Hybristophilia
Hybristophilia is a paraphilia involving being sexually aroused or attracted to people who have committed an outrage or a gruesome crime. In popular culture, this phenomenon is also known as "Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome".
Many high-profile criminals, particularly those who have committed atrocious crimes, receive "fan mail" in prison which is sometimes amorous or sexual, presumably as a result of this phenomenon. In some cases, admirers of these criminals have gone on to marry the object of their affections in prison.
Hybristophilia is accepted as potentially lethal, among other such paraphilias including, but not being limited to asphyxiophilia, autassassinophilia, biastophilia and chremastistophilia[1]
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[edit] Examples
The phenomenon of Charles Manson and Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold groupies are also examples of hybristophilia.[2]
One of the most infamous examples of hybristophilia is the large number of women attracted to Ted Bundy after his arrest.[3]
[edit] Examples in media
In the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Nate Haskell (also known as the Dick and Jane Killer) was a sociopathic serial killer. While in jail, he developed many devoted female fans who were dubbed "Nate's Brides".
An episode of The Good Wife was titled "Hybristophilia" and centered around the death of a woman stalking an infamous murderer.
An example in contemporary fiction may be the villain Harley Quinn from the Batman comics. She was a psychiatrist in Arkham Asylum who fell in love with the Joker and became his accomplice.
Another example is the dating website Meet-An-Inmate.com, intended to connect prison inmates with admirers on the outside.
[edit] References
- ^ Gordon, Jr., Wilbert Anthony and James E. Elias. 2005. "Potentially Lethal Modes of Sexual Expression". Paper presented at the 2005 Western Region Annual Conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.
- ^ Raymond Joseph Corsini. 1999. The Dictionary of Psychology. Psychology Press. ISBN 158391028X. p692.
- ^ Cawthorne, Nigel (2007). Serial Killers and Mass Murderers: Profiles of the World's Most Barbaric Criminals. Ulysses Press.
[edit] Further reading
- Sheila Isenberg: Women Who Love Men Who Kill, third edition, Backinprint.com 2000, ISBN 978-0595003990
- Jacquelynne Willcox-Bailey: Dream Lovers: Women Who Marry Men Behind Bars, Wakefield Press 1999, ISBN 978-1862543812
- Why are women drawn to men behind bars?, The Guardian, Monday 13 January 2003
- Women who have killer instincts, The Independent, 27 January 2005
- Liz O'Keefe: The partners of prisoners: Their reality, how they contribute to the criminal justice system and prisoner rehabilitation and how we can assist (PDF), paper presented at the Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with the Department for Correctional Services South Australia, 31 October-1 November 2000, Adelaide, Australia
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