Structure of the Deviant Act

1. Structure of the Deviant Act PartVII Part 7

2. Introduction • This section investigates the characteristics of deviant acts • All deviant acts consist of purposeful behavior intended to accomplish a desired end, require the coordination of participants (when more than one), and depend on individuals reacting flexibly to unexpected events that may arise • Deviant acts fall along a continuum of sophistication and organizational complexity Part 7

3. I. Types of Deviant Acts Part 7

4. A. Individual Acts • Some deviant acts may be accomplished by one individual without need for interaction with others • For example, illicit drug users, stutterers, transvestites, the depressed, the obese, and the homeless • Individual deviance overlaps with but is different from loner deviance since loners may have victims: rapists, murderers, embezzlers, obscene phone callers • Turvey’s study (Chapter 38) of sexual asphyxia illustrates such deviance Part 7

5. B. Cooperatives • Involves cooperation of at least two voluntary participants • Usually involves the transfer of illicit goods such as pornography, arms, drugs or provision of illegal services in sexual or medical realm Part 7

6. C. Conflict Acts • One or more persons force interaction on an unwilling party of one or more persons or an act initially entered into cooperatively results in one party setting the other up • In both cases the core relationship is one of hostility with one persons getting the more favorable outcome • These include kidnapping, blackmail, theft, fraud, arson, trespassing, assault • Chapter 41 deals with college rape • Chapter 42 deals with fraud victimization Part 7

7. Autoerotic Sexual Asphyxia Turvey Part VII Chapter 38 Part 7: Ch. 38

8. Autosexuality or autoeroticism may be defined as masturbation and other forms of self-gratification • Autoerotic fatality may be defined as any death that occurs as a result of autosexual behavior • Yet every autoerotic death is unique due to highly personalized scripts and failure to appreciate this fact will lead to failure of forensic pathologist to recognize autoerotic fatalities Part 7: Ch. 38

9. A. Why? • As with all sexual behavior the appeal of autoerotic behavior is sexual pleasure • Some forms of autoerotic behavior are also dangerous, for example, autoerotic asphyxia • Autoerotic asphyxia has two sources of pleasure: physical and psychological Part 7: Ch. 38

10. A. Why? • The physical arises from reduction of oxygen to the brain, hypoxia, producing a euphoric and semi-hallucinogenic state of pleasure sufficient enough on its own • Psychological source is more personal and this makes generalization more difficult but pleasure is best understood as residing in the fantasy Part 7: Ch. 38

11. A. Why? • Typical autoerotic asphyxia fantasies seem to be fueled by masochistic/cordophilic aspects of the behavior which can be highly pleasurable without hypoxia as is the case for most bondage and masochism • What can be seen and understood of the fantasy by the pathologist is the object required to fulfill it which varies in each individual case: pornography, women’s undergarments, even a John Deere tractor! Part 7: Ch. 38

12. B. Myths • Many common myths about autoerotic fatalities due to social fear & social ignorance • Parents or loved ones may alter the victim scene to mislead investigators to avoid embarrassment & to protect victim’s dignity after death • Some investigators may have moral objections or fail to recognize the act for what it is • Persons who die while engaging in autoeroticism are not guilty of a crime in almost all states Part 7: Ch. 38

13. C. Myth #1 - Age • One myth is that autoerotic deaths are the result of teenage boys in puberty experimenting with sexual self-discovery in acts that go wrong such as accidental hangings Part 7: Ch. 38

14. C. Myth #1 - Age • The largest study of autoerotic deaths (Hazelwood et al, N = 132) found male deaths to be distributed across the age spectrum: • 37 were teens, 42 between ages 20-29, and 28 between ages 30-39. • Only three African Americans and one Hispanic were in this population, but not as teens; all were males • Example: 47-year-old dentist who was found on his office floor with an anesthesia mask over his face and his pants unzipped: educated and mature but still a victim of his own autoerotic pursuit Part 7: Ch. 38

15. D. Myth #2 - Gender • “Autoerotic fatalities occur only in men” • This view is rooted in a patriarchal, sexist view of women as persons who do not seek sexual pleasure for themselves • While male autoerotic deaths tend to outnumber those of females, they do exist • The possibility must be recognized since women like men do enjoy autoerotic activities such as masturbation Part 7: Ch. 38

16. E. Myth #3 - Nudity • “Nudity, or partial nudity, is always a feature in autoerotic deaths” • While often the case, nudity is not a necessary feature of autoerotic deaths • There are many documented cases of autoerotic fatalities that do not have a feature of nudity Part 7: Ch. 38

17. F. Myth #4 - Transvestitism • “Most autoerotic deaths are characterized by transvestitism” • Transvestitism refers to recurrent and persistent cross-dressing by a heterosexual male for no reason other than sexual excitement for the cross-dressing behavior Part 7: Ch. 38

18. F. Myth #4 - Transvestitism • The best data does not support the claim that most autoerotic deaths involve transvestitism • Hazelwood et al report that while 20% of their sample was cross-dressed at death, most of this was not transvestitism but instead use of female articles for masochistic value • They estimate in fact that only about 3.9% of the sample were actual transvestites Part 7: Ch. 38

