The American Psychiatric Association defines exhibitionism as “recurrent intense sexually-arousing fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors involving the exposure of one’s genitals to unsuspecting strangers.” In some cases, the motivation is to arouse shock, surprise, or even elicit sexual feelings in the observer(s).
In American society there are many more venues for women to expose their bodies, including their genitals to some degree, from skin-revealing casual dresses, to bikini-clad models to the get-ups of exotic dancers and show business personalities. Yet penalties or censure are almost non-existent for such behavior. Not many people consider this behavior sexually deviant or perverted.
A recent example of this double standard regarding genital exposure was the infamous “flashing” incident involving the singer Britney Spears, who was photographed getting out of the back seat of a limousine wearing a very short skirt and no underwear. Although the exposure was brief, nothing was left to the imagination, and it was recorded indelibly for posterity by the many paparazzi in close attendance.
Many commentators noted that this was probably a premeditated act to attract attention to herself, but no one suggested that Spears derived sexual gratification from the activity. And no one suggested that the police or any other authorities be contacted, which would almost certainly have been the case if a man were involved.
It is unlikely that anyone will accuse Spears of harboring a perversion, although shock, surprise, and sexual arousal were all distinctly possible responses for the observers involved. We are then left with a conundrum: Is it true that women in our society are free to expose their bodies with relatively little chance of censure, while for men such behavior is viewed as illegal and an indication of significant sexual deviance? What do you think?
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