Need Breast/BE Fetishists for Grad Study!

[jrangel]

Greetings BEA!

My name is Joe Rangel.  I'm a long time lurker on the BEA (seriously, since the late 1990's), and BE fan/cartoonist. I am also a Master's candidate in Human Behavior at National University.  You may not know it, but BE (and PE, and Inflation, and AG, and AR, and BDSM, and pretty much every fetish out there) is actually called a "paraphilia."  I'm doing my Master's Thesis, and, what started out as an attempt at self discovery, has grown into a full blown research project.  I am studying the behaviors that motivate people with paraphilia ("fetishes"), as opposed to people who don't have such interests. The study means answering 13 multiple choice questions, with absolutely NO personal data collected and NO cost to you. It should only take 15 minutes.

That said...here's my official recruitment letter:

 I am requesting your participation in my research study, which is a necessary step toward achieving my Master's Degree in Human Behavior at National University.
 
 My research focuses on the motivational behaviors of sexual paraphiles versus non paraphiles.  These are more commonly known as "fetishes."  Participation in this study will entail your completion of a 13 question on-line survey, in three parts, at www.surveymonkey.com, and this should take approximately 15-20 minutes maximum. If you agree to participate, please click the links below, in the order they are presented. Please complete the survey  before October 31, 2011 so that I can collect and analyze the data in accordance with course deadlines.
Participation is strictly voluntary, and you can withdraw from participation at any time during the survey. Your answers will be both anonymous and confidential; your name is not required on the survey and I will be the only person viewing answers for data analysis. Risks of participation are also minimal. This study has been reviewed and approved by members of the National University HUB faculty.

Once again, if you choose to participate, please click the links below, in order.
1.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5FVZNMV
2.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5F2LZRC
3.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5FKGDKY
 
I truly appreciate your time. If you wish to view the full informed consent letter, with my faculty advisor's contact information, please send me an email.
 
Sincerely,
Joseph Rangel jrangel5425@gmail.com
M.A. student (NU Human Behavior Program)

[TheZookie007]

I'm always interested in good social scientific enquiry, so in that spirit, Joseph, two quick questions:

Do any non-celibate humans exist that do not have one so-called paraphilia or another?

Who determines whether or not someone has a paraphilia?

[jrangel]

I'm always interested in good social scientific enquiry, so in that spirit, Joseph, two quick questions:

Do any non-celibate humans exist that do not have one so-called paraphilia or another?

Who determines whether or not someone has a paraphilia?

Excellent questions.  Actually, the former gets to he heart of my research itself...at one time, I proposed that all humans (including celibate ones---they still have minds with which to think) would have some kind of paraphilia.  The American Psychological Association has determined that the difference between a casual interest in say, bondage, or a guy who like breasts, is the intensity and exclusivity associated with the paraphilia.  For instance, a person who is a BE Paraphile (like me) would experience more frequent and intense fantisizing that was exclusively BE related. What I am trying to do is see if there is a common thread amongst various paraphiles of different sorts, and then compare it to what the APA would consider "non paraphiles", and see if that same commonality exists.

Thanks for your questions.  I hope you'll participate, and, if you do, encourage others to do so, as well!

[jrangel]

Thanks to so many for responding so quickly!  I hadn't expected this many responses in the first two days the survey was up!

As a clarifying point,  the first link is only a one item, consent waiver.  The second is a demographic questionairre with two questions (your age, and your fetish of choice...if you have one), and the third is a ten item survey.
For your entry to be valid, you have to click all three links.

Thanks again!

[pedonbio]

Thanks to so many for responding so quickly!  I hadn't expected this many responses in the first two days the survey was up!

You will find us to be a very obliging group of perverts.

BTW, after clicking each link and doing what is required, a redirect screen pops up asking us to register with one of those gawdawful "money for your opinion" sites.

[jrangel]

You will find us to be a very obliging group of perverts.

BTW, after clicking each link and doing what is required, a redirect screen pops up asking us to register with one of those gawdawful "money for your opinion" sites.

