By Andrew Toth
Andrew Toth is also the author of “The Exhibitionist”, an award winning and comprehensive book that examines all aspects of modern day exhibitionism – from the law, to court procedure, to the different therapies available, to the psychology of the act and also to the different methodologies used by exhibitionists. To read more about The Exhibitionist Book Webiste, please click here. You can get a free interview with the author of the book - No Holds Barred Interview - With the Author of "The Exhibitionist"
Also, see the Video Section for the Exhibitionist Book
Indecent exposure is the most common of all sex crimes, totaling over one third of all such exposure offences (some reports put the figure closer to two thirds) yet no one seems to know what to do about the problem. Therapists do not understand it and have little success in treating it. The courts, although they will convict offenders, show some reluctance in doing so, preferring instead to send them for treatment. And the majority of victims consider the offence a minor one, certainly not jailable.
The problem is compounded by the difficulty in defining the behaviour.
Mere exposure of the genitals, for instance, does not define the act. The exposure has to be done in such a way that it “offends”, and then, and only then, do you have a sex “offence”.
Broadly speaking there are two kinds of exhibitionism. The first is the open variety such as that which occurs at nudist beaches. The rules are clear: nudity is expected, almost boring. There are no unpleasant surprises and no one is going to be offended when they see a nude person.
The second kind of exhibitionism, and the one we are concerned with here, is the clandestine kind. The exhibitionist emerges from the shadows, as it were, does his deed and disappears. The woman (it is usually a woman) is caught unawares and she will react.
That reaction is what the flasher seeks.
But let's start at the beginning…
As far as we know, the first documented account of the indecent exposure exhibitionist offence occurred in 1870. A man called Domenego was sentenced to six months imprisonment, followed by ten years of exile for repeatedly exposing himself to women during Mass. But heavy sentences did little to stem the tide, and exhibitionism is now the most common of all sexual offences. Between 1950 and 1970, for example, there were never less than 2,000 convictions a year in England and Wales alone. And this number represents only a fraction of the total because many, probably most, incidents are not reported.
Of note in our little story is that this particular rascal did not conform to myth and wear an overcoat. It was a leisurely park, the sun was shining and, wearing a big coat would have attracted unwanted attention, which paradoxically is what the exhibitionist does not want - until that right moment when he can stand out, as it were.
So how do they do it, if they don't use coats?
Enter the modern motor car, an absolute favourite among exhibitionists.
Cars make exposing an easy trip. A flasher can drive around in public, unclothed, or partly unclothed, until he spots a target, a female driver, and pulls up beside her. And this has to be done just right. Not only must he pull up on the driver's side, so the woman can look straight into his car, but he must choose his target carefully.
While any car with a woman in it will do, it is preferable to find a 4-wheel drive, or some similar car, that sits high off the ground, so the occupant can look down and into the exhibitionist's car with ease.
Buses are perfect, especially tourist buses. They are high up off the ground and the occupants do not have to concentrate on driving or the traffic, so they can look around and note anything out of the ordinary. And as a bonus for the exhibitionist, there may be not just one, but numerous femmes, all of them peering into his car.
At this point procedures will vary. Some exhibitionists will start to masturbate, some will not – a mere exposure being sufficient.
So cars are a great way to expose, but unfortunately they are risky; the number plate is there, for anyone to see. And report. But these sorts of incidents are rarely reported.
One fellow in fact wrote to the Playboy Advisor detailing his habit of pulling up beside women drivers and masturbating. The Playboy Advisor warned him of the risk he was taking, but interestingly, the fellow had been doing it for years and no one had reported him.
And the reason is obvious. A woman, flashed at while sitting in her own car, feels safe and is unlikely to feel threatened. Indeed the most common reaction in these instances is laughter or amusement.
But that is not the only way that tool (the car, I mean) is used.
The flasher may spot a woman walking along a footpath. He may then pull up beside her and ask for directions to some place or another. The woman will then lean into the car to give directions and be greeted with a sight she hadn't quite expected. This sort of exposure however is risky. Women in these instances can, and often do, feel threatened and in many cases do report the incident.
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Exhibitionists are nothing if not a creative and will use any and every means to advertise their wares. Highways are apparently a good place to erect an advertisement, if Spencer Schlosnagle's upstanding example is anything to go by.
Schlosnagle was the mayor of Friendsville, Maryland (USA) and he was convicted of "waving his willie" in a parking lot on New Year's Eve 1992 and at motorists on I-68 in 1993. Crass though this method may be, one can nevertheless gain hundreds of exposures in a very short period of time, and with minimal effort. It is easy to imagine the many waves and gestures that Schlosnagle would have received and no one would have had any cause to be frightened. It was good clean fun all around - as long as the next car wasn't a police vehicle. If, however, the police officer was a female, well then, all was not lost....
