Сексуалдық қиялдар мен психологиялық фантазиялар

Class of mental image or pattern of thought
psychological fantasies

A sexual fantasy or erotic fantasy is an autoerotic mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual fantasy can be created by the person's imagination or memory, and may be triggered autonomously or by external stimulation such as erotic literature or pornography, a physical object, or sexual attraction to another person. Anything that may give rise to a sexual arousal may also produce a sexual fantasy, and sexual arousal may in turn give rise to fantasies. Sexual fantasies are nearly universal, being reported in many societies across the globe. However, because of the nature of some fantasies, the actual putting of such fantasies into action is far less common, due to cultural, social, moral, and religious constraints. In some cases, even a discussion by a person of sexual fantasies is subject to social taboos and inhibitions. Some people find it convenient to act out fantasies through sexual roleplay. A person may find validation of a sexual fantasy by viewing the depiction or discussion of the fantasy in film, usually of a pornographic nature. A fantasy may be a positive or negative experience, or even both. It may be in response to a past experience and can influence future sexual behavior. A person may not wish to enact a sexual fantasy in real life, and since the process is entirely imaginary, they are not limited to acceptable or practical fantasies, which can provide information on the psychological processes behind sexual behavior. Sexual fantasy can also pertain to a genre of literature, film or work of art. Such works may be appreciated for their aesthetics, though many people may feel uncomfortable with such works. For example, women in prison films may be described as sexual fantasies, as are pornographic films. In the case of films, the term may describe a part of the film, such as a fantasy scene or sequence. Besides pornographic films, a number of mainstream films have included sexual fantasy scenes, such as Business Is Business (1971), Amarcord (1973), American Beauty (1999) and others. In many cases, the use of fantasy scenes enables the inclusion of material into a work indicating the sexualized mental state of a character.

The scenarios for sexual fantasies vary greatly between individuals and are influenced by personal desires and experiences, and can range from the mundane to the bizarre. Fantasies are frequently used to escape real life sexual restraints by imagining dangerous or illegal scenarios, such as rape, castration, or kidnapping. They allow people to imagine themselves in roles they do not normally have, such as power, innocence and guilt. Fantasies have enormous influence over sexual behavior and can be the sole cause of an orgasm. While there are several common themes in fantasies, any object or act can be eroticized. Sexual fantasies are increasingly viewed as a necessary component to a healthy relationship. Accordingly, theorists have argued that fantasies may be used to encourage and promote sexual pleasure between partners. Researchers have additionally found a positive correlation between instances of sexual fantasizing and increased orgasm, arousal, and general contentment. The relative benefits of sexual fantasies are summarized in a statement by Stroller; "sexual fantasies are a private pornography in which we rehearse over and over again needs that are nearly impossible to fulfil in actual sex". Sexual fantasizing therefore allows an individual to fulfil desires that cannot be realistically achieved. In this sense, researchers assert that fantasizing about extra marital, or multiple partner sex is positively correlated with long term partnerships. As such, sexual fantasies are viewed as means to combat sexual dissatisfaction. Sexual fantasising may also be used to settle relational hardships, as opposed to sexual dissatisfaction. For instance, women from disturbed marriages were found to fantasise significantly more often than happily married women. Creating hypothetical scenarios may be used as a coping mechanism, particularly by women, in handling stress and discomfort. As such, fantasies allow individuals to enter a new realm (e. g. experience a position of power, innocence, or guilt) that contrasts the source of anguish, and enhances feelings of self worth. The purpose and function of sexual fantasies are explained rather differently from an evolutionary perspective. Bowlby's (1969/1982) attachment theory asserts that the absence of adequate attachment figures can devastate self esteem. It is suggested that more anxiously attached individuals use sex to attain emotional security. Accordingly, they might engage in sex through a longing for sexual intimacy, and increase the frequency of sexual behavior under conditions that challenge the status of their relationship. Contrastingly, the avoidant attachment type is apprehensive about the intimacy posed by sexual relations, and will take active measures to avoid feelings of closeness. Patterns of sexual behavior include emotion free sex with casual partners, engaging in sex to promote oneself, and feelings of detachment during intercourse. Sexual fantasies are likely to follow attachment related themes. It is noted that anxious attachment individuals report significantly more instances of sexual fantasizing, and portray the self as feeble, dependable and powerless. Avoidant attachment types report fantasies in which relationships are regarded as cold, unfeeling and impersonal. As such, sexual fantasies serve the primary function of fulfilling interpersonal goals through the mode of mental representation. Evolutionary theory provides another interesting explanation as to the purpose and function of gender differences in sexual fantasies. Research literature states that women are more likely to prioritize their own physical and emotional sensations, where men conjure images of sexual partners. Women are also more likely to fantasize about a single individual with whom they have shared history, or those whom they wish to pursue a long term relationship. Throughout the course of time, it has proved advantageous for the male to copulate with young and fertile females. They evolved an ability to decipher "fresh features" of reproductive partners; clear skin, thick hair, fuller lips, and so forth. By comparison, females are driven to reproduce on the basis of parental investment, and a quality gene pool possessed by the male. From a female perspective, the risks of copulating with multiple male partners far outweigh any potential benefits. It is therefore unsurprising that males visualize specific physical features; its origins and purpose can be found in evolution. It also follows that where males project outwardly, viewing women and a means to obtain sexual pleasure, women have become conditioned to remain passive in this role. They do so under close scrutiny of male sexual attention, to fantasize a specific and special partner. A person may have no desire to carry out a fantasy; people often use fantasies to help plan out future sexual encounters. Fantasies occur in all individuals and at any time of the day, although it has been suggested that they are more common among frequent daydreamers. Sexual fantasy is frequent during masturbation, although this may be truer for men than for women. During sexual contact, some people can use their fantasies to "turn off" undesirable aspects of an act. Conversely, a person may use fantasy to focus and maintain arousal, such as a man receiving fellatio ignoring a distraction. Men tend to be aware of only parts of themselves during sex —they are more likely to focus on the physical stimulation of one area, and as such, do not see themselves as a "whole". Many couples share their fantasies to feel closer and gain more intimacy and trust, or simply to become more aroused or effect a more powerful physical response. Some couples share fantasies as a form of outercourse; this has been offered as an explanation for the rise of BDSM during the 1980s — in order to avoid contracting HIV, people turned to BDSM as a safe outlet for sexual fantasy. Couples may also act out their fantasies through sexual roleplay. Fantasies may also be used as a part of sex therapy. They can enhance insufficiently exciting sexual acts to promote higher levels of sexual arousal and release. A 1986 study that looked at married women indicated that sexual fantasies helped them achieve arousal and orgasm. As a part of therapy, anorgasmic women are commonly encouraged to use fantasy and masturbation.