Obliging perverts.  LOL.  Maybe not "perverts"...we are but human...but THAT was funny for some reason!

I had no idea about the popups. Surveymonkey was free to me to use, and that's probably why....Please accept my apologies (that might explain why some people have done only the consent form, and then nothing else...).

Again...I thank you for participating...of all the sites I've solicited, the BEA has been the most willing to help!

[Djoser]

Hmmm well just asking (you're not forced to answer me, of course) National University from where? I mean almost every country I know has a National University of some sort 

[jrangel]

Good Question.  National University is a private graduate university in La Jolla, California, USA.  It is nationally accredited through WASC. It is designed for professionals who are already in their career, such as me.  Video Conferencing, Internet Classrooms, and some traditional "land-based" work make up the curriculum.  I was skeptical at first, thinking that the only way to go back to get my Master's was the old-fashioned way, but, frankly, this has been a much more rewarding experience.

In case anyone cares, I got my BA in psychology from California State University, Sacramento. 

(Good questions, though...its always good to check on the pedigree of someone...)

[Djoser]

Thank you for the information, sir. Now i feel more like completing your survey

[VonKarl]

Interesting...I have a couple of questions myself:

1 - How do you differentiate between a "fixation" vs. a "fetish" and, more to the point, where do they fall within the "paraphiles" definition?

2 - Will you share the results of your research here so that we can see and learn more about all of this and see your conclusions?

I'm very curious to see what develops from your research. 


   Karl

[jrangel]

I'm responding from my Droid...so bear with me.  The terms at use here get confused often because of common speak versus science speak. Technically, "paraphilia" encompasses 100s of different sexual deviances, such as furry, BE, etc. A "fetish" is a specific type of paraphilia, specifically the attraction to an inanimate object, like shoes, for example. There is actually no such thing as a "breast fetish". Technically, what we have is a "partialism".

A fixation is a reference to being stuck  at one of Freud's stages of development, ie, "oral fixation."
And I will be happy to post my results.

[VonKarl]

Technically, "paraphilia" encompasses 100s of different sexual deviances, such as furry, BE, etc. A "fetish" is a specific type of paraphilia, specifically the attraction to an inanimate object, like shoes, for example. There is actually no such thing as a "breast fetish". Technically, what we have is a "partialism".

A fixation is a reference to being stuck  at one of Freud's stages of development, ie, "oral fixation."
And I will be happy to post my results.

Interesting.  Just out of curiousity I looked up paraphilia on wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphilia

What I found interesting as I scanned through the link (I didn't read it fully just yet) is that the various types of paraphilia involved all seem to be outside what I would think of as a overly strong interest in breasts or large breasts or breast expansion.  A few excerpts:

"Fetishism: the use of inanimate objects to gain sexual excitement. Partialism refers to fetishes specifically involving nonsexual parts of the body."

As breasts are definitely "sexual parts of the body" that didn't fit.  Nearer the top I found:

"American Journal of Psychiatry describes paraphilia as "recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors generally involving:
 1.Non-human objects
 2.The suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner
 3.Children
 4.Non-consenting persons
 
Up until 1973, sexual attraction to persons of the same sex was included in this list."

Again the specific interest in breasts/large breasts/BE didn't quite seem to fit...unless you want to say that breasts are "non-human objects" but while my interests with breasts is definitely there, I think it's really in the context of the whole person not just regarding breasts sans-person...so to speak.

One other section I found of interest was:

"Intensity and specificity
Clinicians distinguish between optional, preferred and exclusive paraphilias, though the terminology is not completely standardized. An "optional" paraphilia is an alternative route to sexual arousal. For example, a man with otherwise unremarkable sexual interests might sometimes seek or enhance sexual arousal by wearing women's underwear. In preferred paraphilias, a person prefers the paraphilia to conventional sexual activities, but also engages in conventional sexual activities. For example, a man might prefer to wear women's underwear during sexual activity, whenever possible. In exclusive paraphilias, a person is unable to become sexually aroused in the absence of the paraphilia."

