What is sexual deviancy?

Question

I know this may seem obvious or easonably clear, maybe, a deviant from the norm, but what is the norm?

Anyrate, under the new Mental Health Act proposals, people can be locked up without trial for such deviancy. Not just lewdness like in the days of Oscar Wilde, but anything that is not PC.

There is not nothing to stop Catholics or other religious organisations infilitrating the NHS in the mind control regime of Tony Blair's Police State. Promiscuity is also proscribed as treatable (nobody has ever been cured of mental health problems, except by death).

Answer 1

You miss a point in that norms have changed since the time of Oscar Wilde; homosexul sex is no longer an offence, and neither is anal sex between heterosexuals. As sexual deviancy is presumably not defined under statute - I'd love to see the draftsman try - it will be left to the man on the clapham omnibus, or as he is now referred to the reasonable person. Given that society has shifted in its outlook, the judiciary must do the same.

Furthermore, the church, state and juduciary are necessarily kept separate so that one does not overly influence the other - look at laws which the Government has brought in, only for the Judiciary to define in its own way as soon as its given the chance. The only person who straddles the state and juduciary is the Lord Chancellor, a political appt to the Judiciary.

To say that no - one has ever been cured of a menal heath problem is incorrect and sensationalist. The issue here is whether sexual deviancy is a mental health issue - this depends on the sexual behaviour, and an examination of the individual to discover the reasons for that behaviour.

Mental health professionals take their job seriously, there is little chance of infiltration by Opus Dei, the KKK, the Keystone Cops or any other body you care to mention.

As to your question, the norm is whatever society decides it is at the time. Who is society? We are - the reasonable person in the street, the imaginary person the law considers when trying a case.

Answer 2

Very interesting!
First of all I suppose that we have to consider 'what is normal.' Take it away from sex and put it in to other contexts. A vegetarian wouldn't eat meat but an omnivore would. Remember all the hoo-ha over sheep being fed with ground animal and scropies (or scrapies - can't remember what they called it! Cattle being fed with the by-product of the sheep and getting BSE? Both animals are naturally veggie and were given an unnatural diet. Causes problems!
Another way of looking at it is quite simply bowel movements. For some people it is normal to have just one movement a day or maybe one every two days but for another it may be four or five a day. So, we can establish that 'normal' is what is right for a particular person.
I know a girl who describes herself as being a lesbian but in actual fact she 'swings both (or any) ways' and just seems to like sex with anyone or anything! To me that is a deviation - but is it for her? I also believe that homosexuality is a medical condition but with the relaxation of the law on the subject we now have people who choose to be homosexual rather than being medically homosexual. Being a medical homosexual is normal for the person. By choosing to be homosexual, it is a deviation - but that is just my opinion.
Other sexual deviations from what is accepted as being normal could include oral sex and buggery. As far as I am aware, it is still illegal to have anal sex even if the two adults are consenting. And there is the big question! How are 'they' under the new Mental Health Act going to enforce this if the two parties consent? Do we all run to the police/a solicitor (pardon that one as a pun) or Parliament saying that we have consented to indulge in a deviant sexual act?
I think that the point here must be made that the real crux of the matter is to consent - and therefore rape, (albeit whether the victim is alive or dead) can surely be the only enforcable sexual deviancy.
And as for the mind control bit - it isn't just sex or mental health areas they are doing this in - and it isn't just Tony Blair (I blame the Euro Parliament for a lot of it). I think that a lot of the laws that are around now are just made by silly people that are paid high salarys and have too much time or their hands to find something that they can restrict us on next.
By the way, I am a happily married and (mostly) law abiding heterosexual.

Answer 3

This is a good question, as certain interpretations of deviancy could take society back to the bad old days of women being locked up for having illegitimate babies. In fact, prostitution has been termed deviancy in a society where it is regarded as the norm for women to have monogamous relationships. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:OBUp9G2KrM8J:www.hsph.harvard.edu/grhf-asia/repro2/deviancy.htm+england+sexual+deviancy&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=11 Until very recently homosexual relationships of all kinds were certainly categorised under the heading of deviancy.

Presumably, the only grounds for locking people up for deviancy under the terms of this Act would be when the behaviour of the person offended society at large and was injurious to others. There might also be a case for locking a person up when he seemed intent on self immolation. A clear deviancy would be a propensity to rape people. A convicted rapist might be seen as showing signs of wanting to repeat the offence and it would be prudent to put him away before it happens. (I have been present at a rape trial where the rapist had asked for treatment while in prison because he knew that he was unable to control his urges.) Paedophilia also constitutes deviancy which poses a threat to others and sodomy is a form of cruelty to animals. There are also forms of beating which the law refuses to condone -- with the result that the harmless use of birch twigs in the sauna, which is so pleasant and refreshing in Finland, is illegal in the British Isles. Pity help us if a patient were to be locked up for something like that!

Answer 4

The norm is what society decides is the norm at that point in time. Simple as that. It would have to be tested in court if the Mental Health were applied, and final appeal decided in the House of Lords.

Pathetic that so many jump on your question (a good and sensible question) to express their homophobia. Why do they feel threatened by homosexuality? Are they not secure in their own sexuality?

Answer 5

Well, I'm not familiar with your laws over there in UK but what you are describing certainly sounds like some stupid idea that our moron president (Bush) would try to enact.
As for your question: "Normal" is completely subjective. There is no "normal". Of course, the majority (or a minority with the proper connections and/or funding) has the ability to impose their view as being the "normal" view. Typically, whatever is the most commonplace and, therefore, most widely accepted by a society, is viewed as the norm. Whether or not this truly is "normal" or "healthy" or whatever is certainly up for debate. And, of course, this "norm" changes over time, as a society evolves (or devolves, depending on how you look at it). For example, in the 1950's Elvis was considered scandalous / deviant / inappropriate because of his "suggestive" dance moves (swingin' hips...OH NO!) and was edited for TV. And look what's on TV now...

Answer 6

"Are rape and other acts of sexual deviancy byproducts of a society that commercializes sexual imagery?" They are byproducts of deviant minds, not deviant societies. "If we had a group of Christian prudes ruling over all commercial images on TV, the internet, billboards etc and getting rid of all images that might make men's penises become erect, will the incidences of rape and other acts of sexual deviancy decline?" I am not pro-suppression.

Answer 7

Those sexual acts that are not commonly preformed by other animals,and are not practiced by the majority of humans.
We have always had to guard against one religion or another gaining control and forcing their views onto others. We must continue to resist them.

Answer 8

to marty k i agree that man on man is abhorrant but in some countries it is the norm and indeed in ancient greece it was the only sexual activity allowed because women were just for breeding.

Answer 9

Putting a banana into someones bottom,,now I would call that a sexual deviancy

Answer 10

Being that many societies recognize gay marriages. Sexual deviancy would be any sexual activity between adults and children, animals, the dead.