yinon
27-07-2007, 03:06 PM
SEXUAL SADISM: Rape, Necrophilia, Cannibalism, Fetishism
"There are two things which differentiate the human species from animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we're capable of controlling our sexual urges." (Dan Aykroyd)
The term sadism is derived from the name of a French author who lived from 1740 to 1814, Donatien-Alphonse-Francois de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. Sadists dare to mix love with cruelty. The practice was recognized as a sexual perversion by Krafft-Ebing in 1898 consisting of strong impulses to coitus, coupled with prepatory acts of maltreatment, even murder (necrophilia, then called "lustmurder") which occurs primarily because of an inability to be satisfied with coitus. Most sadists like torture more than they like sex, and it is customary to refer to the three D's of sadism in this regard -- Dread, Dependency, and Degradation -- or in other words, the desire to create fear in the victim, make the victim completely helpless (dependent on the sadist), and humiliate the victim.
A sadist is clinically defined as a person who demonstrates a long-standing maladaptive pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior towards others. Symptoms include: a period of activity of at least six months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving real acts (not simulated) in which the psychological (humiliation) or physical suffering of a victim is sexually exciting. In criminology, sadism is often inferred from carefully examining crime scene behavior, and it's a common pattern (Sadistic aspect) linking many crimes. In forensic science, wound pattern analysis tends to point to evidence of sadism or not. As with many sexual crimes, victimology is important, and where rape shield laws prevent inquiring into the victim's sexual history, a 24-hour timeline will have to be used. There are essential two (2) elements that constitute the actus reus of sadism:
deliberate sexual torture of a living victim without consent
evidence of a prolonged event or series of prolonged events
Sexual sadists who come into contact with law enforcement will tend to use certain over-the-counter tools, such as vice-grips, screwdrivers, etc., and will keep such devices in a common tool box. There will usually be post-mortem evidence of genital mutilation and/or evisceration. Sexual sadists who do not come into contact with law enforcement will tend to use custom-made, store-bought tools.
Behavior at the time of the offense will often involve forcing the victim to crawl or keeping the victim in a cage. Other activities that may occur include: restraint, blindfolding, paddling, spanking, whipping, pinching, beating, burning, electrical shocks, impaling, rape, cutting, stabbing, strangulation, torture, mutilation, and killing. Necrophilia is similar to sadism in that the offender may or may not care about whether the victim is unconscious or not, but sadists usually prefer them alive, and necrophiliacs usually prefer them dead. Sexual sadism is similar to serial killing in that the aspect of fantasy-reenactment cycle is the same.
One of the signature aspects of sadism is anger, but this should be at least as evident as sexual gratification. The intention is to hurt, degrade, defile, or destroy the victim. Sexuality and power are accompanied by anger in the service of sexual gratification. By contrast, an anger-retaliatory rapist is just interested in anger, not so much sexual gratification. However, for a sadist, the aggression is eroticized. They take pleasure in the torment, anguish, distress, helplessness, and suffering of their victims. Victim selection is usually on the basis of the victim being a symbol of someone they want to punish. Age, appearance, and occupation are typical victim selection categories.
It's important to note the difference here between a sadist and a psychopath. A psychopath will usually choose victims that are closer to them in terms of age, appearance, and occupation. They will then expect these people to love them, and a psychopath loves to hurt the ones who love him. A sadist, by contrast, typically chooses victims who are different from him in terms of age, appearance, and occupation. They want to symbolically destroy those groups of people, almost like a missionary serial killer. It's sometimes said that a psychopath is both sadist and masochist. A sadist is never a masochist. Psychopaths ignore their victim's suffering. Sadists relish their victim's suffering. People who experiment and go both ways with Bondage & Discipline (B & D) or Sado-Masochism (S & M) are probably not sadists, nor are they psychopaths. Harmless sex play is covered under fetishism.
Sadists tend to have some rather unique, bizarre rituals that aren't even described in the abnormal psychology books yet. In this sense, they are similar to the thrill-oriented hedonist in the Holmes Typology of serial killers. As seekers of new experiences and "kicks", they are constantly expanding the horizons of their sexual misadventures. A necrophiliac, in addition, would fit as a lust-oriented hedonist because they are concerned with sexual experimentation after death.
RAPE
There are many routine criminal behaviors, like rape, that are often mistaken for sadism. Harassment, Threats, Intimidation, and Terroristic threats, for example, are NOT sadism. Crimes of "hot" or "cold" blood are also NOT sadism. Crimes motivated by revenge are NOT sadism. Not all acts involving postmortem mutilation indicate sadism. It may be helpful at this point to review the different types of rapists (known as the Groth typology):
Power-Reassurance (Compensatory) non-aggressive behavior that normalizes an attack for an offender, restoring an offender's doubts about their desirability;
Power-Assertive (Exploitative) aggressive but non-lethal behavior that shows no outward doubt of masculinity, restoring an offender's inner doubts and fears;
Anger-Retaliatory (Displaced) behavior, in which high levels physical and sexual aggression service feelings of cumulative rage;
Anger-Excitation (Sadistic) behavior, where aggression is used to cause pain and suffering to service the offender's sexual gratification.
Although the fourth (4th) type is sometimes called the sadistic rapist, the rapist is usually NOT sadistic in the clinical sense. Most books will admit that the sadistic rapist is the rarest type. Rape is a common crime committed for most of the common causes of crime in general: low self-control; impulsivity; lack of respect for society's rules; deficient social skills; and a tendency to lose control, especially while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. By contrast, a sexual sadist is ALWAYS in control. Rapists are also usually much younger than sadists. Rape is a crime committed by 12-24 year olds. Sadists tend to be in their 30s or older, and have a different pattern of behavior development. For this reason, some rapist typologies only recognize two (2) types: power and anger.
Most criminologists believe that rape is caused by the need to prove masculinity and/or the macho or hypermasculine view that women are legitimate targets. It is true that men are socialized to believe that it is expected for them to be sexually aggressive with women, and indeed, according to some scholars, instinctually driven to possess and control women. There are also cultural norms going back to ancient times that feed a rapist's false sense of legitimacy. An understanding of these might give some insight into the mindset of a rapist. They include the so-called "dowry" laws of the Middle Ages that made is OK to rape the daughter of a poor man; Christian, scholarly, and erotic representation of women as having insatiable lust; informal military rules throughout recorded history that made the enemies' women spoils of war; the marital rape exemption and the extension of it that makes it OK to rape someone you know; male-bonding rituals that reinforce gang rape in gangs, clubs, and fraternities; pharmacological developments like Rophynil that make it seem OK to rape someone who is passed out, defenseless, or inebriated; and of course, the age-old "she was 14 going on 21" excuse that makes statutory rape OK. Add this all together with situational factors, like the victim was "dressed" for it or made some innocent sexual innuendo, and you've got a perfect prescription for rape.
NECROPHILIA
Let's begin this section with a quote from Ted Bundy, widely regarded as one of the most intelligent serial killers. He preferred to kill his victims immediately and then proceed to perform bizarre sexual rituals with parts of their corpses. He said:
"You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You're looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God! You then possess them and they shall be a part of you, and the grounds where you kill them or leave them become sacred to you, and you will always be drawn back to them." (Ted Bundy)
Ted Bundy used to pose with a broken arm in a sling. Inside the sling he kept a metal crowbar. Once he got the victim (usually a sorority girl) inside his car, he would knock them unconscious, and then take them somewhere to perform sex acts. Often, the knock out would kill the victim. It didn't matter much to Ted, dead or alive, but unconscious was preferred. While driving, he would often reach over and bite the unconscious victim. Once stationary, he would engage in anal sex, followed by oral sex (decapitated head), more biting, often biting off the nipples, and leaving bite marks on the buttocks.
