I have helped many clients who engaged in exhibitionism and it is a somewhat common disorder in caseloads such as mine. I help persons with exhibitionism see what is real, and what is their disorder talking, and what specific things they can change to increase their safety from this very risky and self destructive behavior. Below is some explanation of what exhibitionism is, and how otherwise rational , and functional, persons chose to act this irrational behavior out. Exhibitionism is the act of exposing ones breasts or genitals to an unwilling person for your sexual satisfaction. In legal language the act of exhibitionism may be called indecent exposure, or exposing one’s person. The latest version of exhibitionism, done electronically via text and messenger services, seems by far the most popular at this time. It is a form of exhibitionism often seen in workplace and schooling based offenses. Like in person, an exhibitionistic person can expose themselves to one person or literally thousands.

This unusual behavior is created by a disorder, one that affects the clients thinking in sometimes dramatic ways, and can be diagnosed as “exhibitionistic disorder”. Persons with this disorder do not see their victims negative and distressing experience, or their own legal jeopardy, for anything close to what those actually are. Exhibitionists have such disordered view of reality that they sometimes are thinking their victim may want to have sexual intercourse with them, the exibitionist may feel the victim is so unaffected by the act done to them the victim may likely not report it, the exibitionist may think the victim will become enthusiastic and reciprocate in a display of genitals, the exhibitionistic person may think the victim will simply enjoy the show, or that the victim may be impressed by their genitals.

Sometimes exhibitionistic specific porn plays a role in the exhibitionistic person having a very distorted opinion of what will happen after they expose themselves to a victim. In exhibitionistic pornography things happen that do not happen in reality. In exhibitionistic pornography victimes do no mind this behavior, or even are sexually aroused by a person doing this to them. Watching this material with these impossible responses by victims of exhibitionists makes the exhibitionist persons thinking much more distorted and makes the exhibitionistic person more likely to act out. Obviously the exhibitionist will be in a legally dangerous position doing this to an unwilling victim, what may be less obvious is the exhibitionist can be in a physically dangerous position engaging in these behaviors. This writer has had clients who were physically assaulted following their behavior. The disorder creates extreme focus on the victim, on the part of the exhibitionist, to the degree the exhibitionist may not see clearly visible nearby men, who will then apply vigilantism to the exhibitionist.