Dark fetishes part one: necrophilia
By Ali the Sexpert
October 10, 2007
 When it comes to sex, many people are fascinated with fetishes because they do not understand them. There are some very interesting fetishes in the world, so I am going to explain one of them that I think is incredibly misunderstood: necrophilia. I will give a definition of it and then explain more about how it is defined and what experts think about it as well as the legal ramifications of this fetish.
Definition of Necrophilia
Necrophilia is defined as a paraphilia, which is a term that describes “persistent, intense fantasies, aberrant urges, or behaviors involving sexual arousal to nonhuman objects, pain or humiliation experienced by oneself or one's partner, children or other non-consenting individuals or unsuitable partners.” The word is derived from Ancient Greek and it means “dead” or “corpse” love. There have been several movies that depict grave robbery and necrophilia, but it is still surrounded with plenty of mystery.
About Necrophilia
There has been very little research conducted on necrophilia, however, it has been reviewed in the psychiatric literature, and it is considered to be a mental illness. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, there is a broad range of what is considered to be necrophiliac behaviour. Necrophilia ranges from fantasies with dead bodies to murder for the sake of procuring a dead body to use for sexual or non- sexual purposes. Experts have subcategorized necrophilia according to where it falls on this spectrum. This is defined by www.forensicpsychiatric.ca in the following categories:
Necrophilic fantasies refer to having fantasies about dead corpses but never acted upon them, which is still considered to be a neurotic behaviour even though it is just a fantasy and not reality.
Pseudonecrophilia describes isolated incidents where sexual acts with corpses may happen without any pre-existing thought or fantasy of engaging in this behaviour with a corpse.
However necrophilia also includes engaging in a number of behaviours with a corpse such as kissing, fondling, having oral sex or other kinds of sex with the corpse. This behaviour is also not considered to be a genetic condition but learned behaviour by someone who did not have much affection or love in their childhood, and by someone who has an attraction to mechanistic control.
Prevalence and Identifying Information
 According to research (Rosman and Resnick, 1989), heterosexual males between age 20 and 50 are usually the population identified as being necrophiliacs. Their occupations usually give them access to dead bodies (i.e. gravediggers, mortuary attendants etc).
Necrophilia is under-reported because it is usually practiced in secret, and it is considered to be a very deviant fantasy. Necrophilia is also associated with other kinds of paraphilias or personality disorders that involve sadistic behaviours such as mutilating corpses, drinking the blood or urine, or even homicide. For many men this is less about sex and more about control. It has been found that men who engage in this behaviour often prefer a corpse to a living woman because the limp, lifeless state of the body is what arouses necrophiliacs. Domination and the feeling of power often arouse them.
Treatment
It is recommended that people who suffer from necrophilia (especially with a mental health diagnosis) receive cognitive therapy, medication to reduce their sex drive and urge to engage in this behaviour as well as assistance with their relationships and their sexuality. This could be an extensive process for recovering from this mental illness and some people may never get over it.
Debating Necrophilia
 Some people disagree with the definition of what constitutes necrophilia. Since it is a very broadly defined term, it could include a number of other activities that many would consider to be erotic but not related to necrophilia. For example, some people are into vampirism, are attracted to the Goth culture, enjoy dead doll fashion or anything else that is considered to be dark.
Many people who are attracted to or interested in these things are more attracted to the unique appearance of these things, but are not at all attracted to dead corpses, and certainly would not want to have sex with one.
Other people would argue that having fantasies about anything – even about dead corpses - is not necessarily dangerous or a mental illness because it is a fantasy and there is no desire to live it out in real life.
This is definitely a debatable issue, and since there is no definitive research or information about this, it will remain true that having any kind of interest in corpses – sexual or otherwise is technically considered to make you a necrophiliac.
Ali the Sexpert is a researcher and teacher in the field of sexuality. She has an Honours B.A. in Sociology (Windsor); a MA degree in Sociology (Windsor); is currently pursuing a second MA in Social Work. Campus Kiss is currently syndicated at universities across Canada.
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