Courtship Disorder

Abstract

The courtship disorder hypothesis holds that various anomalous erotic preferences can be seen as expressions of a common “underlying” disorder. In other words, that in the network of causes of these anomalous preferences there exists a specific part which they have in common. In calling the hypothesized underlying disturbance a courtship disorder, the present writer adopted the terminology of students of the behavior of birds, who use this term for all precopulatory reproductive activities (Morris, 1970). But the idea of a disturbance in the realm of courtship behavior was already put forward by Ellis (1933/1978), when he called exhibitionism a “symbolic act based on a perversion of courtship” (p. 190). The main putative expressions of a courtship disorder are voyeurism, exhibitionism, toucheurism or frotteurism, and the preferential rape pattern. For each of these anomalous erotic preferences a typical behavior pattern exists. In an earlier paper (Freund & Kolarsky, 1965), a simple reference system was proposed for the description of human erotic or sexual interaction, which differentiates between roughly four phases: (1) location and first appraisal of a suit-able partner, (2) pretactile interaction, consisting mainly in looking, smiling, posturing, and talking to a prospective partner, (3) tactile interaction, and (4) effecting genital union (in the following the terms erotic or sexual will be used as synonyms). This is only a rough scheme; in real sexual interaction there is often a reversal of phases. For instance, pretactile interaction is usually reintroduced after tactile interaction or intercourse; sometimes weeks or months can pass between the various phases, and more often than not interaction stops before reaching genital union.