I think for myself, with the above definition, I'd fall into the "preferred paraphilia" category.  I'd be curious to know what others here think about where they fall into this differentiation of "optional", "preferred", or "exclusive".  (As you started this particular thread JRangle, perhaps you might want to add a poll to allow us to see that breakout...if you share interest in that question?)

I guess I still see some vagueness as to where the breast, large breast...or breast expansion...fits based on what I see on Wikipedia...but of course I don't consider Wikipedia to provide a truly complete definition.  I just thought that it was interesting that there are potentially some holes where the people here may still be falling through.

If you have any clarifications to add I'd be interested...though I understand if you need to wait until you're on a PC rather than using the droid. 


   Karl

[jrangel]

Thanks for waiting!  I'm familiar with the Wikipedia definition, and, to the greatest measure, it sufficies.  I would direct you to the APA's Diagnostic and Statistics Manual IV for a more complex (and entirely boring) definition.

Here's a couple things to consider:
1. You may be absolutely right.  Breast Expansion, and "focus" on the breasts, may not be paraphilic at all.
2.  I would direct you, however, to check up on "partialism paraphilia".

What I think may have happened, because I was typing on my Droid, was a failure to explain fully.  Allow me to try again:

I am a BE lover.  Dyed in the wool.  I also love plain old huge breasts. The kind that most people would find strange.  I have an almost exclusive focus on breasts, and derive the majority of my sexual excitement from them.  I am "partial" to breasts.

I do NOT, however, have a "fetish."  (I know, we all SAY its a fetish, but, let me explain...).  "Partialism" is an exclusive or near exclusive focus on a specific bodypart. Like breasts. Or feet.  We SAY "foot fetish." Its really a "foot partialism."  A "fetish" is an exlusive or near exclusive focus on an inanimate thing. Like latex, or shoes, or balloons.

Both partialism and fetishism are types of paraphilia.  Other paraphilias are anthropomorphism (Furries), Expansionism (we all know that one...but its not just breasts for some...), Sadism, Masochism, Zoophilia, and, of course that illegal one that I can't mention here. The list goes on, and on.

However, simply trying out bondage doesn't make one a bondage paraphile.  To qualify, the desire must be frequent, and almost exclusive.  Someone who can't enjoy non bondage sex is a bondage paraphile.

Of course, there are dgrees to everything.  Some paraphilies are so dependent that they cannot function in life. Others are quite able to control themselves, and simply have tastes that run askew of the average Joe. My research is aimed at studying that exact difference.

Insightful questins, though. I'm happy that I'm not the only one who is curious about this whole thing.  I will be happy to post my results when I'm done...the other forums are quite adamant about this, as well.

[jrangel]

I think for myself, with the above definition, I'd fall into the "preferred paraphilia" category.  I'd be curious to know what others here think about where they fall into this differentiation of "optional", "preferred", or "exclusive". 
   Karl

I may have not adressed this portion fully...you very likely DO fall into the "preferred" category. The APA does not recognize (that I am aware) such distinct categories, but more of a gradient of intensity.  It would be bad research to share the findings I've got, thus far, but suffice to say that the results so far definately seem to show that different individuals experience the paraphilia with different intensities.

Here's something interesting...in 2013, the new DSM manual will feature paraphilia, defined as before, but not as dysfunction, but more a cultural variant...it would seem that science is slowly accepting the differences in people...

Again, I really do appreciate the conversation on the topic! 

[TheZookie007]

Here's something interesting...in 2013, the new DSM manual will feature paraphilia, defined as before, but not as dysfunction, but more a cultural variant...it would seem that science is slowly accepting the differences in people...

Cool, so that means we breast men (or more specifically, we huge breast men) will no longer be considered crazy...just crazy for big breasts

[jrangel]

Greetings BEA!

Please complete the survey  before October 31, 2011 so that I can collect and analyze the data in accordance with course deadlines.

A big thank you to all of the BEA members who helped me in my academic pursuits.  It appears that I misunderstood the time alloted for the data gathering, and I'll be shutting down the survey on June 28th, 2011.  If you'd like to be part of my research, please feel free to do so before then.

