Zoophilia
Meaning
Zoophilia is a morbid condition where an individual is sexually attracted to animals.
This paraphilia involves a sexual fixation on non-human animals.
It is associated with the term “bestiality” where a human has cross-species sexual activity with an animal.
The terms are often used interchangeably, however, researchers made a clear distinction between “zoophilia”, the attraction and “bestiality”, the act.
Origin
The term “zoophilia” was introduced to the field of research on sexuality in Psychopatia Sexualis (1886) by Krafft-Ebing.
He described various cases of “bestiality” as well as “zoophilia”, which he described as a sexual attraction towards animal skin or fur.
The term’s etymology derives from two nouns of the Greek language, in which “zṓion” means animal and “philia” means “love”.
Spread and Usage
“Zoophilia” has been discussed and researched by several sciences, including psychology, sexology and ethology and also by anthrozoology.
In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “zoophilia” is placed under the classification of “other specified paraphilic disorder”.
The World Health Organization, also known as WHO, takes the same position on the topic and describes “zoophilia” as “other disorder of sexual preference”.
External References
- SexInfo Online – Zoophilia and Bestiality
- ResearchGate – Zoophilia as an Early Sign of Psychosis