While Bundy was probably not a true necrophile, his case illustrates some of the sexual behavior patterns associated with necrophilia, sadism, and the many variants of "edge play" which involve a desire for sex with someone who is near-dead or dead.
Biting behavior is quite common on the breasts and neck area, but by no means are bites restricted to those areas only. The bites vary from being very minor (and hard to find, like licks or "sucker bites") to being very severe. Bite marks are an extremely common phenomenon in the world of homosexual sex. The purpose of biting, as opposed to "hickies", is to leave permanent marks. A necrophile prefers bruises that don't heal.
Anal assault is quite common, usually accompanied by penetration of objects up the anus, into the intestinal area, and even up to the chest area, in some cases. The intent is to impale the victim, a roast them on a spit fantasy in some cases. Sadists, in general, like anal assault because it's most likely to bring about the immediate look of suffering on the part of most victims. There are lots of other possible motivations, like latent homosexuality, compulsive masculinity, and displaced revenge for a prison rape.
Oral assault, with the victim's head still attached, or detached occurs in some cases. It occurs first when there's not so much anger and more pent-up sexual frustration (as in vaginal penetration). The offender may be playing out a script in which he thinks fellatio is the proper act of foreplay, or it may be an all-out assault on the face of the victim if certain victim selection characteristics are present.
Strangulation is a technique that can be done in two (2) ways: manually (using your hands) or by ligature (a rope, wire, or line that can be twisted tighter and tighter). The purpose is the same, to compress the arteries in the neck to restrict the flow of blood to the brain. Offenders love to bring their victims in and out of consciousness this way, achieving sexual gratification from the victim's intermittent suffering responses (if still alive). It's also a common form of killing a victim besides blunt force trauma.
Killing or Torturing a victim in front of another victim is common. In these cases, there's no precise order in which victim goes first. Whoever does go first is usually the preliminary victim to what the offender really has in mind. When one victim is killed in front of another, it's usually precautionary, to get rid of another living witness. In other cases, the killing of one victim is retaliatory for the offender's perception of another victim's misbehavior.
Mutilation (postmortem) is usually committed for a couple of reasons. The victim either was not responsive enough for the offender (they didn't cry or scream loud enough) OR the offender wants to exercise some power over the deceased (in some supernatural type of context). Either of these reasons don't necessarily associate the offender with being a sadist, as either are quite possible with a number of different types of serial killers.
Necrophiliacs generally tend to be people who are clinically depressed. They believe it is easier to objectify sex with the dead, easier to obtain verbal compliments from them (yes, they talk to the dead), and they love the variety of positions the dead can assume as well as the artifically created orifices found in those who came to gruesome deaths. They call their love partners "coldies" and often seek out celebrities. They have a real talent for work in the funeral home business, and some work in such places already or stage visits or break-ins (which funeral directors never report). Necrophiles are further attracted to the odor of dead bodies and the feel of dead skin. A few like the snuff porn flicks you can only buy in Mexico.
Some true necrophiles include: Francois Bertrand, a sergeant in Napoleon's army who, as a young child, was sadistic when it came to animals, dissecting dead cats and dogs. He was also quite the 'ladies man', and had fantasies about the violent rape and torture of young females. Around 1849, he began practicing necrophilia on recently buried corpses in Pere Lachaise (a cemetery reserved for the rich), then at a working class cemetery near Paris, rounding out his career by exhuming/fornicating with/disemboweling corpses at the Montparnasse necropolis. Although he flatly denied cannibalism during his trial, history records that some of the corpses had been gnawed upon. He is said to have used no tools whatsoever; all digging was done with his bare hands.
Ed Gein was another necrophile. His experiments and companionship with the dead during the 1950s in Wisconsin were attributed by him to his domineering mother, who died and disappeared unexpectedly. When police searched his shed on grounds of a shoplifting charge, they found the gutted body of the store's proprietor, 58 year old Bernice Worden, hanging upside down, decapitated, and scrubbed clean. This style of treatment was consistent with the manner in which deer are often strung up after a successful hunt. When investigators searched Gein's home, they discovered human skulls atop bed posts, scalps, breasts, skinned human face masks, a human heart in a sauce pan, a belt made with human nipples, eviscerated vaginas painted silver and gold, leg bones, a box containing human noses, and a wastebasket, a knife sheath, some lamp shades, bracelets and a tom-tom drum, all made from dead human skin. Most of the flesh and bones came from grave pilfering at three local cemeteries. Gein told police that he had worn some of his skin outfits while digging up graves. Whether or not Gein had actual sex with the cadavers remains something of a mystery. According to some reports, it is alleged he didn't, because in his words: "They smelled bad." Other sources state that he admitted to intercourse.
Karl Von Cosel, another necrophile, was a German veteran of WWI who moved to the U.S. during or around 1930, at which time he was already sixty years of age. Within a year of arriving, he fell in love with a nurse at the hospital where he worked, but she died suddenly. Devastated, he recovered her corpse and brought it back to his house, where some thirty years later, a police raid discovered her reconstructed and well-maintained remains. Her "....face, breasts, arms, legs, trunk and vaginal tube" had been rebuilt.
Jeffrey Dahmer practiced keeping the body parts/bones of victims around his Milwaukee apartment, and also photographed his corpses in various stages of dismemberment. He had a ritual of reassembling body parts and skulls with parts of other cadavers in a kind of necrophilic jigsaw puzzle. He also had the idea (which was never realized) of building a kind of shrine of skulls, preserved genitalia, and other body parts to serve as a meditation area for him.
Henri Blot and Victor Ardisson both lived in 19th century France. 26 year old Henri Blot exhumed and fornicated with the cadaver of a recently buried ballerina. After the act was finished, Blot lapsed into a deep sleep that was only interrupted when the cemetery's groundskeeper physically shook him awake. Victor Ardisson was a mortician of his tiny town, and according to some estimates, had sex with over 100 corpses. According to his confession, Victor regularly spoke to his cadaverous lovers, feeling genuine shock and hurt when they would not respond. Once police raided his home (after a tip from suspicious neighbors), they found the decaying remains of a three and a half year old girl whom Ardisson had used for oral sex until it entered a dangerously contaminated state. He also kept a 13 year old girl's head as his bed mate.
Karen Greenlee is perhaps the third most famous necrophile of the 20th century (just behind Ed Gein and Jeff Dahmer), and a bit reclusive. However, she's the one talking in the "Interview with a Necrophile" hyperlink below. Karen allegedly engaged in sexual contact with anywhere from twenty to forty male cadavers during her stint as an embalmer's apprentice at Memorial Lawn Mortuary in Sacramento, CA.
CANNIBALISM
Cannibalism is feeding on one’s own species, and sexual cannibalism is the sexualization of feeding on one’s own species. Anthropophagy is the technical term for cannibalism. It is often considered a psychosexual or fetish disorder. This is basically because anthropophagy is often included among the sexual disorders. There have been limited and largely unsuccessful efforts to get it classified as an eating disorder or lifestyle preference, and no organized group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for this agenda. The term cannibalism derives from the name of the West Indian Carib tribe, first documented by the explorer Christopher Columbus. The Carib tribe was alleged to eat others, as where the Aztecs who practiced exocannibalism or the ritual religious sacrifice and eating of war captives, strangers, and enemies. The Celts and Aboriginal Australians are believed to have practiced a different kind of cannibalism - endocannibalism - the consumption of friends and relatives as part of releasing the soul of the dead.