Either way, I'll be posting my results here, after all the resarch is done, and my stats are approved by the school.

I can't wait to be a more contributive member of the BEA community than merely spouting psychobabble!

[jrangel]

My friends,

Many of you were gracious enough to help me out with some graduate research I was conducting. Because of your kind help (and the help of the Furry and BDSM communities) I was able to complete my research, succesfully, and will graduate with my master's degree in mid-october.  I also promised to post a summary of my results here.  Rather than make you labor through over 100 pages of APA babble that I wrote, I will simply sum them up:

My research was to determine if paraphiles (those folks who are exclusively sexually interested in things that are sexually "different") and non-paraphiles (the more vanilla ice cream people) have any difference in levels of Impulse control disorder.  I hypothosized that paraphiles would show higher levels of impulse control disorder, and suggested that this was evidenced by more hours spent fantasizing about, enganging in, and even getting in trouble for our particular sexual kinks.

In 60% of trials, the paraphiles (BE, Breast Fetishists, Foot fetishists, BDSM's, and Furries) showed higher levels of impulse control disorder than non paraphiles.  But NOT much higher.   The differences, when put into numbers, didn't even amount to what would be called Impulse control disorder, but they were measurably higher. In fact, what was pretty astounding, was that the patterns of arousal and excitement for non paraphiles and paraphiles were exact mirrors of each other, just higher for the paraphiles. In other words, we tend to spend more time thinking about our sexual interests, and get more out of it when we do.

[TheZookie007]

So in other words, we're not as crazy as people say we are

[DruulEmpire]

Or to put it another way, just because someone has a sexual taste different from your own, that doesn't automatically make them more sex-obsessed than any of the rest of us are -- and that is a key and crucial distinction worth making.  There's this assumption by mainstream society that if you're into something a little different, you automatically MUST be outta control.  Otherness = wildness or sheer chaos, so the assumption goes.  But in fact, each of us in our own way is just trying to hold it all together.

By the way, we're barely a "fetish" (even as a very sloppy layman's accounting of "partialism") around here.  It has been pointed out by a grumbling hardcore minority that this place only occasionally serves BE within a very exacting definition.  For the most part many of us love breasts that already come large, no expansion required.  In the future it might be interesting to see how many of us like breasts as part of an attractive whole, or how many are loyally "partialist" no matter what the overall woman is like.  Meanwhile, in practice we're mainly just a large breasts enthusiasts group -- and I daresay a VERY large fraction of the general populace fits that description.

[Nimrod]

Or to put it another way, just because someone has a sexual taste different from your own, that doesn't automatically make them more sex-obsessed than any of the rest of us are -- and that is a key and crucial distinction worth making.  There's this assumption by mainstream society that if you're into something a little different, you automatically MUST be outta control.  Otherness = wildness or sheer chaos, so the assumption goes.  But in fact, each of us in our own way is just trying to hold it all together.

By the way, we're barely a "fetish" (even as a very sloppy layman's accounting of "partialism") around here.  It has been pointed out by a grumbling hardcore minority that this place only occasionally serves BE within a very exacting definition.  For the most part many of us love breasts that already come large, no expansion required.  In the future it might be interesting to see how many of us like breasts as part of an attractive whole, or how many are loyally "partialist" no matter what the overall woman is like.  Meanwhile, in practice we're mainly just a large breasts enthusiasts group -- and I daresay a VERY large fraction of the general populace fits that description.

Kithara and I have been saying that since this place started up. Glad to hear there are some more "numbers" to back it up. 

It really is not a fetish by definition.

[TheZookie007]

Psychology Today: "What Your Favorite Porn Says About Who You Are"

[Bad Kitty]

Psychology Today: "What Your Favorite Porn Says About Who You Are"

great article
i noticed an interesting link at the end, the author of the article has also written a book apparently:
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Sex-Smarter-Change/dp/1402253923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320794594&sr=8-1
looks like an interesting book