Ladies Who Voyeur (1969)

by Michael Reynolds

  Ladies Who Voyeur

  by Michael Reynolds

  IL-419

  AN IMPACT LIBRARY BOOK

  (Vintage adult paperback, 1969)

  How peeping females derive rare erotic response and fulfilment by watching sex acts performed by others

  Introduction

  This book of documented, researched case histories will delve into the warped sexual obsession of the female who is a voyeurist.

  In an effort to better understand the abnormal cravings of the female who is a Peeping Jane, let us discuss the sexual nature of the peeper in general. Much research has been done upon the male and while the female too becomes sexually stimulated when looking in secret upon sexual activities, she has escaped exposure. Our discussion will be non-sexual at first. The case histories as well as transcripts of tape recorded interviews of apprehended and compulsive female peepers will emphasize the so-called "second" sex.

  The Peeping Tom or Peeping Jane is an individual who derives sexual stimulation by secretly viewing the private parts of another person, male or female, or a number of naked persons, either in a state of sexual arousal or in a condition of ordinary nudity.

  This form of sexual behavior is also known as voyeurism, scoptophilia and mixoscopia.

  The origin of the name "Peeping Tom" or "Peeping Jane" dates back to the year 1040 A.D. At that time, according to the legend, Lady Godiva the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia in England, objected to the oppressive taxes imposed by her husband. Lady Godiva declared that unless he removed these taxes, she would ride stark naked upon a horse through the streets of Coventry.

  Lord Earl Godiva refused to remove the taxes and immediately sent notice to all his soldiers to clear the streets and roads of people who would view his naked wife.

  Thus, Lady Godiva made her famous ride in the nude, and according to legend, the streets were void of people. However, one curious tailor peeped at Lady Godiva during the ride and was struck blind by the archers accompanying the Lady. The tailor's name was Tom, hence the origin of Peeping Tom The name Peeping Jane is lost in obscurity.

  The word "voyeur" is taken from the French which means "to look upon" or "to see." A voyeur is a person who looks upon or sees the naked genitals of another person.

  Scoptophilia is a word taken from the Latin which has about the same meaning. Mixoscopia is a more direct definition since it is taken from the Greek: "mixo" means "sexual union" and "scopia" means "to look at." This sexual union of others may be intercourse, lesbianism, fellatio, cunnilingus, or anal intercourse.

  Writing in "The Sexual Offender," Benjamin Karpman differentiates between scoptophilia and voyeurism by explaining: "Scoptophilia consists of excessive interest in looking at genitals, sex acts, etc., as a sexual stimulus. Voyeurism is a socially illegal act, motivated by the desire to see the unclothed or partially unclothed sexual object."

  Joachim Flescher, M.D., in "Mental Health" points out: "Voyeurism is a synonym for scoptophilia but used most frequently when the tendency to look at others' genitals has become a perversion, that is, an exclusive pattern of sexual gratification."

  A full and more comprehensive understanding of the sexual nature of the Peeping Tom and Peeping Jane is made in "All the Sexes" by George Henry, M.D.:

  "The impulse to look at other persons for the purpose of appraising sexual qualities and propensities is a universal experience.

  "Response to this impulse is found in the desire to be admired by others in the display of the body and in the use of adornment.

  "Peeping, scoptophilia, or voyeurism is just as common as exhibitionism and is indulged in equally by both sexes.

  "Inspection is a part of all amorous engagements, but it is often regarded as immoral when it is obviously sexual, and it is illegal when it invades the privacy of others in the form of peeping.

  "Scoptophilia is really a counterpart of exhibitionism. Both tendencies are often closely associated, and both are manifestations of insecurity and narcissism. A man who places himself in a position (or a woman who does so) to view the partially clad or nude body or the genitals of a woman is often one who has been unable to satisfy himself sexually by closer contact, and would be embarrassed if he had the opportunity.

  "like exhibitionism, scoptophilia is a juvenile form of sexuality, the purpose of which is self-gratification.

  "Exhibitionism and scoptophilia obtain freest expression in nudist camps under the guise of pursuit of health through exposure of the sun.

  "An apologetic explanation is given that public nudity lessens sexual attraction. The approximation to nudism at bathing beaches and swimming pools constitutes a major attraction to those who come to display themselves and to look at others," concluded Dr. Henry.

  A complete and thorough understanding of the sexual nature of the Peeper is made by Edward Podolsky, M.D. in the "Encyclopedia of Aberrations":

  "The Peeping Tom or Jane is an individual who obtains a great deal of sexual stimulation by observing the genitalia or sexual activity. An exaggerated interest in looking as a sexual stimulus is called scoptophilia or voyeurism. The technical term for the Peeper is voyeur (to look upon) or scoptophiliac, which simply means watcher.

  "This exaggerated interest in looking at or observing is always accompanied by feelings of excitement of a sexual nature. The Peeper obtains great satisfaction by looking at the sexual organs and various forms of sexual contact from casual love making to sexual intercourse.