Incidentally, at the time of the report, Schlosnagle faced charges for an encore performance in May 1994, but despite this, the citizens of Friendsville re-elected him to a fifth term as mayor by almost two to one. And for good reason. As mayor, Schlosnagle had masterminded a new development plan, hustled $1.2 million in grants to spruce up the sewage plant and built a park for the town. Not bad, huh? One can only wonder what would happen if some of the other politicians wagged their penises instead of their tongues on occasion.
But this does bring up an important fact. Exhibitionists are often portrayed as degenerates and deviants. But the facts (and Schlosnagle's upstanding example) tell a different story. Exhibitionists are above average in intelligence, approximately two thirds are married, many of them with children; and they work, with the majority of them having good work records. In other words, apart from flashing, they are just like other normal men.
And they are imaginative, which can lead to some tantalizing situations. One venue that is only now being explored is the internet café. The exhibitionist will enter the café and sit himself down between two young and beautiful university students, who are intent on studying business and accounting principles. The exhibitionist however is not too interested in business and accounting and will instead bring up some pictures of himself on the screen, either fully exposed, or masturbating. There is every chance that at least one of the two girls will be, shall we say, distracted from the latest business administration theory that she is studying.
And of course the flasher makes sure that he is recognizable in some way as the person on the screen. Once again, there is no cause for alarm. The girls are in a safe place and their only complaint might be loss of study time.
Question: is this legal or illegal? The exhibitionist has not actually exposed his own person. All he has done is brought up some adult images on the screen, and that is not illegal. Or is it?
While exhibitionism is evolving with the times and making full use of the latest in technology, nevertheless some of the old stand-bys are still hard to beat, so to speak.
Take public lavatories, for instance. They are perfect, and often used. By standing in the doorway, the exhibitionist can target just the one female he wants to expose to, while staying out of sight of everyone else. Once he has completed his performance, he can duck back inside to safety, although the feeling of safety is often illusory.
He can also, if matters take a turn for the worse, claim that it was an accident. "I was just doing up my fly, officer."
An exit strategy is admirable, despite the fact that neither the officer, nor the court, is likely to be convinced.
But there are many variations on the public lavatory theme. Some toilets are unisex, and the obvious possibilities for exhibitionists need not be elaborated on here.
These days, too, women have no hesitation in entering a men's restroom if their own is full. (Isn't sexual emancipation a wonderful thing?) And that of course is good news for the exhibitionist – although there is no way to know in advance when a femme will wander in, and he may be waiting at the urinal for a very long time! It's a hard job…
The home, too, is much used by exhibitionists. It perhaps vies with the car in popularity. In the home, the exhibitionist feels safe. It is his castle, his impregnable fortress and it is also a dangerous place to expose from. People know your address and there is nowhere to hide.
But alas, that does not deter exhibitionists. Although their IQs are above average, caution is not one of their fortes. And when the urge announces itself, caution and reason, as well as their clothing, are often thrown to the wind.
People often come to the door, to sell something, or ask for a donation or just because of a wrong address and for all sorts of other reasons. Answering the door sans clothes can add some spice to the day. Pizza deliverers could probably write a book on some of the sights they have witnessed.
Another home-grown technique: the flasher may hire a cleaner, or a maid, or someone to do some work around the house, and he makes sure that he lets them know in advance that his is a clothing-optional house. Most people are OK with that. And if they have been forewarned, then there will be no cause for alarm and no need to report anything.
Windows however can be risky. Not always, but some of the time. The trick is to make it look accidental, as if you're not aware that the blind is up. Passers-by may then feel guilty for peering into your home.
However if the exposure is too blatant, or if the same passer-by gets flashed numerous times, then the game is up and a report to the police may follow. The operative word here is “may”. Most incidents of exhibitionism are tolerated and not reported but, unfortunately for the exhibitionist, he cannot know in advance who will report him and who will not.
*
I've deliberately made the discussion of exhibitionist techniques sound light-hearted and fun, because for the most part they are. With rare exception no one gets offended. However, there is a dark side to exhibitionism. Some exhibitionists will expose in situations where a woman may get alarmed.
A secluded street, or park come to mind. He may for example pick a vantage point where he can view a person entering a path, or a park, and then position himself so that she rounds a corner just as he is taking a pee. He may apologise, saying that he didn't know there was anyone else there, or he couldn't wait, or something to that effect.
But this changes the dynamics. Women who are exposed to in secluded places, may feel threatened. Not all of them feel that way, but some certainly do, and this is the sort of activity that brings down the heavy hand of the law.
Please understand that most exhibitionists take great care to expose themselves in ways that are non-threatening, for the simple reason that they seek a favourable reaction from the women; however some do cross the line.
The purpose of this article is not to condemn or exonerate either one. I am simply portraying the situation as it is. Readers, I'm sure, will be able to form their own opinions.
*
So what is exhibitionism?