Anglo-American law recognizes cannibalism as a necessity defense under the choice-of-evils doctrine. This is recognized in the case of The Queen v. Dudley and Stephans, which is often used as a prototypical lifeboat dilemma in ethics classes. The facts of the case involve where the occupants are starving and have no other choice but to eat the weaker occupants of the lifeboat. This is more formally known as survival cannibalism, however, and it is assumed to be quite different from sexual cannibalism, which is the topic of this essay. The movie Alive is a straightforward portrayal of survival cannibal involving a plane crash in the Andes, but sometimes, survival cannibalism shades over into sexual cannibalism, as with the movie Soylent Green where overcrowding requires the processing of human bodies for food but there is a prurient interest at least a curiosity about what could be sexual about cannibalism.
No exact figures or estimates exist on the prevalence or patterns of cannibalism, particularly lustful cannibalism, which is assumed to be the more common variety. It is surprising how much language about it has saturated our culture. Lovers frequently refer to each other as "honey", "cookie", or "sweetie pie", and similarly, those who quarrel are said to make "biting" remarks or "chew" each other out. One could say our culture is permeated with the signs, symbols, and myths of cannibalism.
The subject of cannibalism has always been surrounded by myth, rumor, and speculation. There have been few, if any, eyewitness accounts of it. Interpretation of historical accounts that ancient and primitive societies practiced cannibalism is a matter of debate among anthropologists. Evidence that people practiced cannibalism during periods of famine, disaster, prison overcrowding, and the siege of cities during war is also sketchy and inconsistent. It is just as questionable who the so-called "experts" are that say people meat is an acquired, distinctive taste practiced by aristocracies for generations for its intelligence- and life-extending qualities, as it is questionable who the medical "experts" are who say eating human flesh puts too much vitamin A and amino acids in the bloodstream, causing madness and congenital defects. These are just some of the untraceable speculations and rumors that exist on the subject. Some even claim that cannibalism is caused by a human variety of mad cow disease.
Given the absence of serious, solid research into cannibalism, it should come as no surprise that the subject of sexual cannibalism is likewise filled with myth, rumor, speculation, and in addition, fantasy. Writers and screenwriters have been fascinated by the occurrence of sexual cannibalism in nature. Movies like The Wasp Woman and The Fly have drawn parallels or blurred the lines between insect and human sexual behavior. The most commonly known sexual cannibal among insects is, of course, the spider, and the popular notion is that Black Widow behavior occurs in humans as well. Other than insects, the plant kingdom has also been involved in cross-species, and sometimes, inter-species dimensions of sexual cannibalism. Movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Little Shop of Horrors have fueled the popular imagination about the erotic properties of being engulfed or seduced by plants. Aquatic life, especially squid or any cephalopod (possessing tentacles), have also been implicated in cannibalistic sexual fantasy via a line of popular literature and pulp fiction traceable to writers such as Jules Verne (1828-1905) and H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). Themes, at least, about sexual cannibalism also show up in various cartoons, and they are a main element of adult erotic material as well as some Japanese animation.
It is, however, in the arena of sexual sadism, a tradition that goes back at least to Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), that sexual cannibalism has made the most inroads into public consciousness. Serial killing, in particular, has provided a fruitful area for public panic over satanistic child abuse rituals and possibly related sexual cannibalistic rituals. In the case of satanism, the ritual connection is understandable since the cannibalism may be a copy of perceived cannibalism in the communion ritual of Catholicism. Because the most well-documented accounts of sexual cannibalism have involved serial killers, most of this essay will be devoted to the cannibalistic practices of sexual serial killers.
CANNIBALISTIC SERIAL KILLERS
The first known cannibal killer in American history presumably began as a case of survival cannibalism. Alfred Packer was a Colorado mountain guide during the 1880s who hired himself out to would-be gold prospectors anxious to reach California. He allegedly ate his first employers during a particularly cold and difficult trip through the mountains. Other victims started adding up, but one got away and described their guide, who was normally a nice guy, as suddenly turning on them, like a "mad dog" in some sort of feeding seizure or frenzy. The "Mad Dog Killer" and his kind became the stuff of American legend in the Old West. There’s nothing sexual about this case except perhaps for elements of the seizure or frenzy, which is believed, by most modern interpreters, to have been a form of epilepsy rather than sexual attack.
The next known case was "America bogeyman" Albert Fish, remorseless torturer, murderer, necrophile, and cannibal. During the 1920s, he raped, killed and ate part of the flesh of at least 15 little girls. He claimed to prefer the taste of virgins. He sent cruel letters to the parents of his victims saying how delicious they were, and one of these notes also claimed he learned cannibalism from a sea captain who told him the practice of eating children was common in Hong Kong during times of famine. Most modern authorities believe Fish was mostly a sadomasochist, however. When authorities tried to electrocute him in 1936, he had so many needles self-inserted inside his body that he short-circuited the electric chair.
The 1950s brought the shocking case of Edward Gein, who throughout that decade operated a human butchering farm in Wisconsin. He was the inspiration for several movies, from Psycho to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. His knowledge of anatomy, dissection skills, and fondness for eating human organs was the inspiration for the character of Hannibal the Cannibal in the movie Silence of the Lambs. His fondness for wearing human skin as clothing, and also making furniture out of it, was also the inspiration for the character Buffalo Bill in the same movie. Photographs taken by law enforcement agents of the Gein residence, and especially of the smokehouse where headless torsos were hanging, are easily found in many publications. Many modern experts believe Gein was acting out a hatred against his mother, and indeed, the legal system declared him insane, and he died peacefully in a mental health hospital.
The 1960s were relatively silent, but in the 1970s, several serial killers were active, and cannibalism as well as necrophilia were involved in two cases. Some modern authorities, mostly criminal profilers, believe that cannibalism and necrophilia could be co-occurring psychopathologies. The first case, around 1972, was Arthur Shawcross, a missionary type serial killer who preyed on prostitutes in the Rochester, New York area. He consistently denied the killings, but the bodies of 12 victims were pinned on him. He killed them in his car, and then dragged their dead bodies out to a remote location to have sex with them. He claimed cannibalism as part of an insanity defense at trial where he also claimed to have learned the practice from eating dead babies while serving as a soldier during the Vietnam war. Clever cross-examination repudiated this part of his defense, and to this day, it is unknown if he was telling the truth or not. Many modern authorities believe his actions may have been due to his having 47 chromosomes, the extra one being a "Y" chromosome. The second case, around 1976, was Edward Cole, a Nevada resident responsible for at least 15 victims, and again, in what was perhaps an attempt at an insanity plea, he claimed to have cannibalized at least one victim and to have first started killing at age 10. Also a missionary type killer, he targeted what he called "loose women" and slept with their bodies in their apartments for days sometimes after he killed them.
Cases in the 1970s were Gary Heidnik, Edmund Kemper, Richard Chase, and Otis Toole. Gary Heidnik ran a sex slave operation in Philadelphia where he forced the women he kept in captivity to eat the cooked flesh of any other woman who died in captivity. Edmund Kemper, a serial killer who selected co-ed victims who looked like his mother, said that he ate their body parts so they could be part of him. Richard Chase became known as the Sacramento vampire killer, and he reportedly made milk shakes out of the flesh and blood of his victims. Otis Toole was the mildly retarded, homosexual partner of Henry Lee Lucas, the serial killer who claimed the most victims (about 200). While Henry was not a cannibal, but a necrophile, Otis was rather outspoken about his own cannibalism and it being a side benefit for assisting Henry in his many crimes.
