EXHIBITIONISTS: VARIETIES OF OFFENDERS
There appear to be three chief varieties of exhibitionists. Most common, constituting perhaps half of the cases, are the patterned exhibitionists, those who repeat this behavior again and again in compulsive fashion. The origin of exhibition in these men is unclear, although a few attribute it to early experiences, and in some other cases the behavior originated during a period of stress. About one eighth of the individuals began exposing themselves when they were ten or younger; nearly one fifth started between sixteen and twenty, and an equal number between twenty-one and twenty-five. Thus we see that in nine cases out of ten, repetitive exhibition began no later than age twenty-five and that somewhat over half began between sixteen and twenty-five. Despite their youth, an extraordinary number of patterned exhibitionists had suffered from impotence, chiefly erectile impotence. While about one quarter of all exhibitionists had this trouble, slightly more than one third of the patterned variety were so afflicted. This is the only unusual trait of their overt sexuality, aside from their offense behavior.
A reasonably typical patterned variety exhibitionist is a young man in his early twenties who had had a rather modest premarital sexual life, relying chiefly on prostitutes, and had always felt somewhat awkward and bashful with girls. He married, enjoyed coitus at high frequencies for about one year, and then was drafted and shipped to Korea. There and in Japan he found that he could obtain coitus rather easily, especially with prostitutes. Upon his discharge from the military forces and return to the U.SA. he found that his wife had been having numerous sexual affairs and that she was no longer particularly interested in him. The marriage continued unhappily, with considerably reduced frequencies of coitus. The husband discovered that it was far more difficult to obtain extramarital coitus in the United States than it had been overseas, and he was unable to satisfy his sexual desires. At this time he began exposing himself, and in the process reaching orgasm through masturbation. The compulsive urge to expose himself generally appeared when he was under emotional stress, as when after he had had an argument with his wife or employer. This combination of insecurity, real or imagined emotional deprivation, and sense of failure is common among patterned exhibitionists, and the exposure may be a simultaneous expression of retaliation, declaration of masculinity, and sexual solicitation.
The second commonest variety of exhibitionist is the drunk. About one fifth of the cases are of this sort. We have excluded instances of what seemed purely accidental exposure: the men currently under discussion intentionally exposed their genitalia. Owing to their condition at the time, few could give us any clues to why they behaved as they did, but many seem to have called attention to themselves while (or after) urinating in some street or alley. It is uncertain how much of this was solicitation, drunken humor, or expression of hostility. Nearly all the drunk variety denied intentional exposure and claimed they were merely urinating, holding in a hernia, or adjusting their clothing.
The third commonest variety, comprising perhaps one eighth of the exhibitionists, is the mentally deficient. These men, insofar as we can ascertain, seem to harbor the delusion that females are sexually excited by the sight of a penis even though it belongs to a stranger, and they use genital exposure as a technique for solicitation. Essentially this delusion is a projection of masculine response: males are aroused by sight of female genitalia, therefore females must logically be aroused by the sight of male genitalia. In cases where the exposure was at close range, as from an adjacent seat, there may have been the hope that the female would touch the penis.
Subtracting the above three varieties, which among them account for approximately three quarters of the exhibitionists, we are left with a residuum consisting chiefly of unclassified individuals.
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