Necrophilia

{{sex|alt=y}}
'''Necrophilia''' (also called '''thanatophilia''' or '''getting too close to grandma''') is a [[sexual attraction]] or sexual act involving corpses ([[Death|dead bodies]]). The attraction is classified as a paraphilia<ref group=note>Previously called "sexual perversion".</ref> by the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|Diagnostic and Statistical Manual]] (DSM; not to be confused with [[BDSM]]). 
Necrophilia-based tropes have also manifested themselves in literary works, film, comic books, television, ''et cetera''.<ref>[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LiteraryNecrophilia "Literary Necrophilia"], ''TV Tropes''.</ref><ref>[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ILoveTheDead "I Love the Dead"], ''TV Tropes''.</ref>

==Classification==
A ten-tier classification of necrophilia as a mental disorder exists:<ref name="aggrawal_classification">{{cite journal |author=Aggrawal, Anil |title=[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X08002564 A new classification of necrophilia] |journal=Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=316–20 |year=2009 |pmid=19573840}} (subscription required)</ref>
# '''Role players''': People aroused from pretending their live partner is dead during sexual activity.
# '''Romantic necrophiliacs''': Bereaved people who remain attached to their dead lover's body.<ref group=note>This could be considered "weird but understandable"; people process grief at different rates and in different ways.</ref>
# '''Necrophilic fantasizers''': People who fantasize about necrophilia but never actually have sex with a corpse.
# '''Tactile necrophiliacs''': People aroused by touching or stroking a corpse without engaging in intercourse.
# '''Fetishistic necrophiliacs''': People who remove objects or body parts from a corpse for sexual purposes without engaging in intercourse.
# '''Necromutilomaniacs''': People who derive pleasure from mutilating a corpse while masturbating without engaging in intercourse.
# '''Opportunistic necrophiliacs''': People who usually have no interest in necrophilia but take the opportunity when it arises.
# '''Regular necrophiliacs''': People who preferentially have intercourse with the dead.
# '''Homicidal necrophiliacs''': People who commit [[murder]] to have sex with the dead.
# '''Exclusive necrophiliacs''': People who have an exclusive interest in sex with the dead and {{wpl|Impotence|cannot perform}} for living partners.
In the [[DSM-5]], intense sexual interest in corpses can be diagnosed under "Other Specified Paraphilic Disorder" if it causes marked distress or impairment in important areas of functioning properly as a human being.<ref name="DSM-5">{{cite book | title = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition | chapter = Other Specified Paraphilic Disorder, 302.89 (F65.89) | editor = American Psychiatric Association | year = 2013 | publisher = American Psychiatric Publishing | page = 705}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Jeffrey Dahmer HS Yearbook.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeffrey Dahmer in his high school yearbook.]]
{{cquote|For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.|||Matthew 22:30, [http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-Necrophilia/ allegedly about necrophilia].}}
The term was coined by the {{wpl|alienist|alien
ist
}} {{wpl|Joseph Guislain|Joseph Guislain,}} who first used the term ''nécrophiles'' in a lecture about mental illnesses in 1850 (in reference to the necrophile {{wpl|François Bertrand||,}} who {{wpl|Richard von Krafft-Ebing|Krafft-Ebing}} claimed was a necrophile due to feeble-mindedness and [[masturbation]]).<ref group=note>Which would make anyone on [[Wikipedia]] – or [[RationalWiki]], for that matter – a rampant necrophile.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Burg, B. R. | year = 1982 | title = The sick and the dead: The development of psychological theory on necrophilia from Krafft‐Ebing to the present | journal = Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences | volume = 18 | issue = 3 | pages = 242–254}}</ref> It derives from the Greek words ''[[wikt:νεκρός|νεκρός]]'' (''nekros''; "dead") and ''[[wikt:φιλία|φιλία]]'' (''philia''; "love"),<ref name="goodwin">{{cite book|title=Inappropriate Relationships: The Unconventional, the Disapproved, and the Forbidden|pages=174–176|author1=Robin Goodwin|author2=Duncan Cramer|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2002}}</ref> although there are more respectful and conventional ways to show love for the dead, such as mourning.

