Diet
The 19th-century French critic Hippolyte Taine believed that masochism ("the English vice") was caused by the excessive consumption of alcohol and red meat. (Tannahill 1982, p. 385). I do not believe that this theory has recieved any further attention.
Ignorance
Bradford (1989) argues that the etiology of paraphilia stems from inadequate sexual knowledge, which in turn produces sexual dysfunction (through ignorance) in normal sexual behavior, and drives the person deeper and deeper into abnormal behavior. This seems at odds with the empirical research on kink, which would suggest that kinky people have substantially more diverse sexual practices and experiences than their peers. Moreover, there is good evidence that kinky people do not experience unusually high levels of sexual dysfunction (Richters et al 2008)
The 19th-century French critic Hippolyte Taine believed that masochism ("the English vice") was caused by the excessive consumption of alcohol and red meat. (Tannahill 1982, p. 385). I do not believe that this theory has recieved any further attention.
Ignorance
Bradford (1989) argues that the etiology of paraphilia stems from inadequate sexual knowledge, which in turn produces sexual dysfunction (through ignorance) in normal sexual behavior, and drives the person deeper and deeper into abnormal behavior. This seems at odds with the empirical research on kink, which would suggest that kinky people have substantially more diverse sexual practices and experiences than their peers. Moreover, there is good evidence that kinky people do not experience unusually high levels of sexual dysfunction (Richters et al 2008)
However, such surveys were conducted on adults. It is still possible that Bradford's mechanism accurately describes a process by which young people become kinky, at which point they are no longer either sexually ignorant or dysfunctional. But there is no evidence for this.
Medical Problems
Stoller (1991, pp. 38-44) cites neurological literature attesting that certain medical conditions can cause either hypersexuality or change in sexual behavior, possibly including kink. These include epilepsy, postencephalitic Parkinson's disease (Von Economo's encephalitis), KlΓΌver-Bucy syndrome, and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. It should be stressed, though, that Stoller does not consider these to be a common avenue for kinky sexuality. The latter three are very rare conditions, and there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that kink is associated with epilepsy or vice versa.
Atavism
The Jungian scholar Robert Eisler (1948) developed a theory of human evolution from an imagined species, Pithecanthropus frugivorous. P. frugivorous bifurcated into a passive, vegetarian subspecies, and an aggressive, cannibalistic subspecies that wore wolf skins and gave rise to legends about were-wolfs. Interbreeding between these two subspecies produced modern humans. Atavism towards the vegetarian hominid line produces masochism; atavism towards the cannibalistic line produces sadism. As evidence of the "werewolf" hominids that are the fore-runners of sadists, Eisler noted the skull of Piltdown man, debunked as a hoax five years after Eisler published.
Eisler's theories in this arena have not received much attention from other scholars.
Updated 1/16/11
Medical Problems
Stoller (1991, pp. 38-44) cites neurological literature attesting that certain medical conditions can cause either hypersexuality or change in sexual behavior, possibly including kink. These include epilepsy, postencephalitic Parkinson's disease (Von Economo's encephalitis), KlΓΌver-Bucy syndrome, and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. It should be stressed, though, that Stoller does not consider these to be a common avenue for kinky sexuality. The latter three are very rare conditions, and there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that kink is associated with epilepsy or vice versa.
Atavism
The Jungian scholar Robert Eisler (1948) developed a theory of human evolution from an imagined species, Pithecanthropus frugivorous. P. frugivorous bifurcated into a passive, vegetarian subspecies, and an aggressive, cannibalistic subspecies that wore wolf skins and gave rise to legends about were-wolfs. Interbreeding between these two subspecies produced modern humans. Atavism towards the vegetarian hominid line produces masochism; atavism towards the cannibalistic line produces sadism. As evidence of the "werewolf" hominids that are the fore-runners of sadists, Eisler noted the skull of Piltdown man, debunked as a hoax five years after Eisler published.
Eisler's theories in this arena have not received much attention from other scholars.
Updated 1/16/11
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