The 1980s and 1990s had two popular cases, one in Russia (dubbed the Soviet Hannibal Lecter) and the other in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Russian was Andrei Chikatilo, also known as Citizen X, who apparently had developed a taste for boiling and eating the testicles of his victims who were young boys and the nipples of his victims who were young girls (total victim count 58). The case in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was Jeffrey Dahmer, a 31-year old single white male who preferred the dark-skinned meat of ethnic young boys (victim count 16) he would pick up around gay bars. When police eventually broke into his apartment after complaints about the smell, they found severed heads in the refrigerator, torsos stored in barrels, genitalia stored in pots, and the whole area littered with scraps of human flesh, over 100 pounds total. At his insanity hearing, Dahmer said he had a consuming lust to experience their bodies, that he only cannibalized the victims he liked.
There have, of course, been other sexual cannibals involved in serial killing. The case of Ottis Toole with the cannibal as sidekick is not that uncommon. John Wayne Gacy was suspected of having accomplices who were cannibals. There may have, of course, been other sexual cannibals who were not in any way associated with serial killing, but with experimentation in the varieties of lovemaking or the necessity of maintaining a food preference. What is mostly known about sexual cannibalism is unfortunately derived from a rather unique sample of sadistic criminals and misfits who may or may not be representative of the population as a whole.
FETISHISM
Nonnormative sexual interests often clash with social conventions. In fact, that may be the precise reason for the interest, that is, the taboo. Unusual ("kinky") sex is known by a number of names: variations, dysfunctions, disorders, paraphilias, or fetishes. The way a person expresses their sexual desires is as unique as the way they speak, sing, or think. As humans grow, societal views on sexuality also shift. There's no telling what sexual interests may arise or vanish in the future.
"Variation" is probably the broadest term, implying some degree of divergence from "normal" (whatever that may be). "Dysfunctions" come in three (3) forms: impairments or enhancements in sexual desire (impotence), arousal (erection), or resolution (orgasm). "Disorders" are whatever the APA says they are in DSM-IV and there's a prescribed treatment for. "Paraphilias" (which means attraction to the deviant) refer to chronic (6 month or more) compulsive conditions that cause distress or impairment in socio-occupational functioning. "Fetishes" (which means attachment or worship to an object) are psychological states in which fantasy, props, or other specialized requirements are a compulsive or repetitive part of sex. Most sexual fetishes do not cause harm to other people; and most sexual fetishes are not addressed by the law.
As if to complicate matters, there's the terms "sexual orientation", "sexual identity", and "gender identity". Sexual orientation refers to who you're attracted to (hetero, homo, bi); sexual identity refers to how you see yourself (male, female, in-between), and gender identity refers to how you present yourself socially (man, woman, androgynous).
There's enormous controversy over how to classify and group the paraphilias and fetishes. Psychologists tend to distinguish between those involving: (1) nonhuman objects; (2) suffering or humiliation; and (3) nonconsenting partners. Criminologists tend to distinguish between: (1) consenting sex; (2) annoyance sex; and (3) threatening sex. The criminal law tends to distinguish between: (1) public nuisance; (2) public indecency; and (3) public immorality. Profilers (like Holmes 1998) tend to distinguish between: (1) fetishes (objects); and (2) partialisms (body parts). Possession of a fetish or partialism does not automatically make someone a serial killer, but most serial killers have fetishes or partialisms. An open-minded understanding of them can help explain and predict the manner in which crime is committed.
Allow me to offer my own classification of fetishes:
(1) Object -- the form, shape, constitution, or structure of something
(2) Material -- the media, construction, components, or what something is made of
(3) People -- the body, its skin, the womb, body parts, or bodily products
(4) Fantasy -- mind games, role playing, undoable things
(5) Other -- a category for things that don't fit or haven't been invented yet
A partial list of various technical terms:
ANILINGUS: tongue-to-anus contact
ANTHROPOPHAGY: cannibalism
COPROLAGNIA: sexual enjoyment of feces
COPROPHILIA: enjoyment of spreading feces over body
CUNNILINGUS: tongue-to-vagina contact
FELLATIO: oral sex with male
FETISH: sexual interest with a part of the body (e.g., feet, hair)
FLAGELLATION: sexual stimulation from whipping or being whipped
FROTTEUR: a person who rubs, bumps, or presses up against others in crowds
GERONTOPHILIA: choice of older person for sexual intercourse
INFIBULATION: piercing the body or mutilating the genitals
NECROPHILIA: desire to have sex with a corpse
OSPHRESIOPHILIA: sexual arousal from odors
PEDERASTY: sodomy with a child
PIQURER: enjoyment of stabbing someone with small object in crowds
PYGMALIONISM: sexual enjoyment of mannequins or blow-up dolls
SODOMY: insertion of penus into rectum
TRANSVESTITISM: playing the role of the opposite sex, cross-dressing
TRIBADISM: the practice of sex by wearing a dildo
TRIOLISM: the enjoyment of performing sex in front of others
UROLAGNIA: sexual enjoyment of urine
VOYEURISM: watching others who are engaged in sex or nude
ZOOERASTY: enjoyment of sexual intercourse with animals
ZOOPHILIA: sexual enjoyment from stroking or fondling animals
What causes fetishism is unknown and a matter of speculation. No one has ever been able to explain such a diverse group of sexual attachments. Theories include those that stress the unconscious, chromosomes, hormones, neural networks, learned behavior, and environmental factors. Fetishists do not ordinarily seek therapy, and much of the available research has shortcomings, consisting often of single-subject studies without control subjects. See the next lecture on Understanding Sexual Fetishes.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Baeza, J. & B. Turvey (1999). Sadistic Behavior: A Literature Review.
BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sado-Masochism) FAQ & Section 12
Big Gulp - a site devoted to vorephilia (a "fantasy" fetish of swallowing whole)
Cannibalism: A Modern Taboo - 2003 BBC News article
CourtTV's Crime Library Essay on Cannibalism - all about cannibalism and crime
Criminal Cannibalism - historical accounts, anecdotes, and stories
The Great Cannibalism Debate - anthropological evidence
Interview with a Necrophile - actual dialogue of a real female necrophile
Rob's Necrophilia Fantasy - this site explains urges for necrophilia
PRINTED RESOURCES
Arens, W. (1979). The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy. NY: Oxford.
Bradford J.M.W., Gratzer T. (1995). "Offender and Offense Characteristics of Sexual Sadists: A Comparative Study." Journal of forensic Sciences; 40(3): 450-455
Burgess A., Douglas J., Ressler R. (1988). Sexual Homicide. New York: Lexington Books.
Dietz P., Hazelwood R, Warren J., (1996). "The Sexually Sadistic Serial Killer." Journal of Forensic Sciences; 41(6): 970-974
Groth N. & J. Birnbaum. (1979). Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press.
Hickey, E. (2006). Sex Crimes and Paraphilia. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hogg, G. (1980). Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice. NY: Coles Publishing.
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Last updated: 01/19/06
Syllabus for JUS 428
MegaLinks in Criminal Justice
"There are two things which differentiate the human species from animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we're capable of controlling our sexual urges." (Dan Aykroyd)
The term sadism is derived from the name of a French author who lived from 1740 to 1814, Donatien-Alphonse-Francois de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. Sadists dare to mix love with cruelty. The practice was recognized as a sexual perversion by Krafft-Ebing in 1898 consisting of strong impulses to coitus, coupled with prepatory acts of maltreatment, even murder (necrophilia, then called "lustmurder") which occurs primarily because of an inability to be satisfied with coitus. Most sadists like torture more than they like sex, and it is customary to refer to the three D's of sadism in this regard -- Dread, Dependency, and Degradation -- or in other words, the desire to create fear in the victim, make the victim completely helpless (dependent on the sadist), and humiliate the victim.
