List of paraphilias
s are sexual interests in objects, situations, or individuals that are atypical. The American Psychiatric Association, in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition, draws a distinction between paraphilias and paraphilic disorders. Some paraphilias have more than one term to describe them, and some terms overlap with others. Paraphilias without DSM codes listed come under DSM 302.9, "Paraphilia NOS ".
In his 2008 book on sexual pathologies, Anil Aggrawal compiled a list of 547 terms describing paraphilic sexual interests. He cautioned, however, that "not all these paraphilias have necessarily been seen in clinical setups. This may not be because they do not exist, but because they are so innocuous they are never brought to the notice of clinicians or dismissed by them. Like allergies, sexual arousal may occur from anything under the sun, including the sun."
Most of the following names for paraphilias, constructed in the nineteenth and especially twentieth centuries from Greek and Latin roots, are used in medical contexts only.
Paraphilias
A
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Abasiophilia | People with impaired mobility |
Acrotomophilia | People with amputations |
Agalmatophilia | Statues, mannequins and immobility |
Algolagnia | Pain, particularly involving an erogenous zone; differs from masochism as there is a biologically different interpretation of the sensation rather than a subjective interpretation |
Andromimetophilia | Trans men |
Anililagnia | Attraction by young men to older women |
Anthropophagolagnia | Raping and then cannibalizing another person. |
Anthropophagy | Ingesting human flesh |
Apotemnophilia | Being an amputee |
Asphyxiophilia | Being asphyxiated or strangled |
Attraction to disability | People with one or more physical disabilities. |
Autagonistophilia | Being on stage or on camera |
Autassassinophilia | Being in life-threatening situations |
Autoerotic asphyxiation | Self-induced asphyxiation, sometimes to the point of near unconsciousness |
Autogynephilia | Sexual arousal of a biological male in response to the image of himself as female. |
Auto-haemofetishism | Bleeding oneself. Type of autovampirism. |
Autonepiophilia | The image of one's self in the form of an infant. |
Autopedophilia | The image of one's self in the form of a child. |
Autoplushophilia | The image of one's self in the form of a plush or anthropomorphized animal. |
Autovampirism/Vampirism | The image of one's self in the form of a vampire. Involves ingesting or seeing one's own blood. |
Autozoophilia | The image of one's self in the form of an animal or anthropomorphized animal. |
B
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Biastophilia/Raptophilia | Raping a person, possibly consensual rape fantasy. |
C
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Capnolagnia | Smoking. |
Chremastistophilia | Being robbed or held up |
Chronophilia | Partners of a widely differing chronological age |
Coprophilia | Feces; also known as scat, scatophilia or fecophilia |
D
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Dacryphilia | Tears or crying |
Diaper fetishism | Diapers; considerable overlap with paraphilic infantilism |
Dendrophilia | Trees |
E
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Emetophilia | Vomit |
Eproctophilia | Flatulence |
Erotic asphyxiation | Asphyxia of oneself or others |
Erotophonophilia | Murder, often of strangers. |
Exhibitionism | Exposing one's genitals to unsuspecting and nonconsenting others |
F
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Feederism | Eating, feeding, and weight gain. |
Formicophilia | Being crawled on by insects |
Forniphilia | Turning a human being into a piece of furniture |
Frotteurism | Rubbing against a non-consenting person |
G
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Gerontophilia | Elderly people |
Gynandromorphophilia, Gynemimetophilia | Transsexual or transgender women |
H
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Hematolagnia | Drinking or looking at blood |
Heterophilia | Idealization of heterosexuality and/or people who are "straight-acting", especially by non-heterosexual people. |
Homeovestism | Wearing clothing emblematic of one's own sex |
Hoplophilia | Firearms, guns |
Hybristophilia | Criminals, particularly for cruel or outrageous crimes |
I
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Infantophilia | Pedophilia with a focus on children less than five years old, a recently suggested term that is not in general use |
K
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Kleptophilia | Stealing; also known as kleptolagnia |
Klismaphilia | Enemas, arousal and enjoyment in receiving, administering, or both |
L
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Lactophilia | Breast milk |
Liquidophilia | Immersing genitals in liquids |
M
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Macrophilia | Giant beings; the imagined growth of beings |
Maschalagnia | Armpits |
Mazophilia | Highly atypical sexual interest focused on female breasts. |
Masochism | Suffering or humiliation; being beaten, bound or otherwise abused |
Mechanophilia | Cars or other machines; also "mechaphilia." |
Melolagnia | Music |
Menophilia | Menstruation |
Metrophilia | Poetry |
Microphilia | A sexual attraction to very small people or small body parts |
Morphophilia | Particular body shapes or sizes |
Mucophilia | Mucus |
Mysophilia | Dirtiness, soiled or decaying things |
N
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Narratophilia | Obscene words |
Nasophilia | Noses |
Necrophilia | Corpses |
O
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Objectophilia | Specific inanimate objects |
Oculophilia | Eyes and activities directly relating to and/or involving the eyes. Voyeurism does not meet classification for this term. |
Olfactophilia | Smells and odors emanating from the body, especially the sexual areas. |
Omorashi | Arousal from having a full bladder and/or wetting oneself, or from seeing someone else experiencing a full bladder and/or wetting him- or herself. |
P
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Paraphilic infantilism | Dressing or being treated like a baby, also known as autonepiophilia or "adult baby syndrome"; considerable overlap with diaper fetishism |
Partialism | Specific, non-genital body parts |
Pedophilia | Prepubescent children, also spelled paedophilia |
Peodeiktophilia | Exposing one's penis |
Pedovestism | Dressing like a child |
Podophilia | Feet |
Pictophilia | Pornography or erotic art, particularly pictures |
Piquerism | Piercing the flesh of another person, most commonly by stabbing or cutting the body with sharp objects |
Plushophilia | Stuffed toy animals. |
Pygophilia | Buttocks, as in a highly atypical sexual interest focused on the buttocks. |
S
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Salirophilia | Soiling or dirtying others |
Sexual fetishism | Nonliving objects |
Sexual sadism | Inflicting pain on others |
Shoe fetishism | Shoes, such as high heels |
Somnophilia | Sleeping or unconscious people |
Sophophilia | Learning |
Sthenolagnia | Muscles and displays of strength |
Stigmatophilia | Body piercings and tattoos |
Symphorophilia | Witnessing or staging disasters such as car accidents |
Telephone scatologia | Obscene phone calls, particularly to strangers; also known as telephonicophilia and scatophilia |
T
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Teratophilia | Deformed or monstrous people. The term is also sometimes used in a more literal sense for attraction to monstrous mythical and fictional creatures such as werewolves. |
Toucherism | Touching an unsuspecting, non-consenting person with the hand |
Toxophilia | Archery |
Transvestic fetishism | Wearing clothes associated with the opposite sex; also known as transvestism |
Transvestophilia | A transgender sexual partner |
Trichophilia | Hair |
Troilism | Observing one's partner engaged in sexual activities with another person |
U
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Urolagnia | Urination, particularly in public, on others, and/or being urinated on. Also referred to as "water sports" |
V
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Vorarephilia | The idea of one person or creature eating or being eaten by another; usually swallowed whole, in one piece; also known as vore |
Voyeurism | Watching others while naked or having sex, generally without their knowledge; also known as scopophilia or scoptophilia |
W
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Wet and messy fetishism | Messy situations, including, but not limited to, being pied, gunged or covered in mud |
Z
Paraphilia | Focus of erotic interest |
Zoophilia | Animals |
Zoosadism | Inflicting pain on or seeing animals in pain |