1080/10673220490447245. PMID 15204808. S2CID 40085717.
- ^ Staff, PsychCentral. "Voyeuristic Disorder Symptoms". PsychCentral. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.