Singular accounts of necrophilia in history are sporadic, though written records suggest the practice was present within ancient [[Egypt]], which would explain the obsession with mummification. [[Herodotus]] writes in ''The Histories'' that, to discourage intercourse with a corpse, ancient Egyptians left deceased beautiful women to decay for "three or four days" before giving them to the embalmers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Herodotus (c. 440 BCE) |title=[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2707 The Histories (Book 2)] |quote=The wives of men of rank when they die are not given at once to be embalmed, nor such women as are very beautiful or of greater regard than others, but on the third or fourth day after their death (and not before) they are delivered to the embalmers. They do so about this matter in order that the embalmers may not abuse their women, for they say that one of them was taken once doing so to the corpse of a woman lately dead, and his fellow-craftsman gave information.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brill | first1 = Abraham A. | year = 1941 | title = Necrophilia | journal = Journal of Criminal Psychopathology | volume = 2 | issue = 4| pages = 433–443 }}</ref><ref name="klaf">{{cite journal | author = Klaf, Franklin S., and Brown, William | year = 1958 | title = Necrophilia: Brief Review and Case Report | journal = Psychiatric Quarterly | volume = 32 | issue = 4 | pages = 645–652 | quote = Inhibited forms of necrophilia and necrophiliac fantasies may occur more commonly then is generally realized.}}</ref> Herodotus also alluded to suggestions that Greek tyrant Periander had defiled his wife's corpse, employing a metaphor: "Periander baked his bread in a cold oven."<ref>{{cite book | author = Aggrawal, Anil | year = 2010 | title = Necrophilia: Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects | publisher = CRC Press | pages = 6–7}} The primary source is ''Histories'', Book V, 92.</ref> Acts of necrophilia are also depicted on ceramics from the {{wpl|Moche (culture)|Moche culture}}<ref>{{cite book | author = Finbow, Steve | year = 2014 | title = Grave Desire: A Cultural History of Necrophilia | publisher = John Hunt Publishing | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=rGIpBQAAQBAJ&lpg=PT4&ots=74OrhG8hA4&pg=PT39 39]}}</ref> – a common theme in these artifacts is the masturbation of a male skeleton by a living woman<ref>{{cite journal | author = Weismantel, M. | year = 2004 | title = Moche sex pots: Reproduction and temporality in ancient South America | journal = American Anthropologist | volume = 106 | issue = 3 | pages = [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/moche/moche-sex-pots.pdf 495–496]}}</ref> (wait, how would that work?). {{wpl|Hittites|Hittite}} law from the 16th century BCE to the 13th century BCE explicitly permitted sex with the dead.<ref>{{cite book | author = Boer, Roland | year = 2014 | title = Sex in Antiquity: Exploring Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World | chapter = From Horse Kissing to Beastly Emissions: Paraphilias in the Ancient Near East | editor = Masterson, Mark | publisher = Routledge | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=k1G2BQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA69&ots=DtUbHRO19Dlr&pg=PA69 69]}}</ref>

=== Contemporary ===
A modern example, {{wpl|Jeffrey Dahmer}} was a necrophiliac serial killer. To be aroused, he had to murder his victims before performing sexual intercourse with them.<ref>{{cite web|title=[http://www.criminalprofiling.com/Psychiatric-Testimony-of-Jeffrey-Dahmer_s115.html Psychiatric Testimony of Jeffrey Dahmer]|work=Court Transcripts|publisher=Criminal Profiling|date=8 June 2001|accessdate=29 November 2012}}</ref> British serial killer {{wpl|Dennis Nilsen}} is also considered to have been a necrophiliac.<ref>{{cite book | author = Masters, Brian | year = 1985 | title = Killing For Company | publisher = Arrow | isbn = 978-0099552611}}</ref>

==Prevalence==
[[File:Salvator merianae - necrophilia.jpg|thumb|A male Argentine Black and White Tegu from an urban park in south-eastern Brazil mounts a female that has been dead for two days and attempts to mate.]]
{{cquote|Time to get my shovel...|||[[Mark Twain]]{{cn|joke}} on graveyard necrophilia}}
Necrophilia has been observed in nature among many species of animals, including the brainy crows.<ref>Gardner, J. (July 19, 2018). [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/science/crows-necrophilia.html Why Are Some Crows Committing Necrophilia?] ''New York Times''. Retrieved April 2, 2019.</ref> This makes necrophilia 
perfectly fine and recommended
 a great argument against the [[appeal to nature]] fallacy. Biologists refer to it as '''Davian behavior''', a name coined by biologist Robert W. Dickerman based on a limerick:<blockquote>There was on old miser named Dave<br/>who kept a dead whore in a cave.<br/>He said “I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a shit<br/>but look at the money I save.”<ref>[https://www.improbable.com/2015/04/29/farewell-robert-w-dickerman-the-biologist-who-coined-davian-behavior/ Farewell, Robert W. Dickerman, the biologist who coined ‘Davian Behavior’], Annals of Improbable Research, 29 April 2015</ref></blockquote>Another prominent animal expert is Kees Moeliker, author of the epochal paper "The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard ''Anas platyrhynchos''" and instigator of Dead Duck Day on June 5th at Natural History Museum Rotterdam.<ref>Moeliker, C.W., 2001 – The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves: Anatidae) – DEINSEA 8: 243-247 [ISSN 0932-9308]. Published 9 November 2001</ref><ref>[https://moeliker.wordpress.com/the-duck/ The Duck], Kees Moeliker, accessed 12 Feb 2020</ref>

No official statistics for necrophilia amongst the general human population exists<ref>{{cite book | author = Milner, J. S., Dopke, C. A., & Crouch, J. L.  | date= 2008 | title = Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, 2nd edition | publisher = The Guilford Press | page = 399 | chapter = Paraphilia Not Otherwise Specified: Psychopathology and Theory | editor = Laws, D. Richard}}</ref> because, as one commenter on Google Answers said: "Sadly the victims are usually very tight-lipped on reporting these crimes."<ref>[http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=486474 "Necrophilia Statistics"], asked by hyrum-ga on Google Answers, 07 Mar 2005 18:03 PST.</ref><ref group=note>Though it could also be because [[Taboo|it's something that most people prefer ''not'' to think about]]. See also our article on [[bestiality]].</ref> Reports are skewed because cases involving [[murder]] are more likely to come to the attention of police than those involving spouses or partners who have recently passed away.