19. G. Object Criteria for Autoerotic Fatality • Evidence of a physiological mechanism for obtaining or enhancing sexual arousal that provides a self-rescue mechanism or that allows victim to voluntarily discontinue • Reasonable expectation of privacy • Evidence of solo sexual activity Part 7: Ch. 38

20. G. Object Criteria for Autoerotic Fatality • Evidence of sexual fantasy aids • Evidence of solo sexual activity • Evidence of sexual fantasy aids • Evidence of dangerous autoerotic practice • No apparent suicidal intent Part 7: Ch. 38

21. H. Manner of Death • Determining the manner of death explains how the cause of death came about • Natural, homicide, suicide, accident or undetermined • Determining how a person died can be problematic for the medical examiner and is an opinion based upon the known facts of the situation Part 7: Ch. 38

22. H. Manner of Death • Autoerotic fatalities are by definition accidental deaths and not suicides • Yet there is some misunderstanding on this point by some who consider autoerotic death as a suicide, since it was a voluntary act • However, the victim’s death is an unintentional accident in the pursuit of sexual pleasure and not an act of suicide by any acceptable legal definition of the term Part 7: Ch. 38

23. Review Questions • What are some of the myths of autoerotic asphyxia in the context of age & gender? • Why do individuals engage in this deviant behavior? Part 7: Ch. 38

24. Trading Sex for Crack: Gender & PowerDraus & Carlson Part VII Chapter 39

25. “Crack” or “rock” cocaine drug-use trend had broad impact on American society in the late 20th-century • Originally in coastal urban areas like NYC, LA & Miami and by late 1980s, throughout the US • Most destructive effects within poor urban communities • Some disturbing trends related to sexual violence (rape, physical attacks on women by men) Part 7: Ch. 39

26. The focus of this piece is the interrelationship of: • crack cocaine use • sexual behavior • social context through an examination of beliefs & experiences surrounding sexual behavior • Among recent crack cocaine users living in small towns in central Ohio Part 7: Ch. 39

27. I. The Study Part 7: Ch. 39

28. A. Setting & Method • Ethnographic research spanning three years in conjunction with a five-year epidemiological study • In-depth qualitative interviews & focus groups conducted with 97 individuals (N = 97) • Most participants were active & former drug users, with some as family members or counselors • Ages 18 and over • Participants compensated $20 each Part 7: Ch. 39

29. II. Crack & Sex: Drug Effects & Gender Part 7: Ch. 39

30. A. Crack & Sex • Myth dispelled that use of crack cocaine causes people to become more sexually active, sometimes the opposite occurs • A few participants admitted to formal prostitution • Others made reference of “tricking” or turning tricks for crack • “Hooking up” is the informal practice of exchanging sex for crack • Men view “sex-for-crack” in matter of fact way Part 7: Ch. 39

31. III. Crack-Sex Negotiations Part 7: Ch. 39

32. A. Bargaining • Crack-sex exchanges generally entail intense bargaining & implicit or explicit coercion; • Sometimes threats of physical violence • Sometimes women try to get out of performing sexually even though they are provided with crack • Most often, this doesn’t work Part 7: Ch. 39

33. IV. Sex-Crack & Violence Part 7: Ch. 39

34. A. Sex & Violence • Crack-related sexual encounters often involve threats or actual violence • Some women reported being attacked • Appears that men have a hard time taking “no” for an answer • The gender domination is present in most sex-for-crack exchanges • Sometimes women are kidnapped & raped Part 7: Ch. 39

35. V. Dope Boys & Sugar Daddies Part 7: Ch. 39

36. A. Dope Boys • Crack dealers or “dope boys” are in a powerful position to demand sex, especially when women don’t have the money to purchase crack Part 7: Ch. 39

37. B. Sugar Daddies • These men provided women with money they then used to buy crack • Generally, sugar daddies were older men, usually white Part 7: Ch. 39

38. VI. Lure of Sex, Lure of the Drug Part 7: Ch. 39

39. A. Lure of Sex • An informant states that when men get high (on crack) they want sex, when women get high, they don’t • Sometimes women were able to skillfully exert their own power by manipulating men • The woman might tell a man I’ll “do it” for a few minutes, but if you don’t get off by then, I’m quitting Part 7: Ch. 39

40. B. Lure of the Drug • Power over women is most certainly part of the drug’s appeal, especially among those who sell it Part 7: Ch. 39

41. VII. The Game Turns on You Part 7: Ch. 39

42. A. Power Dynamics • Sex-for-crack exchanges, especially for dealers, is more about power than sexual attraction • For others, especially men who smoke crack with women, they “always want something” • This can be used by women to limit her involvement (sexually) with men – maximizing her return • Sometimes men were “getting used” and women, like men, attempt to get the most out of the exchange Part 7: Ch. 39

43. Review Questions • What do the findings of this study imply in the context of gender & power as it relates to crack cocaine use? • Which gender gets the short end of the stick, if you will? Part 7: Ch. 39