EXHIBITIONISTS: SUMMARY
As a group the exhibitionists do not manifest many salient traits, but those which do exist all point toward some deficiency or difficulty in heterosexual adjustment.
In childhood the exhibitionists did not socialize well with other boys and girls, although this does not seem to have adversely affected their sex play. In postpubertal life the signs of heterosexual difficulty are more numerous. .Masturbation played an important role among the married men. Premarital petting began rather belatedly and premarital coitus included much with prostitutes. Relatively few exhibitionists married, and among those who did marital coitus accounted for fewer of their orgasms than was true for most other sex offenders. In both extramarital and postmarital coitus the men again relied rather heavily on prostitutes, as they did before marriage, indicating some problem in adjusting to females.
Setting aside those whose offense was primarily the consequence of drunkenness or mental deficiency and concentrating on the repetitive exhibitionists, who comprise about half of all exhibitionists, one can make a number of useful generalizations. The exhibition stems from a truly compulsive urge which is usually triggered by some emotional stress. The sexual availability of wives or other females does not seem sufficient to prevent this urge, which certainly rests on a complex emotional rather than a simple physiological basis. The exposure is almost invariably to strangers and not to wives, friends, or acquaintances. There is the suggestion that the exhibitionist, despite what he says, may be avoiding exposure to females who might cooperate sexually and thereby put his masculinity to the test. In this connection it is worth noting that not infrequently he may expose himself to unsuitably young girls, which hints at feelings of inadequacy in relationships with adult females. The exposure of the penis, which is generally erect, is most commonly made outdoors at a distance ranging from two to many yards. The distance seems to vary with the aggressiveness of the exhibitionist, but exposure at very close range (within arm’s length) appears to be rare. While the great majority of exhibitionists do not resort to violence, a minority of perhaps one in ten have attempted or seriously contemplated rape.
The motivations of exhibition are, of course, not to be clearly defined by this study, but our impressions do agree with some psychiatric concepts. Certainly some exhibition is largely an affirmation of masculinity, a cry of “Look, here is proof I am a man!” This is the response of the insecure male who has suffered some ego-shattering sexual rejection or corrosive long-lime sexual stress. Also important is the element of sexual solicitation, which many exhibitionists consciously recognize although their hopes are almost never realized. Thirdly, and perhaps less common, is exhibition as an expression of hostility or sadism: a desire to frighten and shock. Very few of these people consciously feel such hostility, and on the whole the exhibitionists are to be pitied rather than feared.
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