There have been notorious necrophiles throughout history,<ref>[http://topyaps.com/top-10-notorious-necrophiliacs-in-history Top 10 Notorious Necrophiliacs in History ], ''TopYaps''.</ref> and necrophiliac fantasies are often described as more prevalent than expected.<ref name="klaf">{{cite journal | author = Klaf, Franklin S., and Brown, William | year = 1958 | title = Necrophilia: Brief Review and Case Report | journal = Psychiatric Quarterly | volume = 32 | issue = 4 | pages = 645–652 | quote = Inhibited forms of necrophilia and necrophiliac fantasies may occur more commonly then is generally realized.}}</ref> However, some necrophiles only fantasize about the act without carrying it out,<ref name="rosman" /> as with [[pedophiles]] (although the reasons can be ''quite different'').

=== Why? ===
Rosman and Resnick (1989) reviewed information from 34 cases of necrophilia describing the individuals' motivations for their behaviors: these individuals reported the desire to possess a non-resisting and non-rejecting partner (68%), reunions with a romantic partner (21%), sexual attraction to corpses (15%), comfort or overcoming feelings of isolation (15%), or seeking self-esteem by expressing power over a homicide victim (12%).<ref name="rosman">{{cite journal | last1 = Rosman | first1 = J. P. | last2 = Resnick | first2 = P. J. | date = 1 June 1989 | title = Sexual attraction to corpses: A psychiatric review of necrophilia | format=PDF/HTML| journal = Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law | volume = 17 | issue = 2| pages = [http://www.jaapl.org/content/17/2/153.full.pdf+html?sid=94a1e953-67b0-44c0-95a6-75ee304d916e 153–163] | pmid = 2667656 }}</ref>

==Wingnuttery==
Some public figures of the [[wingnut]] tendency say that [[same-sex marriage]] {{---}} or [[LGBT rights]] in general {{---}} will lead the world down the [[slippery slope]] to accepting [[bestiality]] and/or [[pedophilia]],<ref>Cull, Bob. [http://crooksandliars.com/2015/01/idaho-woman-lawmakers-gay-marriage-will Idaho Woman To Lawmakers: Gay Marriage Will Lead To Legalized Necrophilia]. ''Crooks and Liars''. January 29, 2015.</ref><ref>Brinker, Luke. [http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/02/wnd-columnist-marriage-equality-rulings-will-le/194721 WND Columnist: Marriage Equality Rulings Will Lead To Pedophilia, Bestiality, Necrophilia]. ''Media Matters for America''. July 2, 2013 1:03 PM EDT.</ref><ref>[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/12/06/colombian-senator-same-sex-marriage-would-lead-to-bestiality-or-necrophilia/ Colombian senator: Same-sex marriage would lead to bestiality or necrophilia]. ''Pink News''. 6th December 2012, 4:04 PM</ref> and sometimes promoted by the [[evil Jew]]s as part of their [[international Jewish conspiracy|grand scheme]] to destroy Aryan sexual norms with [[Sexual Bolshevism]] and/or [[Cultural Marxism]], after realizing that [[Eastern Bloc|state Communism failed]].<ref>Duffy, Nick (quoting [[YouTube]] commenter). [http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/06/15/watch-little-boy-twerks-at-pride-parade-and-upsets-homophobes/ Watch: Little boy twerks at Pride parade and upsets homophobes], ''Pink News''. Accessed 15 June 2015. "[[Slippery slope|It slowly started off]] by homosexuality becoming acceptable, now it's starting to justify [[pedophilia]], and eventually will lead to accepting [[bestiality]] and necrophilia in the future. [[America]], [[Europe]], [[Australia]] and the whole world is doomed. [[Cultural Marxism]] is the best weapon [[Anti-Semitism|the Jew]] has ever used so far, after realizing [[Communism]] will not win."</ref> According to [[Louie Gohmert]], legislation to prevent [[hate crime]]s will lead to necrophilia.<ref>Lee Fang.  "[http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/10/07/63289/gohmert-hate-crime/ Rep. Louie Gohmert: Hate crimes bill will lead to Nazism, legalization of necrophilia, pedophilia, and bestiality.]"  ''ThinkProgress''.  2009 October 7.</ref>

This is especially [[ironic]] in the [[United States]], as same-sex marriage has been formally banned in many states where necrophilia isn't ''technically'' illegal<ref>Dr. Justin Lehmiller. [http://www.lehmiller.com/blog/2014/2/10/necrophilia-legal-in-more-states-than-same-sex-marriage Same-Sex Marriage Is Formally Banned In More Parts Of The U.S. Than Necrophilia]. March 17, 2014.</ref> but will probably lead to an arrest for "desecrating a corpse" or something like that.

==Notes==
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==References==
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