The sexes have been found to contrast with respect to where their fantasies originate from. Men tend to fantasize about past sexual experiences, whereas women are more likely to conjure an imaginary lover or sexual encounter that they have not experienced previously. Male fantasies tend to focus more on visual imagery and explicit anatomic detail, with men being more interested in visual sexual stimulation and fantasies about casual sex encounters, regardless of sexual orientation. On the other hand, women's fantasies tend to be more focused upon mental sexual stimulation and contain more emotion and connection. Thus, women are more likely to report romantic sexual fantasies that are high in intimacy and affection, for instance associating their male partner with heroism and viewing them as chivalric rescuers. Evolutionary theory offers an explanation for this finding, such that women may be likely to show commitment to their male partner in return for his investment of resources to help raise her offspring, thus increasing offspring chance of survival.

Sexual fantasies may be more likely to be executed in contemporary society due to more liberalized attitudes towards the previously taboo topic of sex, and increased awareness of the variety of sexual experiences that now exist. This may be especially more likely if the individual displays high levels of psychopathic traits.

Since numerous variables influence sexual fantasy, the differences between gender can be examined through multiple theoretical frameworks. Social constructionism predicts that sexual socialisation is a strong predictor of sexual fantasy and that gender differences are the result of social influences. From this perspective, it is believed that female sexuality is more malleable since it is influenced to a greater extent by cultural views and expectations regarding how women should think and behave. For example, some studies have found that women prefer fantasizing about familiar lovers, whereas male sexual fantasies involve anonymous partners. Other studies have found the theme, but with lower frequency and popularity. However, these female fantasies in no way imply that the subject desires to be raped in reality—the fantasies often contain romantic images where the woman imagines herself being seduced, and the male that she imagines is desirable. Most importantly, the woman remains in full control of her fantasy. The fantasies do not usually involve the woman getting hurt. Conversely, some women who have been sexually victimized in the past report unwanted sexual fantasies, similar to flashbacks of their victimization. They are realistic, and the woman may recall the physical and psychological pain involved. The most frequently cited hypothesis for why women fantasize of being forced into some sexual activity is that the fantasy avoids societally induced guilt—the woman does not have to admit responsibility for her sexual desires and behavior. A 1978 study by Moreault and Follingstad was consistent with this hypothesis, and found that women with high levels of sex guilt were more likely to report fantasy themed around being overpowered, dominated, and helpless. In contrast, Pelletier and Herold used a different measure of guilt and found no correlation. Other research suggests that women who report forced sex fantasies have a more positive attitude towards sexuality, contradicting the guilt hypothesis. A 1998 study by Strassberg and Lockerd found that women who fantasized about force were generally less guilty and more erotophilic, and as a result had more frequent and more varied fantasies. Additionally, it said that force fantasies are clearly not the most common or the most frequent.