A sadist is clinically defined as a person who demonstrates a long-standing maladaptive pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior towards others. Symptoms include: a period of activity of at least six months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving real acts (not simulated) in which the psychological (humiliation) or physical suffering of a victim is sexually exciting. In criminology, sadism is often inferred from carefully examining crime scene behavior, and it's a common pattern (Sadistic aspect) linking many crimes. In forensic science, wound pattern analysis tends to point to evidence of sadism or not. As with many sexual crimes, victimology is important, and where rape shield laws prevent inquiring into the victim's sexual history, a 24-hour timeline will have to be used. There are essential two (2) elements that constitute the actus reus of sadism:
deliberate sexual torture of a living victim without consent
evidence of a prolonged event or series of prolonged events
Sexual sadists who come into contact with law enforcement will tend to use certain over-the-counter tools, such as vice-grips, screwdrivers, etc., and will keep such devices in a common tool box. There will usually be post-mortem evidence of genital mutilation and/or evisceration. Sexual sadists who do not come into contact with law enforcement will tend to use custom-made, store-bought tools.
Behavior at the time of the offense will often involve forcing the victim to crawl or keeping the victim in a cage. Other activities that may occur include: restraint, blindfolding, paddling, spanking, whipping, pinching, beating, burning, electrical shocks, impaling, rape, cutting, stabbing, strangulation, torture, mutilation, and killing. Necrophilia is similar to sadism in that the offender may or may not care about whether the victim is unconscious or not, but sadists usually prefer them alive, and necrophiliacs usually prefer them dead. Sexual sadism is similar to serial killing in that the aspect of fantasy-reenactment cycle is the same.
One of the signature aspects of sadism is anger, but this should be at least as evident as sexual gratification. The intention is to hurt, degrade, defile, or destroy the victim. Sexuality and power are accompanied by anger in the service of sexual gratification. By contrast, an anger-retaliatory rapist is just interested in anger, not so much sexual gratification. However, for a sadist, the aggression is eroticized. They take pleasure in the torment, anguish, distress, helplessness, and suffering of their victims. Victim selection is usually on the basis of the victim being a symbol of someone they want to punish. Age, appearance, and occupation are typical victim selection categories.
It's important to note the difference here between a sadist and a psychopath. A psychopath will usually choose victims that are closer to them in terms of age, appearance, and occupation. They will then expect these people to love them, and a psychopath loves to hurt the ones who love him. A sadist, by contrast, typically chooses victims who are different from him in terms of age, appearance, and occupation. They want to symbolically destroy those groups of people, almost like a missionary serial killer. It's sometimes said that a psychopath is both sadist and masochist. A sadist is never a masochist. Psychopaths ignore their victim's suffering. Sadists relish their victim's suffering. People who experiment and go both ways with Bondage & Discipline (B & D) or Sado-Masochism (S & M) are probably not sadists, nor are they psychopaths. Harmless sex play is covered under fetishism.
Sadists tend to have some rather unique, bizarre rituals that aren't even described in the abnormal psychology books yet. In this sense, they are similar to the thrill-oriented hedonist in the Holmes Typology of serial killers. As seekers of new experiences and "kicks", they are constantly expanding the horizons of their sexual misadventures. A necrophiliac, in addition, would fit as a lust-oriented hedonist because they are concerned with sexual experimentation after death.
RAPE
There are many routine criminal behaviors, like rape, that are often mistaken for sadism. Harassment, Threats, Intimidation, and Terroristic threats, for example, are NOT sadism. Crimes of "hot" or "cold" blood are also NOT sadism. Crimes motivated by revenge are NOT sadism. Not all acts involving postmortem mutilation indicate sadism. It may be helpful at this point to review the different types of rapists (known as the Groth typology):
Power-Reassurance (Compensatory) non-aggressive behavior that normalizes an attack for an offender, restoring an offender's doubts about their desirability;
Power-Assertive (Exploitative) aggressive but non-lethal behavior that shows no outward doubt of masculinity, restoring an offender's inner doubts and fears;
Anger-Retaliatory (Displaced) behavior, in which high levels physical and sexual aggression service feelings of cumulative rage;
Anger-Excitation (Sadistic) behavior, where aggression is used to cause pain and suffering to service the offender's sexual gratification.
Although the fourth (4th) type is sometimes called the sadistic rapist, the rapist is usually NOT sadistic in the clinical sense. Most books will admit that the sadistic rapist is the rarest type. Rape is a common crime committed for most of the common causes of crime in general: low self-control; impulsivity; lack of respect for society's rules; deficient social skills; and a tendency to lose control, especially while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. By contrast, a sexual sadist is ALWAYS in control. Rapists are also usually much younger than sadists. Rape is a crime committed by 12-24 year olds. Sadists tend to be in their 30s or older, and have a different pattern of behavior development. For this reason, some rapist typologies only recognize two (2) types: power and anger.
Most criminologists believe that rape is caused by the need to prove masculinity and/or the macho or hypermasculine view that women are legitimate targets. It is true that men are socialized to believe that it is expected for them to be sexually aggressive with women, and indeed, according to some scholars, instinctually driven to possess and control women. There are also cultural norms going back to ancient times that feed a rapist's false sense of legitimacy. An understanding of these might give some insight into the mindset of a rapist. They include the so-called "dowry" laws of the Middle Ages that made is OK to rape the daughter of a poor man; Christian, scholarly, and erotic representation of women as having insatiable lust; informal military rules throughout recorded history that made the enemies' women spoils of war; the marital rape exemption and the extension of it that makes it OK to rape someone you know; male-bonding rituals that reinforce gang rape in gangs, clubs, and fraternities; pharmacological developments like Rophynil that make it seem OK to rape someone who is passed out, defenseless, or inebriated; and of course, the age-old "she was 14 going on 21" excuse that makes statutory rape OK. Add this all together with situational factors, like the victim was "dressed" for it or made some innocent sexual innuendo, and you've got a perfect prescription for rape.
NECROPHILIA
Let's begin this section with a quote from Ted Bundy, widely regarded as one of the most intelligent serial killers. He preferred to kill his victims immediately and then proceed to perform bizarre sexual rituals with parts of their corpses. He said:
"You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You're looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God! You then possess them and they shall be a part of you, and the grounds where you kill them or leave them become sacred to you, and you will always be drawn back to them." (Ted Bundy)
Ted Bundy used to pose with a broken arm in a sling. Inside the sling he kept a metal crowbar. Once he got the victim (usually a sorority girl) inside his car, he would knock them unconscious, and then take them somewhere to perform sex acts. Often, the knock out would kill the victim. It didn't matter much to Ted, dead or alive, but unconscious was preferred. While driving, he would often reach over and bite the unconscious victim. Once stationary, he would engage in anal sex, followed by oral sex (decapitated head), more biting, often biting off the nipples, and leaving bite marks on the buttocks.
While Bundy was probably not a true necrophile, his case illustrates some of the sexual behavior patterns associated with necrophilia, sadism, and the many variants of "edge play" which involve a desire for sex with someone who is near-dead or dead.
Biting behavior is quite common on the breasts and neck area, but by no means are bites restricted to those areas only. The bites vary from being very minor (and hard to find, like licks or "sucker bites") to being very severe. Bite marks are an extremely common phenomenon in the world of homosexual sex. The purpose of biting, as opposed to "hickies", is to leave permanent marks. A necrophile prefers bruises that don't heal.
