Do you think there is abnormal consensual sexual behavior? If so, do you believe it can and/or should be treated?

Of course there is abnormal consentual sexual behavior, there was a case in germany where one guy cut another guys dick off, then they cooked it and shared it while the guy died bleeding to death.

As long as there is consent, I don’t care. Even in the extreme case given above.

As for sex addiction, that is just the biggest pile of crap that I have seen in ages. To say to a guy who is getting laid 3 times a day “you are an addict”, is not only bullshit, but deeply insulting to any real addicts. Coining the term sex addiction, is a slap in the face to any mother who currently is being mugged on a daily basis at knife point by their heroin addicted son.

If these “sex addicts” don’t get any sex, will they undergo physical and mental pain? will they start to shake and turn white? will they probably die from the shock of withdrawl? will they put a knife to their own mothers neck for prostitute money? will they inevitably rape someone because they just have to have some?

If you can get laid 8 times a day and still find time to jack off, you should be given a medal.

Finally, hands up any males here who would not have sex all day long if they could, anyone?

I wouldn’t call what Congressman Weiner did “abnormal,” just stupid. People like to think that their elected representatives are above all that. They’re not, but people still get upset when they find out their “idols’” feet are made of clay.

Oh… and make one mistake and the opposition will NEVER let the electorate forget it!

Political and other public figures have long ago learned that if they can claim some kind of pathology for their bad behavior, whether it’s stealing, lying, cheating on their wives, accepting bribes and kickbacks, etc., then they can win a certain sympathy vote from credulous supporters and journalists, and hopefully stave off the weight of criticism and censure which would drive them from their positions.

We’ve seen it in politicians, religious leaders, sports and academic figures (and academic sports figures), to name just a few (without actually naming names). How long was Ted Kennedy in office, for a glaring example, “suffering” from the alcoholism that killed that poor girl he was cheating on his wife with?

It’s a disgusting practice, but a product of our “enlightened” age.

As for my part, I’m not lazy, I suffer from “Laziness Syndrome”.

Regarding Weiner, it should be obvious why he is getting treatement. Because he wants to still work in politics. It’s a financial decision to help his immage.

“Addict” and “Getting Help” are terms that will help score you some pitty and remove some blaim. It’s just a tactic, he is not sick, he does not need help, even if he gets help he will keep doing it, he will just be more careful, sexual habbits are almost impossible to alter.

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Regarding sex addiction: Am I personally a sex addict?

If I could, I would quit my job, and lay in bed having sex all day until I died from dehidration. I think about it any time I see any female, even if she is 92 years old, part of my brain will at least register that she is female, I may even wonder what she looked like when she was younger.

I am almost obcessed with sex, so am I a sex addict? and if I am, how does the fact that I have not been laid in ages come in to play? Does their bullshit term actually allow someone who does not have sex to be an addict?

Damn, @poisonedantidote, I came one handjob away from your medal. I did the eight times in a 24-hour period once with a very willing and curious partner, but we gave it up after that.

This is all about getting caught. Weiner and all the other high profile pols and celebs just got caught and need to do something to show their wives and constituents that their penchant for sex and sexy things is a curable obsession so they can preserve their high profile careers and fool the wife things will be somehow “normal”. Really…what is normal these days??

If certain abnormal sexual behaviors have the potential to lead to sexual disease or worse, crimes like rape, then I believe it needs to be treated. In the case of Weiner, it’s just plain laughable to me that he would go for treatment. For what? For being stupid?

@poisonedantidote “Of course there is abnormal consentual sexual behavior, there was a case in germany where one guy cut another guys dick off, then they cooked it and shared it while the guy died bleeding to death.” – I thought of that too and, actually, don’t consider any of that abnormal. Consent trumps all, even if it seems extreme. It’s all about where you place value.

I think the problem is humanity’s tendency (or at least many cultural tendencies) to limit the number of partners one has. How many species of animals do that? Not many…. I just don’t think it is natural.

And while many of us can get along just fine, others can’t. And rather than just being honest with the self, people have to blame something, so they come up with “sex addiction” and other buzz words to try and explain what is in reality perfectly normal.

It’s a natural instinct that people feel guilt/shame/embarrassment in feeling because they have been conditioned to feel that way since birth…

There’s nothing wrong with Weiner, he’s just an idiot

(and come on, really? did you see his pics? he acts like he’s so hot in those poses it’s hilarious, b/c he’s really quite scrawny/old/dorky looking for the kinda shots he was taking)

And at least part of his stupidity has to do with his job. While it may be perfectly acceptable for a single college kid to do, when you take on the responsibility of the public office, and you are expected by your country to uphold a certain image, that’s what really makes this unacceptable…

I hope it is abnormal, because as a married female, I’d rather not believe it’s typical. I really feel for his wife who has to bear the humiliation publicly and while pregnant. He might benefit from therapy/ marriage counseling because I think what he’s dealing with is a serious case of narcissism that is now crashing down on him. It’s said that at the root of all sexual deviance is a power/control issue and in that way I think he shares a commonality with other so-called deviants. I don’t know if that can be fixed because it’s probably too ingrained in his personality. He should definitely try though.

I don’t think what Wiener did was abnormal (considered deviant by society, yes, but most likely in the norm), nor do I think he needs to be treated for anything other than possibly a New Technology 103: Making Sure Your Crotch Shots Stay Secret crash course.

My line for needing treatment is when whatever you’re doing no longer follows the “safe, sane, and consensual” rules. If it’s all consensual, but you’re shoving shards of glass up your vagina, or putting out lit tealight candles with your vulva, that’s neither safe nor sane. If someone cuts themselves on the wrists, we assume they’re depressed and that they need serious and immediate help. Now, I’m all for mixing pain with pleasure, and using some pain to get your brain to recognize it as pleasure, but if the case for cutting being too far is that not only is it painful but it’s permanent, then surely permanent bodily damage in sex also crosses the line – or else the argument has some serious holes in it, especially since so many cutters say that the do it because it feels good or even “orgasmic” (which from my own personal experience, I can verify that pretty much the entire psych community felt was total bullshit). So that’s my line for needing treatment.

As for what’s abnormal, I go with what is statistically considered abnormal or in the minority, mindful that abnormal is in no way synonymous with unhealthy. Wearing only retro clothing styles is abnormal, but it’s definitely not unhealthy.

I don’t think consensual sex is abnormal so long as it doesn’t involve lasting harm to either partner. There are sexual paraphilias that leave one or both partners permanently harmed. These, I think, deserve treatment aimed at discovering and correcting the underlying need for injury.

Insofar as normal is a statistical concept, of course there is abnormal sexual behavior. And yes, some of it (probably even most of it) is consensual. As for a sex addiction, my understanding is that nothing can be considered an addiction in the technical sense until it starts interfering in your life.

A person who drinks one shot of whiskey a day might be an alcoholic while a person who drinks eight shots a day might not be an alcoholic. What matters is the effect that whiskey has on the drinker’s life, not the amount of whiskey drunk. The same would go for sex: it’s not how many times you have it per day that matters, but whether you control it or it controls you.

Why did I read this?

There are some things I just don’t need to know.

@Coloma I get the feeling that’s my bad. Sorry.