  "She seldom actively molests her victim; her interest is a passive one; she just loves to watch and she obtains her thrill merely by watching."

  Voyeurism also becomes specialized, according to the "Encyclopedia of Aberrations," which goes on to explain:

  "There are many varieties of voyeurism. Some Peeping Janes obtain pleasure in watching a special part of the body such as the breasts or buttocks. Some like to watch a person disrobe to a given point. Some like to watch sexual activity in some form. It is the opinion of sexologists that the eye corresponds to an erotogenic zone in voyeurism."

  The fact that visual excitement in the female is a normal instinct is explained by Richard Lewinsohn, M.D. in "A History of Sexual Customs." Dr. Lewinsohn has studied female voyeuristic cases in all parts of the world and tells us:

  "Among those who do not practice normal coitus, sexual pathology distinguishes a visual type, the so-called voyeurs, who derive their chief satisfaction from seeing naked individuals of the opposite sex and staring at their sexual organs or even watching the coitus of others.

  "It is only in extreme cases that this could be called perversion, since pleasure in the sight of the naked body is common even among normal persons. The lust of the eye is the first stage of sexual pleasure.

  "In certain cases, however, it is also the last stage, because the love action, for one reason or another, goes no further. Either accompanied by onanism (masturbation) or pollution (involuntary emission without coitus) or without them, it becomes a substitute for the normal final act.

  "Often a voyeur does not even get a sight of the living woman; he contents himself with a representation. It is thus a double substitution. This substitutive eroticism is, however, no peculiarity of the abnormal.

  "A soldier in an outlying post who pins up a photograph of a naked woman on the wall is not made a perverse voyeur thereby, any more than an impotent old man to whom seeing is the only thing left him, is necessarily a pervert."

  Dr. Lewinsohn tells of an interesting observation which he came across in Paris where "automatic machines were installed for the benefit of the poorer people who through them could view a series of photographs of a woman undressing, showing each successive motion. Other pleasures wer
e at the disposal of well to do clients. There were luxury brothels in which two daughters of the house displayed variations of intercourse between man and woman ... Tourists still more curious were taken by guides to quiet parks outside Paris, or into houses where they could get close up views of loving couples in their intimate embraces.

  "The average tourist was satisfied with what he saw on the stage. It was thought daring if dancers or chorus girls let something of their breasts be seen. The high point of exhibitionism was the can can in the Moulin Rouge or the Tabarin, in which the dancers revealed more than a little of their natural charms."

  The overwhelming compulsion for viewing the sexual organs is emphasized by Dr. William Graham Cole in "Sex and Love in the Bible":

  "The fact of the matter is that all sexual pleasure has its final goal and climax in the orgasm which is centered in the genitals. All sexual aberrations are defiant methods of stimulation-but irrespective of variety in those methods, the physiological orgasm reflex is the same!

  "This is true of deviations both in aim and in object. One may derive sexual pleasure from attention paid to parts of the body other than the genital organs and from association with persons or objects other than members of the opposite sex. But the sexual pleasure is centered in the genitals, not elsewhere. If the genitals are not involved, the pleasure is not sexual but alimentary or related to some other biological system."

  As we shall see in this volume, women have an obsessive urge to look upon the exposed privates and genitals of others, although they are more restricted by social decorum and are very discreet about their desires.

  Eustace Chesser, M.D. in "Love Without Fear," tells us:

  "Usually voyeurism is regarded solely as a man's vice. This view is entirely wrong. Many women like to witness sexual scenes or to be able to watch naked men.

  "But 'feminine modesty,' or a desire not to seem lacking in it, generally causes women to make quite certain that they are not-likely to be caught in the act!

  "Moreover, women can usually explain then-presence on such occasions. Indeed, when discovered watching men displaying themselves, women have been known (with truly feminine lack of sportsmanship!) to denounce the men for insulting them!"

  Innumerable case histories have been recorded in which women admitted to enjoying voyeurism-some women went so far as to request the male partner to expose his complete naked body; and, they ask the male to masturbate while the highly excited female peeper watched every motion. Many female peepers want lots of light during intercourse. They become sexually thrilled at watching the male during the vigorous motions of intromission and his facial expression when he ejaculates.

  Many women attend public athletic events, such as boxing, wrestling, basketball and other sports in which males are in as naked a state as is generally permitted. Although the women allege to be interested in sports, the motivating force behind their interest is to see near-naked males with almost revealed genitals, in vigorous physical movement.

  Why does a female become a peeper? V.C. Branham, M.D. in the "Encyclopedia of Criminology" offers this explanation:

  "Voyeurism is the derivation of sexual excitement and satisfaction through viewing the genitalia or the nude body of an individual. The perversion is closely linked with that of exhibitionism. The exhibitionist exposes himself to look at another individual, whereas the voyeur seeks gratification in looking at others. Usually she prefers to remain unseen and gets special delight in viewing the disrobing of persons.