Anal assault is quite common, usually accompanied by penetration of objects up the anus, into the intestinal area, and even up to the chest area, in some cases. The intent is to impale the victim, a roast them on a spit fantasy in some cases. Sadists, in general, like anal assault because it's most likely to bring about the immediate look of suffering on the part of most victims. There are lots of other possible motivations, like latent homosexuality, compulsive masculinity, and displaced revenge for a prison rape.
Oral assault, with the victim's head still attached, or detached occurs in some cases. It occurs first when there's not so much anger and more pent-up sexual frustration (as in vaginal penetration). The offender may be playing out a script in which he thinks fellatio is the proper act of foreplay, or it may be an all-out assault on the face of the victim if certain victim selection characteristics are present.
Strangulation is a technique that can be done in two (2) ways: manually (using your hands) or by ligature (a rope, wire, or line that can be twisted tighter and tighter). The purpose is the same, to compress the arteries in the neck to restrict the flow of blood to the brain. Offenders love to bring their victims in and out of consciousness this way, achieving sexual gratification from the victim's intermittent suffering responses (if still alive). It's also a common form of killing a victim besides blunt force trauma.
Killing or Torturing a victim in front of another victim is common. In these cases, there's no precise order in which victim goes first. Whoever does go first is usually the preliminary victim to what the offender really has in mind. When one victim is killed in front of another, it's usually precautionary, to get rid of another living witness. In other cases, the killing of one victim is retaliatory for the offender's perception of another victim's misbehavior.
Mutilation (postmortem) is usually committed for a couple of reasons. The victim either was not responsive enough for the offender (they didn't cry or scream loud enough) OR the offender wants to exercise some power over the deceased (in some supernatural type of context). Either of these reasons don't necessarily associate the offender with being a sadist, as either are quite possible with a number of different types of serial killers.
Necrophiliacs generally tend to be people who are clinically depressed. They believe it is easier to objectify sex with the dead, easier to obtain verbal compliments from them (yes, they talk to the dead), and they love the variety of positions the dead can assume as well as the artifically created orifices found in those who came to gruesome deaths. They call their love partners "coldies" and often seek out celebrities. They have a real talent for work in the funeral home business, and some work in such places already or stage visits or break-ins (which funeral directors never report). Necrophiles are further attracted to the odor of dead bodies and the feel of dead skin. A few like the snuff porn flicks you can only buy in Mexico.
Some true necrophiles include: Francois Bertrand, a sergeant in Napoleon's army who, as a young child, was sadistic when it came to animals, dissecting dead cats and dogs. He was also quite the 'ladies man', and had fantasies about the violent rape and torture of young females. Around 1849, he began practicing necrophilia on recently buried corpses in Pere Lachaise (a cemetery reserved for the rich), then at a working class cemetery near Paris, rounding out his career by exhuming/fornicating with/disemboweling corpses at the Montparnasse necropolis. Although he flatly denied cannibalism during his trial, history records that some of the corpses had been gnawed upon. He is said to have used no tools whatsoever; all digging was done with his bare hands.
Ed Gein was another necrophile. His experiments and companionship with the dead during the 1950s in Wisconsin were attributed by him to his domineering mother, who died and disappeared unexpectedly. When police searched his shed on grounds of a shoplifting charge, they found the gutted body of the store's proprietor, 58 year old Bernice Worden, hanging upside down, decapitated, and scrubbed clean. This style of treatment was consistent with the manner in which deer are often strung up after a successful hunt. When investigators searched Gein's home, they discovered human skulls atop bed posts, scalps, breasts, skinned human face masks, a human heart in a sauce pan, a belt made with human nipples, eviscerated vaginas painted silver and gold, leg bones, a box containing human noses, and a wastebasket, a knife sheath, some lamp shades, bracelets and a tom-tom drum, all made from dead human skin. Most of the flesh and bones came from grave pilfering at three local cemeteries. Gein told police that he had worn some of his skin outfits while digging up graves. Whether or not Gein had actual sex with the cadavers remains something of a mystery. According to some reports, it is alleged he didn't, because in his words: "They smelled bad." Other sources state that he admitted to intercourse.
Karl Von Cosel, another necrophile, was a German veteran of WWI who moved to the U.S. during or around 1930, at which time he was already sixty years of age. Within a year of arriving, he fell in love with a nurse at the hospital where he worked, but she died suddenly. Devastated, he recovered her corpse and brought it back to his house, where some thirty years later, a police raid discovered her reconstructed and well-maintained remains. Her "....face, breasts, arms, legs, trunk and vaginal tube" had been rebuilt.
Jeffrey Dahmer practiced keeping the body parts/bones of victims around his Milwaukee apartment, and also photographed his corpses in various stages of dismemberment. He had a ritual of reassembling body parts and skulls with parts of other cadavers in a kind of necrophilic jigsaw puzzle. He also had the idea (which was never realized) of building a kind of shrine of skulls, preserved genitalia, and other body parts to serve as a meditation area for him.
Henri Blot and Victor Ardisson both lived in 19th century France. 26 year old Henri Blot exhumed and fornicated with the cadaver of a recently buried ballerina. After the act was finished, Blot lapsed into a deep sleep that was only interrupted when the cemetery's groundskeeper physically shook him awake. Victor Ardisson was a mortician of his tiny town, and according to some estimates, had sex with over 100 corpses. According to his confession, Victor regularly spoke to his cadaverous lovers, feeling genuine shock and hurt when they would not respond. Once police raided his home (after a tip from suspicious neighbors), they found the decaying remains of a three and a half year old girl whom Ardisson had used for oral sex until it entered a dangerously contaminated state. He also kept a 13 year old girl's head as his bed mate.
Karen Greenlee is perhaps the third most famous necrophile of the 20th century (just behind Ed Gein and Jeff Dahmer), and a bit reclusive. However, she's the one talking in the "Interview with a Necrophile" hyperlink below. Karen allegedly engaged in sexual contact with anywhere from twenty to forty male cadavers during her stint as an embalmer's apprentice at Memorial Lawn Mortuary in Sacramento, CA.
CANNIBALISM
Cannibalism is feeding on one’s own species, and sexual cannibalism is the sexualization of feeding on one’s own species. Anthropophagy is the technical term for cannibalism. It is often considered a psychosexual or fetish disorder. This is basically because anthropophagy is often included among the sexual disorders. There have been limited and largely unsuccessful efforts to get it classified as an eating disorder or lifestyle preference, and no organized group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for this agenda. The term cannibalism derives from the name of the West Indian Carib tribe, first documented by the explorer Christopher Columbus. The Carib tribe was alleged to eat others, as where the Aztecs who practiced exocannibalism or the ritual religious sacrifice and eating of war captives, strangers, and enemies. The Celts and Aboriginal Australians are believed to have practiced a different kind of cannibalism - endocannibalism - the consumption of friends and relatives as part of releasing the soul of the dead.
Anglo-American law recognizes cannibalism as a necessity defense under the choice-of-evils doctrine. This is recognized in the case of The Queen v. Dudley and Stephans, which is often used as a prototypical lifeboat dilemma in ethics classes. The facts of the case involve where the occupants are starving and have no other choice but to eat the weaker occupants of the lifeboat. This is more formally known as survival cannibalism, however, and it is assumed to be quite different from sexual cannibalism, which is the topic of this essay. The movie Alive is a straightforward portrayal of survival cannibal involving a plane crash in the Andes, but sometimes, survival cannibalism shades over into sexual cannibalism, as with the movie Soylent Green where overcrowding requires the processing of human bodies for food but there is a prurient interest at least a curiosity about what could be sexual about cannibalism.