Social views on sexual fantasy (and sex in general) differ throughout the world. The privacy of a person's fantasy is influenced greatly by social conditions. Because of the taboo status of sexual fantasies in many places around the world, open discussion—or even acknowledgment—is forbidden, forcing fantasies to stay private. In more lax conditions, a person may share their fantasies with close friends, significant others, or a group of people with whom the person is comfortable. The moral acceptance and formal study of sexual fantasy in Western culture is relatively new. Prior to their acceptance, sexual fantasies were seen as evil or sinful, and they were commonly seen as horrid thoughts planted into the minds of people by "agents of the devil". Even when psychologists were willing to accept and study fantasies, they showed little understanding and went so far as to diagnose sexual fantasies in females as a sign of hysteria. Prior to the early twentieth century, many experts viewed sexual fantasy (particularly in females) as abnormal. Sigmund Freud suggested that those who experienced sexual fantasies were sexually deprived or frustrated or that they lacked adequate sexual stimulation and satisfaction. Over several decades, sexual fantasies became more acceptable as notable works and compilations, such as "Morality, Sexual Facts and Fantasies", by Dr Patricia Petersen, Alfred Kinsey's Kinsey Reports, Erotic Fantasies: A Study of the Sexual Imagination by Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen, and Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden, were published. Today, they are regarded as natural and positive elements of one's sexuality, and are often used to enhance sexual practices, both in normal settings and in therapy. Many Christians believe that the Bible prohibits sexual fantasies about people other than one's spouse in Matthew 5:28. Others believe that St Paul includes fantasy when he condemns works of the flesh such as "immorality" or "uncleanness". Despite the Western World's relatively lax attitudes towards sexual fantasy, many people elsewhere still feel shame and guilt about their fantasies. This may contribute to personal sexual dysfunction, and regularly leads to a decline in the quality of a couple's sex life.

While most people do not feel guilt or disgust about their sexual thoughts or fantasies, a substantial number do. In general, men and women are equally represented in samples of those who felt guilt about their fantasies. The most notable exception was found in a 1991 study that showed that women felt more guilt and disgust about their first sexual fantasies. In women, greater guilt about sex was associated with less frequent and less varied sexual fantasies, and in men, it was associated with less sexual arousal during fantasies. Women also reported more intense guilt than men; both sexes reported greater guilt if their arousal and orgasm depended on a fantasy. Studies have also been carried out to examine the direct connection between guilt and sexual fantasy, as opposed to sex and guilt. One study found that in a sample of 160 conservative Christians, 16% of men and women reported guilt after sexual fantasies, 5% were unhappy with themselves, and 45% felt that their fantasies were "morally flawed or unacceptable". Studies that examined guilt about sexual fantasy by age have unclear results—Knoth et al. (1998) and Ellis and Symons (1990) found that younger people tended to feel less guilt about their fantasies, whereas Mosher and White (1980) found the opposite. A 2006 study examined guilt and jealousy in American heterosexual married couples. It associated guilt with an individual's fantasy ("How guilty do you feel when you fantasize about ") and jealousy with the partner's fantasy ("How jealous do you feel when your partner fantasizes about "). Higher levels of guilt were found among women, couples in the 21–29 age range, shorter relationships and marriages, Republicans, and Roman Catholics; lower levels in men, couples in the 41–76 range, longer relationships, Democrats, and Jews. Higher levels of jealousy were found in women, couples in the 21–29 range, Roman Catholics and non Jewish religious affiliations; lower levels were found in men, couples in the 41–76 range, and Jews and the non religious.

Deviant sexual fantasies are sexual fantasies which involve illegal, nonconsensual, and sadistic themes. While people with paraphilia have deviant sexual fantasies, deviant sexual fantasies are not atypical and/or paraphilic. DSM 5 defines paraphilia as intense and persistent atypical preferences for sexual activities or targets like spanking, whipping, binding with erotic targets like children, animals, and/or rubber etc. While DSM 5 recognizes that paraphillias do not have to be pathological, psychiatrists still find it difficult to differentiate between paraphilic interests and paraphilic disorders, For example, in 2011 study found that over half of the older men in Berlin had "atypical" sexual fantasies with 21.8% of them having sadistic fantasies–a prerequisite for sexual murders. Another study found that dominance and submission themes were extremely popular in pornographic searches.

Most research into sexual crimes involve men. Sexual crimes such as sexual homicides are quite rare Some have suggested that the frequency of sexual crimes is underestimated due to the narrowness of the legal definition of sexual homicides. and researchers' approaches (the essentialist descriptive approach or phenomenological descriptive approach and certain themes can be attributed to types of sex crimes. unemployment, and watching pornography. However, it is usually the combination of childhood sexual abuse and deviant fantasies that facilitate the jump from sexual fantasies to sexual crimes and sex murderers of children reported a significantly more pre crime childhood sexual abuse and deviant sexual fantasies than sexual murderers of women. They occur in high prevalence alongside other paraphilic fantasies in psychopaths and individuals with dark triad traits. and studies suggested that the deviant and sadistic sexual fantasies serve as a coping mechanism for narcissistic vulnerability. paraphilic and wide ranges of sexual fantasies. Also, psychopathy increases the effect that porn has on the development of deviant fantasies such its contribution to the likelihood of engaging in rape fantasies. Mainstreaming Fifty Shades has increased visibility and acceptability of BDSM and has embedded it in everyday life. Their sexual crimes are "tryouts" that maintain and develop their fantasies; i. e. they commit crimes according to their fantasies, then incorporate the crimes into their fantasies to increase arousal and subsequently develop its sadistic content. due to extensive practice in form of sexual fantasies. have suggested that the early traumatic experiences cause the early development of sadistic fantasies through sensory preconditioning and this might be the reason offenders find it too difficult to restrain themselves from trying out their sadistic fantasies in real life.