  "The perverted interest shown by such individuals is really a fixation of an infantile curiosity instinct. The young child learns his relationship to other people sexually and socially by observation. He endeavors to learn the functions of his own body by observing those of the other individuals. A certain amount of peeping is required for this.

  "If such a process becomes unduly emotionalized and remains of emotional interest to the individual in his adult years, he may find himself in the position of deriving his chief satisfaction through this infantile practice."

  Among the various causes for female peeping are these:

  I. Fear of sex. The female peeper has a fear of sex which may be caused by guilt, possibility of pregnancy, the power of a male, an unnatural modesty.

  2. Fear of failure. The female peeper is afraid she will fail during the sex act. She feels she may be frigid. She has a neurotic attitude about sex. She uses peeping as an outlet.

  3. Fear of punishment. Early sexual affairs may have ended in punishment. Apprehended by parents, chastised by the authorities, taught that sex is "sinful" with the all-too-common adult warning, "Don't ever let me catch you doing such things." These remarks instill fear into a growing sexually aware girl and cause her to become sexually introverted for fear of punishment.

  4. Inhibitions. The sum total of all the causative factors, the inhibited female is one who possesses a healthy sex urge, but must repress her instincts. The inhibited girl resorts to peeping which is a solitary act, void of contact and without any of the above dangers; the only danger is that of being caught during peeping.

  Sexually speaking, the female peeper feels herself excited and stimulated when seeking the genitalia of another person. Usually she hides herself when she peeps. She may place herself in a darkened apartment, the window of which overlooks the bedroom in an adjoining building. Here, she obtains sensual thrills if she sees someone undressing, or in an intimate embrace with a person.

  During the viewing, the female peeper becomes so sexually aroused that she has to masturbate and thereby find an outlet.

  One overwhelming emotion experienced by many female peepers (if not the majority of them) is that of erotic superiority.

  As explained earlier, many female peepers are timid, inhibited introverts with feelings of sexual superiority. It is a natural feeling of dominance and superiority if she can see the nakedness of another without his knowledge or prior approval. To strip a person naked is to obtain authority. It is a well known fact that many prisoners of war, as well as criminals, were compelled to stand naked before clothed captors in an attempt to humiliate them into divulging secrets.

  The sexual parts have always been regarded as private and highly intimate. To force unwilling exposure of these parts is to ridicule and shame the person-the captors thereby derive a warped and abnormal sense of superiority.

  Therefore the female peeper gains a tremendous power when she sees the naked parts of an unsuspecting person.

  Since male genitalia is external and in complete view, they present an even greater thrill to the female peeper who may have felt that she was inferior.

  If she peeps upon the male genitalia, the testicles and the penis, which she has been taught were a man's exclusive pride and a "gift" only upon his sanction, then the female voyeur gains the advantage. She feels superior to the male because by peeping she has obtained something from him which he ordinarily would not give.

  Otto Fenichel, M.D., in his Collected Papers, tells us that, "the experience of childhood on which the voyeurs are fixated, as a rule, resemble the primal scene (watching the intercourse of their parents). The influence of fixations of such a nature is most clearly seen in those cases in which gratification is obtained only if the sexual scene which they wish to witness is subject to certain definite conditions; these conditions represent either a repetition of the childhood experiences which are the foundation of their perversion, or attempts to deny the absence of a penis in a woman."

  Males, incidentally, are generally more hesitant about revealing their private parts because of their external anatomical position. Although, manly pride causes them to deny such a shyness, we do know that the male strongly objects if he must disrobe before a female nurse.

  Rare is the male who appears for medical treatment before a female physician. He would be embarrassed by having to display an erection under such circumstances. However, females derive a thrill out of peeping at such an unexpected occurrence.
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br />   Dr. Harold Greenwald, in The Call Girl, has this to say: "A noted theatrical personality, who is a frequent client of several of the call girls, would come armed with a magazine of 'art poses' brought from the newsstand showing girls scantily clad in various positions.

  "He would request the call girls to assume these positions and dress as shown in the magazine and would autoerotically (masturbate) reach orgasm while the girls assumed such positions."

  Many prostitutes have told of customers who paid much money for the opportunity of watching a couple in a sexual act. The peeper never touched the girl, but obtained a pleasure through self-induced methods, or masturbation.

  Is peeping normal? Havelock Ellis in "Psychology of Sex" feels that, "to a certain extent this tendency is absolutely normal; and indeed, much the same might be said of most departures from 'normality.'"

  Dr. William Graham Cole also feels that voyeurism "is found partially in many normal persons without indicating neurosis. It supports all burlesque shows, striptease dancers and many modern magazines. Nor is Hollywood unaware of its presence and power. Whether the desire is pathological or normal depends upon two factors: