Frotteurism is a

paraphilic Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...

interest in rubbing, usually one's

pelvic The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton). The ...

area or erect

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...

, against a non-consenting person for

sexual pleasure Sexual stimulation is any stimulus (including bodily contact) that leads to, enhances and maintains sexual arousal, and may lead to orgasm. Although sexual arousal may arise without physical stimulation, achieving orgasm usually requires physica ...

. It may involve touching any part of the body, including the genital area. A person who practices frotteuristic acts is known as a ''frotteur''. Toucherism is

sexual arousal Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as ...

based on grabbing or rubbing one's hands against an unexpecting (and non-consenting) person. It usually involves touching breasts, buttocks or genital areas, often while quickly walking across the victim's path. Some psychologists consider toucherism a manifestation of frotteurism, while others distinguish the two. In clinical medicine, treatment of frotteuristic disorder involves

cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...

coupled with the administration of an

SSRI Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions. SSRIs increase the extracellul ...

Etymology and history

Frotteuristic acts were probably first interpreted as signs of a psychological disorder by French psychiatrist

Valentin Magnan Valentin Magnan (16 March 1835 – 27 September 1916) was a French psychiatrist active in the 19th-century. Biography Valentin Magnan was a native of Perpignan. He studied medicine in Lyon and Paris, where he was a student of Jules Baillar ...

, who described three acts of "frottage" in an 1890 study. "Frottage" derives from the French verb ''frotter'', meaning "to rub". ''Frotteur'' is a French noun literally meaning "one who rubs". It was popularized by German sexologist

Richard von Krafft-Ebing Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work ''Psychopathi ...

in his book ''

Psychopathia Sexualis ''Psychopathia Sexualis: eine Klinisch-Forensische Studie'' (''Sexual Psychopathy: A Clinical-Forensic Study'', also known as ''Psychopathia Sexualis, with Especial Reference to the Antipathetic Sexual Instinct: A Medico-forensic Study'') is an ...

'', borrowing from Magnan's French terminology. Clifford Allen later coined ''frotteurism'' in his 1969 textbook of sexual disorders. The ''

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...

'' called this sexual disorder by the name ''frottage'' until the third edition (DSM III-R), but changed to ''frotteurism'' in the fourth edition, and now uses ''frotteuristic disorder'' in the fifth edition. Nevertheless, the term ''frottage'' still remains in some law codes where it is synonymous with the term ''frotteurism''.

Symptoms and classification

The professional handbook of the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...

(APA), the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', fifth edition, lists the following diagnostic criteria for ''frotteuristic disorder''. * Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent and intense sexual arousal from touching or rubbing against a nonconsenting person, as manifested by fantasies, urges, or behaviors. * The individual has acted on these sexual urges with a nonconsenting person, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. If the individual has not acted on their interest and experiences no distress or impairment, they are considered to have a frotteuristic sexual interest, but not frotteuristic disorder. Some sexologists distinguish between frotteurism (as pelvic rubbing) and toucherism (as groping with hands), but the DSM does not.

Sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

Kurt Freund Kurt Freund (17 January 1914 – 23 October 1996) was a Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist best known for developing the penile plethysmograph (a measurement of sexual arousal in males), research studies in pedophilia, and for the "courtsh ...

described frotteurism and toucherism as

courtship disorder Courtship disorder is a theoretical construct in sexology developed by Kurt Freund in which a certain set of paraphilias are seen as specific instances of anomalous courtship instincts in humans. The specific paraphilias are biastophilia (paraphilic ...

s that occur at the tactile stage of human courtship.

Prevalence and legality

The prevalence of frotteurism is unknown. The DSM estimates that 10%–14% of men seen in clinical settings for paraphilias or

hypersexuality Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...

have frotteuristic disorder, indicating that the population prevalence is lower. However, frotteuristic acts, as opposed to frotteuristic disorder, may occur in up to 30% of men in the general population. The majority of frotteurs are male and the majority of victims are female, although female on male, female on female, and male on male frotteurs exist. This activity is often done in circumstances where the victim cannot easily respond, in a

public place A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

such as a crowded train or concert.

Marco Vassi Marco Ferdinand William Vasquez-d'Acugno Vassi (November 6, 1937 in New York City – January 14, 1989, in New York City) was an American experimental thinker and author, most noted for his erotica. He wrote fiction and nonfiction, publishing hundr ...

's story "Subway Dick" is an example of such acts in a train. Usually, such nonconsensual sexual contact is viewed as a

criminal offense In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

: a form of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

albeit often classified as a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

with minor legal penalties. Conviction may result in a sentence or psychiatric treatment. frottophilia
at SEX ED 601 Advanced Topics in Human Sexuality. Frotteurism is legal in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

if the victim is over 16.

References

{{Paraphilia Paraphilias Sexual fetishism sv:Parafili#Exempel på parafilier

Etymology and history

Symptoms and classification

Prevalence and legality

See also

References