Stigmatic/eligibilic paraphilia

Stigmatic-eligibilic paraphilias are desires whose objects "become eligible" to be desired because of, rather than despite, stigma which they bear. The manifold manifestations of these paraphilias cover the broadest range of physical, intimate and social circumstance.

Paradox is the inevitable recognition feature of a stigmatic-eligibilic paraphilia: in its context, what is considered repulsive, unsuitable, prohibited or taboo by most people turns into something attractive, suitable, permitted and licensed. Thus, in paedophilia, necrophilia and zoophilia, children, corpses and animals are desired despite being incapable of forming sexual (or, indeed, any) relationships. In the attraction to disability, disabled people are desired despite deviating from the physical standard. In gerontophilia and ephebophilia, significantly older or younger people are desired despite being generally considered unsuitable due to great difference in age. In hybristophilia, notorious criminals are desired despite being generally considered objectionable. In urolagnia, coprophilia and emetophilia, urinating, defecating and vomiting in intimate circumstances are seen as arousing despite the general views that they are repulsive. In this sense, stigmatic-eligibilic paraphilias can seem 'non-conformist' and 'taboo-busting.'

Stigmatic-eligibilic paraphilias are generally thought to result from intense and memorable childhood experiences ("sexuoerotic tragedies," though they may not be distressing) which deform ("vandalise") the future adult's idea of what is and what is not attractive (their "lovemap"). Attempting to accommodate the extraordinary experience into an acceptable mental frame of reference, the future adult may "triumph" over it by a sleight of infantile logic whereby the terms of reference commonly associated with it are reversed.