No exact figures or estimates exist on the prevalence or patterns of cannibalism, particularly lustful cannibalism, which is assumed to be the more common variety. It is surprising how much language about it has saturated our culture. Lovers frequently refer to each other as "honey", "cookie", or "sweetie pie", and similarly, those who quarrel are said to make "biting" remarks or "chew" each other out. One could say our culture is permeated with the signs, symbols, and myths of cannibalism.
The subject of cannibalism has always been surrounded by myth, rumor, and speculation. There have been few, if any, eyewitness accounts of it. Interpretation of historical accounts that ancient and primitive societies practiced cannibalism is a matter of debate among anthropologists. Evidence that people practiced cannibalism during periods of famine, disaster, prison overcrowding, and the siege of cities during war is also sketchy and inconsistent. It is just as questionable who the so-called "experts" are that say people meat is an acquired, distinctive taste practiced by aristocracies for generations for its intelligence- and life-extending qualities, as it is questionable who the medical "experts" are who say eating human flesh puts too much vitamin A and amino acids in the bloodstream, causing madness and congenital defects. These are just some of the untraceable speculations and rumors that exist on the subject. Some even claim that cannibalism is caused by a human variety of mad cow disease.
Given the absence of serious, solid research into cannibalism, it should come as no surprise that the subject of sexual cannibalism is likewise filled with myth, rumor, speculation, and in addition, fantasy. Writers and screenwriters have been fascinated by the occurrence of sexual cannibalism in nature. Movies like The Wasp Woman and The Fly have drawn parallels or blurred the lines between insect and human sexual behavior. The most commonly known sexual cannibal among insects is, of course, the spider, and the popular notion is that Black Widow behavior occurs in humans as well. Other than insects, the plant kingdom has also been involved in cross-species, and sometimes, inter-species dimensions of sexual cannibalism. Movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Little Shop of Horrors have fueled the popular imagination about the erotic properties of being engulfed or seduced by plants. Aquatic life, especially squid or any cephalopod (possessing tentacles), have also been implicated in cannibalistic sexual fantasy via a line of popular literature and pulp fiction traceable to writers such as Jules Verne (1828-1905) and H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). Themes, at least, about sexual cannibalism also show up in various cartoons, and they are a main element of adult erotic material as well as some Japanese animation.
It is, however, in the arena of sexual sadism, a tradition that goes back at least to Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), that sexual cannibalism has made the most inroads into public consciousness. Serial killing, in particular, has provided a fruitful area for public panic over satanistic child abuse rituals and possibly related sexual cannibalistic rituals. In the case of satanism, the ritual connection is understandable since the cannibalism may be a copy of perceived cannibalism in the communion ritual of Catholicism. Because the most well-documented accounts of sexual cannibalism have involved serial killers, most of this essay will be devoted to the cannibalistic practices of sexual serial killers.
CANNIBALISTIC SERIAL KILLERS
The first known cannibal killer in American history presumably began as a case of survival cannibalism. Alfred Packer was a Colorado mountain guide during the 1880s who hired himself out to would-be gold prospectors anxious to reach California. He allegedly ate his first employers during a particularly cold and difficult trip through the mountains. Other victims started adding up, but one got away and described their guide, who was normally a nice guy, as suddenly turning on them, like a "mad dog" in some sort of feeding seizure or frenzy. The "Mad Dog Killer" and his kind became the stuff of American legend in the Old West. There’s nothing sexual about this case except perhaps for elements of the seizure or frenzy, which is believed, by most modern interpreters, to have been a form of epilepsy rather than sexual attack.
The next known case was "America bogeyman" Albert Fish, remorseless torturer, murderer, necrophile, and cannibal. During the 1920s, he raped, killed and ate part of the flesh of at least 15 little girls. He claimed to prefer the taste of virgins. He sent cruel letters to the parents of his victims saying how delicious they were, and one of these notes also claimed he learned cannibalism from a sea captain who told him the practice of eating children was common in Hong Kong during times of famine. Most modern authorities believe Fish was mostly a sadomasochist, however. When authorities tried to electrocute him in 1936, he had so many needles self-inserted inside his body that he short-circuited the electric chair.
The 1950s brought the shocking case of Edward Gein, who throughout that decade operated a human butchering farm in Wisconsin. He was the inspiration for several movies, from Psycho to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. His knowledge of anatomy, dissection skills, and fondness for eating human organs was the inspiration for the character of Hannibal the Cannibal in the movie Silence of the Lambs. His fondness for wearing human skin as clothing, and also making furniture out of it, was also the inspiration for the character Buffalo Bill in the same movie. Photographs taken by law enforcement agents of the Gein residence, and especially of the smokehouse where headless torsos were hanging, are easily found in many publications. Many modern experts believe Gein was acting out a hatred against his mother, and indeed, the legal system declared him insane, and he died peacefully in a mental health hospital.
The 1960s were relatively silent, but in the 1970s, several serial killers were active, and cannibalism as well as necrophilia were involved in two cases. Some modern authorities, mostly criminal profilers, believe that cannibalism and necrophilia could be co-occurring psychopathologies. The first case, around 1972, was Arthur Shawcross, a missionary type serial killer who preyed on prostitutes in the Rochester, New York area. He consistently denied the killings, but the bodies of 12 victims were pinned on him. He killed them in his car, and then dragged their dead bodies out to a remote location to have sex with them. He claimed cannibalism as part of an insanity defense at trial where he also claimed to have learned the practice from eating dead babies while serving as a soldier during the Vietnam war. Clever cross-examination repudiated this part of his defense, and to this day, it is unknown if he was telling the truth or not. Many modern authorities believe his actions may have been due to his having 47 chromosomes, the extra one being a "Y" chromosome. The second case, around 1976, was Edward Cole, a Nevada resident responsible for at least 15 victims, and again, in what was perhaps an attempt at an insanity plea, he claimed to have cannibalized at least one victim and to have first started killing at age 10. Also a missionary type killer, he targeted what he called "loose women" and slept with their bodies in their apartments for days sometimes after he killed them.
Cases in the 1970s were Gary Heidnik, Edmund Kemper, Richard Chase, and Otis Toole. Gary Heidnik ran a sex slave operation in Philadelphia where he forced the women he kept in captivity to eat the cooked flesh of any other woman who died in captivity. Edmund Kemper, a serial killer who selected co-ed victims who looked like his mother, said that he ate their body parts so they could be part of him. Richard Chase became known as the Sacramento vampire killer, and he reportedly made milk shakes out of the flesh and blood of his victims. Otis Toole was the mildly retarded, homosexual partner of Henry Lee Lucas, the serial killer who claimed the most victims (about 200). While Henry was not a cannibal, but a necrophile, Otis was rather outspoken about his own cannibalism and it being a side benefit for assisting Henry in his many crimes.
The 1980s and 1990s had two popular cases, one in Russia (dubbed the Soviet Hannibal Lecter) and the other in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Russian was Andrei Chikatilo, also known as Citizen X, who apparently had developed a taste for boiling and eating the testicles of his victims who were young boys and the nipples of his victims who were young girls (total victim count 58). The case in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was Jeffrey Dahmer, a 31-year old single white male who preferred the dark-skinned meat of ethnic young boys (victim count 16) he would pick up around gay bars. When police eventually broke into his apartment after complaints about the smell, they found severed heads in the refrigerator, torsos stored in barrels, genitalia stored in pots, and the whole area littered with scraps of human flesh, over 100 pounds total. At his insanity hearing, Dahmer said he had a consuming lust to experience their bodies, that he only cannibalized the victims he liked.
