Paraphilia

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Paraphilia (in Greek para παρά = beside and -philia φιλία = friendship, having the meaning of love) is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her. A paraphilia is a condition involving sex fetishes where a person's sexual arousal and gratification depend on fantasizing about, and engaging in, sexual behavior that is atypical and extreme. The term was coined by Wilhelm Stekel in the 1920s and popularized by John Money in the 1960s, who described paraphilia as "a sexuoerotic embellishment of, or alternative to the official, ideological norm."

Psychologists and psychiatrists codified paraphilias as disorders, as a replacement for the legal constructs of sodomy and perversion. American Journal of Psychiatry describes paraphilia as "recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors generally involving:

1. nonhuman objects, or
2. the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner, or
3. children, or
4. nonconsenting persons"

Sexual arousal in association with objects that were designed for sexual purposes is not DSM diagnosable (DSM, p. 570).

The view of paraphilias as disorders is not universal. Some groups seeking greater understanding and acceptance of sexual diversity have lobbied for changes to the legal and medical status of unusual sexual interests and practices. Charles Allen Moser, a physician and advocate for sexual minorities, has argued that the diagnoses should be eliminated from diagnostic manuals. Psychiatrist Glen Gabbard writes that despite efforts by Stekel and Money, "the term paraphilia remains pejorative in most circumstances."

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphilia