Consensual Somnophilia

Consensual Somnophilia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sexual arousal from an unconscious person
For "sleeping beauty syndrome," the hypersomnia disorder, see Kline-Levin syndrome .
Not to be confused with sleep sex , a parasomnia one engages in sex while asleep.

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Carey 2014, p. D7.

^ Jump up to: a b Laws 2008, p. 401.

^ Flora 2001, p. 92.

^ Jump up to: a b Corsini 2001, p. 747.

^ Jump up to: a b Money 1986, p. 270.

^ Jump up to: a b Money 1986, p. 55.

^ Money 1986, p. 92.

^ Money 1986, p. 21.

^ Nusbaum 2005, p. 154.

^ Jump up to: a b Ferguson 2010, p. 139.

^ Levine 2010, p. 407.

^ Jump up to: a b c d Ferguson 2010, p. 156.

Look up somnophilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Somnophilia (from Latin somnus "sleep" and Greek φιλία, -philia "friendship") is a paraphilia in which an individual becomes sexually aroused by someone who is unconscious . [1] [2] [3] The Dictionary of Psychology categorized somnophilia within the classification of predatory paraphilias. [4]

The term somnophilia was coined by John Money in 1986. [1] [2] He characterized the condition as a type of sexual fetishism , [1] described as a type of syndrome: "of the marauding-predatory type in which erotic arousal and facilitation or attainment of orgasm are responsive to and dependent on intruding upon" someone who is unable to respond. [1] [5] He wrote that often the condition then subsequently involves the individual waking the unresponsive sexual partner after the act has been committed. [1] [5]

According to Money, somnophilia may progress to necrophilia , the desire to have sexual relations with a dead body. [6] He characterized it as a form of "stealth and stealing paraphilias" including kleptophilia . [7] Money wrote that somnophilia has a high degree of correlation with acts of incest throughout history. [8] Abuse may follow from the condition including use of force or abduction . [6] Typically, the individual upon whom the sex act is committed by the somnophiliac is a stranger not previously known intimately to the individual. [9] The somnophiliac may create an unconscious state in the victim by drugging them, or may engage in sex with someone who is inebriated or asleep. [10] The perpetrator becomes attracted to the idea of a sexual participant who is unable to resist their advances. [10]

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classified the term in 2000 under DSM-IV TR code 302.9 and in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems under ICD-10 code F65.9. [11] The Dictionary of Psychology categorized somnophilia within the classification of predatory paraphilias. [4]

Physicians have attempted to treat somnophilia with forms of psychotherapy , as well as with medications used for pedophilia . [1] However, James Cantor , psychologist and editor-in-chief of Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment stated: "There are occasional claims for treatment, but no one has presented meaningful, compelling evidence that someone with a paraphilia can be turned into someone without a paraphilia. As far as we can tell, it’s like sexual orientation ." [1] Somnophilia rises to the level of diagnosis when it causes "significant impairment", specifically, when the individual performing the sex act does so with a partner who does not give their consent. [1]

Somnophilia has presented itself as a recurring phenomenon in popular culture , including in the French film influenced by Alfred Hitchcock movies, Who Killed Bambi? ( French : Qui a tué Bambi ? ). [12] The plot of the horror film involves a surgeon who drugs his female patients in order to rape them. [12] The assailant resorts to murder after one of the women wakes up from her unconscious state as he begins to remove her clothing. [12] The title character attempts to warn the board of directors at the hospital of the murderer's activity. [12]

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Somnophilia is a type of paraphilia; a sexual interest in uncommon objects, people, or situations. An individual with somnophilia experiences sexual arousal by someone who is unconscious. Somnophilia derives from the Latin word “somnus,” meaning sleep, and the Greek word “philia,” meaning love. It is also known as the “sleeping beauty syndrome.”
A person with somnophilia may attempt to cause an unconscious state by drugging their victim, or by taking advantage of an individual who is intoxicated or in a deep sleep. A person with somnophilia is ultimately aroused by the fact that their sexual partner is unable to oppose their advances. Symptoms of somnophilia include frequent thoughts and excessive fantasizing while thinking about or when in close proximity to those who are unconscious or unresponsive. Other symptoms of somnophilia include overt sexual desire and sexual behavior with the unconscious.
Somnophilia is diagnosed when it is deemed that there is significant impairment, usually resulting when a sexual act is performed without the consent of the other partner.
Psychologist, John Money, linked somnophilia with necrophilia, or sexual arousal or intercourse involving corpses, in the late 1900’s. Money believed that somnophilia and necrophilia were separate entities, but suggested that somnophilia had the potential of turning into necrophilia. Other theorists believe that somnophilia is a type of necrophilia in that both conditions involve sexual attraction with those who are unconscious and non-consenting.
In 1972, psychologists Dr. Calef and Dr. Weinshel published an article in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis that donned somnophilia as “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.” This article suggested that somnophilia was a “neurotic equivalent” of necrophilia. The biggest difference between somnophilia and necrophilia is that individuals who meet the diagnostic criteria for somnophilia are only interested in individuals who are still alive.
Treatment is usually unnecessary unless the behavior is deemed criminal or injurious, or if legal trouble results. Treatment options can include hypnosis, behavioral therapy and 12 step programs. Other treatment interventions can include talk therapy, cognitive therapy, orgasmic reconditioning, or group therapy. Medications are not commonly prescribed for this condition and are never the primary source of treatment. However, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or other medications may be helpful as a secondary course of treatment.
There is still a lot that is not known about somnophilia, especially due to lack of research and formalized studies. In order to fully understand the causes, risk factors, and development of somnophilia, more research is necessary.
Tracy is a Licensed Professional Counselor and is a clinical supervisor for a Community YMCA. Tracy has over 12 years of experience working in many settings including partial care hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs, community agencies, group practice, and school-based programs. Tracy works with clients of all ages, but especially enjoys working with the adolescents.

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The interest in engaging in sexual behaviour with someone who is asleep – termed ‘somnophilia’ – has long been considered a predatory interest. In fact, John Money’s (1986) original definition classified somnophilia as a marauding/predatory type of paraphilia, suggesting that the arousal depended on the reaction of the sleeping partner upon awaking during sexual activity. This has been repeatedly likened to the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, where the prince wakes up the princess with a kiss. But is this a true reflection of somnophilia?
Somnophilia has been theorised to lie along a continuum with necrophilia due to the passivity of the target individual (Pettigrew, 2017). Some have even suggested that somnophilic behaviour functions as a substitute for necrophilia as it bypasses the crimes associated with the latter (Calef & Weinshel, 1972). Deehan and Bartels (2019) recently examined this proposed link empirically. They found that, in community-based male participants, fantasising about somnophilic behaviour and necrophilic behaviour were positively correlated. This relationship provides the first empirical indication that the “Sleeping Beauty” rhetoric does not ring true for all types of somnophilia. That is, if somnophilia is a form of pseudonecrophilia, arousal cannot stem solely from the sleeping partner awakening.
In their study, Deehan and Bartels (2019) also found that a subset of people interested in sexual activity during sleep were more interested in being the passive/sleeping person – which the authors termed ‘dormaphilia’. This bears a similarity to other paraphilias that have a seemingly complementary opposite (e.g., sadism and masochism; or exhibitionism and voyeurism). Deehan and Bartels (in prep) further explored somnophilia and dormaphilia in an online sample of the general population. One of their key aims was to establish what the participants found arousing about their sleep-related fantasies and behaviours. It was found that the individuals who fantasised about dormaphilic behaviours commonly reported their fantasies being focused on themselves waking up during the sexual activity. This could be due to the limited awareness of the activity if they remained fully asleep throughout. Interestingly, individuals who fantasised about dormaphilic behaviours and who wanted to remain asleep made mention to wanting physical proof of the activity afterwards (e.g., clothing removed) and that videos were key to their arousal. This provides insight into how such individuals go about achieving (non-real time) gratification from the behaviour.
Regarding the participants who fantasised about somnophilia, Deehan and Bartels (in prep) observed an even split across the sample in terms of preferring the passive person awakening or remaining asleep. In keeping with the idea of a “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome” and Money’s original definition of somnophilia, individuals who reported being aroused by the passive person waking up, made references to seeing their partner’s surprise or pleasure upon waking. In direct contradiction to this, however, some individuals expressed frustration when their partners woke up during sexual activity, making references to the use of sleeping aids (such as sleeping pills) to help with this. Other individuals made references to finding the lack of resistance arousing, as well as being able to attempt behaviour that they would otherwise be unable to do if their partner were awake. In summary, the experiences and desires of individuals interested in somnophilia and dormaphilia support the “Sleeping Beauty” comparison in some cases and directly disprove it in others. This may suggest a typology of somnophilic interest/behaviour that is defined by the focus or source of arousal.
These recent empirical studies were conducted online using non-forensic participants recruited via social media. Thus, as perhaps excepted, participants more commonly endorsed consensual, rather than non-consensual, somnophilia (Deehan & Bartels, 2019). Here, consensual somnophilia refers to sexual activity that the ‘sleeping person’ has previously consented to while they were awake. However, categorising somnophilic behaviour in this way leads to several questions around consent. Including the fact that someone cannot consent to sexual activity whilst asleep. However, Deehan and Bartels (in prep) found that there are many couples who engaged in this behaviour. For these people, it was reported that giving prior consent to a partner required a high level of trust and mutual interest in the behaviour.
This is similar to the way that sadistic and masochistic behaviours are not appropriate without consent, mutual interest, and trust in the partnership. Without these relational factors present, somnophilic behaviour moves more into to category of offending behaviour. Indeed, Deehan and Bartels (2019) found that non-consensual somnophilic interest was associated with greater rape fantasies and rape proclivity. This is important to acknowledge because, in recent times, some individuals have used “they consented” as a legal defence when they have committed sexual offences involving sleeping or unconscious victims – as seen in the high-profile Bill Cosby case.
In conclusion, defining somnophilia as a predatory interest that is likened to ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is misleading for those who have this sexual interest and for those who work with such individuals. The definition does not consider the variety of ways the interest can behaviourally manifest, or the different underpinning motivations. For example, not all individuals interested in sleep-related sexual activity wish to be the active participant (i.e., some have a dormaphilic interest). Further, the term “Sleeping Beauty syndrome” does not encompass all aspects of somnophilia. Thus, it would be more appropriate to use “Sleeping Beauty syndrome” to specifically describe preferences where sexual arousal stems from the awakening and surprise of the passive person. This may allow for further differentiation in terms of motivation and behaviours (in both general and forensic populations). Identifying this differentiation is vital for those working with and supporting individuals with sleep-related sexual interests.
Calef, V., & Weinshel, E. M. (1972). On certain neurotic equivalents of necrophilia. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 53 , 67-75.
Deehan, E. T. & Bartels, R. M. (2019). Somnophilia: Examining its Various Forms and Associated Constructs. Sexual Abuse, 1 , 1-23. DOI: 10.1177/1079063219889060
Deehan, E. T. & Bartels, R. M. ( in prep ). A qualitative exploration of somnophilic and dormaphilic fantasies . Manuscript in preparation.
Money, J. (1986). Lovemaps: Clinical concepts of sexual/erotic health and pathology, paraphilia, and gender transposition in childhood, adolescence, and maturity. Irvington Publishers.
Pettigrew, M. (2017). Comorbid, sequential, or different desires? Exploring the relationship between somnophilia and necrophilia . Journal of Sexual Aggression, 23 , 351-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2017.1372937
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