There have, of course, been other sexual cannibals involved in serial killing. The case of Ottis Toole with the cannibal as sidekick is not that uncommon. John Wayne Gacy was suspected of having accomplices who were cannibals. There may have, of course, been other sexual cannibals who were not in any way associated with serial killing, but with experimentation in the varieties of lovemaking or the necessity of maintaining a food preference. What is mostly known about sexual cannibalism is unfortunately derived from a rather unique sample of sadistic criminals and misfits who may or may not be representative of the population as a whole.
FETISHISM
Nonnormative sexual interests often clash with social conventions. In fact, that may be the precise reason for the interest, that is, the taboo. Unusual ("kinky") sex is known by a number of names: variations, dysfunctions, disorders, paraphilias, or fetishes. The way a person expresses their sexual desires is as unique as the way they speak, sing, or think. As humans grow, societal views on sexuality also shift. There's no telling what sexual interests may arise or vanish in the future.
"Variation" is probably the broadest term, implying some degree of divergence from "normal" (whatever that may be). "Dysfunctions" come in three (3) forms: impairments or enhancements in sexual desire (impotence), arousal (erection), or resolution (orgasm). "Disorders" are whatever the APA says they are in DSM-IV and there's a prescribed treatment for. "Paraphilias" (which means attraction to the deviant) refer to chronic (6 month or more) compulsive conditions that cause distress or impairment in socio-occupational functioning. "Fetishes" (which means attachment or worship to an object) are psychological states in which fantasy, props, or other specialized requirements are a compulsive or repetitive part of sex. Most sexual fetishes do not cause harm to other people; and most sexual fetishes are not addressed by the law.
As if to complicate matters, there's the terms "sexual orientation", "sexual identity", and "gender identity". Sexual orientation refers to who you're attracted to (hetero, homo, bi); sexual identity refers to how you see yourself (male, female, in-between), and gender identity refers to how you present yourself socially (man, woman, androgynous).
There's enormous controversy over how to classify and group the paraphilias and fetishes. Psychologists tend to distinguish between those involving: (1) nonhuman objects; (2) suffering or humiliation; and (3) nonconsenting partners. Criminologists tend to distinguish between: (1) consenting sex; (2) annoyance sex; and (3) threatening sex. The criminal law tends to distinguish between: (1) public nuisance; (2) public indecency; and (3) public immorality. Profilers (like Holmes 1998) tend to distinguish between: (1) fetishes (objects); and (2) partialisms (body parts). Possession of a fetish or partialism does not automatically make someone a serial killer, but most serial killers have fetishes or partialisms. An open-minded understanding of them can help explain and predict the manner in which crime is committed.
Allow me to offer my own classification of fetishes:
(1) Object -- the form, shape, constitution, or structure of something
(2) Material -- the media, construction, components, or what something is made of
(3) People -- the body, its skin, the womb, body parts, or bodily products
(4) Fantasy -- mind games, role playing, undoable things
(5) Other -- a category for things that don't fit or haven't been invented yet
A partial list of various technical terms:
ANILINGUS: tongue-to-anus contact
ANTHROPOPHAGY: cannibalism
COPROLAGNIA: sexual enjoyment of feces
COPROPHILIA: enjoyment of spreading feces over body
CUNNILINGUS: tongue-to-vagina contact
FELLATIO: oral sex with male
FETISH: sexual interest with a part of the body (e.g., feet, hair)
FLAGELLATION: sexual stimulation from whipping or being whipped
FROTTEUR: a person who rubs, bumps, or presses up against others in crowds
GERONTOPHILIA: choice of older person for sexual intercourse
INFIBULATION: piercing the body or mutilating the genitals
NECROPHILIA: desire to have sex with a corpse
OSPHRESIOPHILIA: sexual arousal from odors
PEDERASTY: sodomy with a child
PIQURER: enjoyment of stabbing someone with small object in crowds
PYGMALIONISM: sexual enjoyment of mannequins or blow-up dolls
SODOMY: insertion of penus into rectum
TRANSVESTITISM: playing the role of the opposite sex, cross-dressing
TRIBADISM: the practice of sex by wearing a dildo
TRIOLISM: the enjoyment of performing sex in front of others
UROLAGNIA: sexual enjoyment of urine
VOYEURISM: watching others who are engaged in sex or nude
ZOOERASTY: enjoyment of sexual intercourse with animals
ZOOPHILIA: sexual enjoyment from stroking or fondling animals
What causes fetishism is unknown and a matter of speculation. No one has ever been able to explain such a diverse group of sexual attachments. Theories include those that stress the unconscious, chromosomes, hormones, neural networks, learned behavior, and environmental factors. Fetishists do not ordinarily seek therapy, and much of the available research has shortcomings, consisting often of single-subject studies without control subjects. See the next lecture on Understanding Sexual Fetishes.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Baeza, J. & B. Turvey (1999). Sadistic Behavior: A Literature Review.
BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sado-Masochism) FAQ & Section 12
Big Gulp - a site devoted to vorephilia (a "fantasy" fetish of swallowing whole)
Cannibalism: A Modern Taboo - 2003 BBC News article
CourtTV's Crime Library Essay on Cannibalism - all about cannibalism and crime
Criminal Cannibalism - historical accounts, anecdotes, and stories
The Great Cannibalism Debate - anthropological evidence
Interview with a Necrophile - actual dialogue of a real female necrophile
Rob's Necrophilia Fantasy - this site explains urges for necrophilia
PRINTED RESOURCES
Arens, W. (1979). The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy. NY: Oxford.
Bradford J.M.W., Gratzer T. (1995). "Offender and Offense Characteristics of Sexual Sadists: A Comparative Study." Journal of forensic Sciences; 40(3): 450-455
Burgess A., Douglas J., Ressler R. (1988). Sexual Homicide. New York: Lexington Books.
Dietz P., Hazelwood R, Warren J., (1996). "The Sexually Sadistic Serial Killer." Journal of Forensic Sciences; 41(6): 970-974
Groth N. & J. Birnbaum. (1979). Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press.
Hickey, E. (2006). Sex Crimes and Paraphilia. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hogg, G. (1980). Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice. NY: Coles Publishing.
Holmes, R. (1998). "Sequential Predation." Pp. 101-12 in R. & S. Holmes (eds.) Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lane, B. & W. Gregg. (1992). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. NY: Berkley Books.
Obeyesekere, G. (2005). Cannibal Talk: The Man-Eating Myth and Human Sacrifice in the South Seas. Berkeley: Univ. of CA Press.
O'Connor, T. (2001). "Sexual Cannibalism." In C. Bryant (ed.) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior. NY: Brunner-Routledge.
Owen, D. (2004). Criminal Minds: The Science and Psychology of Profiling. NY: Barnes & Noble Books.
Petherick, W. (2005). The Science of Criminal Profiling. NY: Barnes & Noble Books.
Prentsky, R. & R. Knight. (1991). "Identifying Critical Dimensions for Discriminating Among Rapists." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 59: 643-61
Pryor, D. (1999). Unspeakable Acts. NY: NYU Press.
Martingale, M. (1995). Cannibal Killers. NY: St. Martin's.
Rosman, J. & P. Resnick. (1989). "Sexual Attraction to Corpses: A Psychiatric Review of Necrophilia." Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 17(2): 153-63.
Sanday, P. (1986). Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural System. NY: Cambridge University Press.
Stevens, D. & F. Schmalleger. (2001). Inside the Mind of Sexual Offenders: Predatory Rapists, Pedophiles, and Criminal Profiles. Campbell, CA: Authors Choice Press.
Last updated: 01/19/06
Syllabus for JUS 428
MegaLinks in Criminal Justice