A good question and one that still confuses researchers. Here are some definitions that have been bandied about…
In short, none of these definitions is entirely incorrect (apart from the legal one) however none of them really define the act. As far as I'm aware, the best definition is my own:
Exhibitionism is a predetermined act whereby the exhibitionist singles out a person (predominantly female) or a group of people, and sets up a situation whereby he exposes himself to them, and only to them, in order to elicit a reaction.
Unlike the other definitions, this shows that exhibitionism is a complex form of behaviour, and not just a matter of dropping your pants to show your penis in public.
Ismond Rosen, editor of Sexual Deviation, says this: "The phenomenology of the exhibitionistic act is a complex and fascinating one, the full understanding of which would give the clue to many processes hitherto unexplained."
The complexity of this apparently simple act was well illustrated to me when I visited a nudist beach in Sydney one Sunday afternoon. I sat atop a rock, gazed out at the wall-to-wall genitalia and I knew it wasn't exhibitionism. About an hour later I saw a male, beef bayonet erect, strutting his stuff along the water's edge. That wasn't exhibitionism, either.
A short while later I noticed a young man, in his late twenties, I'd guess, casting furtive glances in the direction of two females sitting nearby. I recognised the signals immediately and looked more closely. He was sitting side-on to the girls, knees drawn up close to his chest so that his penis was hidden between his chest and his thighs, but visible to the girls. As I happened to be sitting quite close by, I caught a partial view of his sizable erection; the girls, mid-twenties I'd say, were getting the full view; they started to giggle.
That's exhibitionism!
That illustrates system. Although exhibitionists vary in their methods of approach, they usually work some sort of system that involves singling out a female, or a group of females, then maneuvering themselves into position and then, when the target is "set up", the exposure follows, but only to the targeted person, or group. Clearly, the act requires some planning and preparation.
I've given you one example of the complexity of this act. Here is another example:
Philip Snaith, a therapist, tells of a male who had a frequent urge to expose. To do so he would dress up as a woman and then expose himself to passers-by and neighbours. He was, says Snaith, not a transvestite in other circumstances and indeed had a satisfactory sexual relationship with his fiancee.
Complex enough for you?
Of course most exhibitionists do not go to such extremes, but they do have their favourite methods, which they act out again and again. Ritualistically.
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Not only is the act a complex one, but the reaction to it, by the public, is likewise. Normal reaction to a crime is very straightforward. For example, people react with anger and condemnation to crimes such as rape, murder, mugging, robbery and so on. Not so for the “crime” of exhibitionism. Reaction from the public is far more complex and will range from laughter and amusement to indifference to anger, to being offended and so on.
The reaction intensity, in cases of exhibitionism, also varies… from zero to mild to strong, but rarely intense, as is often the case for other crimes.
I don't have the space here to go into it any further (read “The Exhibitionist” for more detail) but I will say in the passing that although both the act and the react-ion are complex, the law's response to exhibitionism is a simplistic one: to wit, they simply want to sweep the whole thing under the carpet by either jailing the offenders, or sending them for treatment. “Treatment” is usually an attempt to make them conform.
While this has its merits in helping to maintain a certain behavioural structure to society, it does however tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater, and I can only remind the readers of Ismond Rosen's words: The phenomenology of the exhibitionistic act is a complex and fascinating one, the full understanding of which would give the clue to many processes hitherto unexplained. In other words, it is possible that society may be best served by understanding exhibitionism, rather than by trying to bury it.
These are not just hollow sentiments on my part. The phenomenology of exhibitionism poses some very interesting questions:
Why, for example, do many exhibitionists take few, if any, precautions against capture? They'll do it from their cars, from their homes, they'll do it at the same time, same place, regularly, thus making capture extraordinarily easy. One report tells of an exhibitionist who exposed himself outside a police station, thereby thoughtfully saving police the time and trouble of picking him up at his home.
Conventional wisdom explains this rather simplistically by saying that the exhibitionist knows he is doing wrong and subconsciously wants to be caught. There may be some truth to that, but it doesn't really explain the exhibitionist's almost child-like willingness to walk to the gallows. Other criminals, robbers, extortionists, murderers and the like, who one would presume also know they are doing wrong, take every precaution possible to avoid capture. But not the exhibitionist. And one wonders why.
But apparent disregard of capture is not the only puzzling feature of exhibitionism. Researchers have also noted that many exhibitionists do not obtain genital gratification by exposing themselves. Nor does it appear that the display is used to initiate social or sexual contact. Indeed, if the woman responded with a sexual overture of her own, the exhibitionist would run away. Confusing indeed. Exhibitionism appears to be a sex offence without the sex.
Another question unanswered.
And there are many other such questions, which I explore thoroughly in the book, The Exhibitionist.
So there it is ... exhibitionism, a strange phenomenon. There can be no doubting that it is objectionable to some but, as Fritz Ruter, a criminologist at the University of Amsterdam, says, "We don't solve a problem by making it taboo and pushing it underground." He was talking of drugs; he might just as well have been talking about exhibitionism.
Andrew Toth wrote the article above. He is also the author of “The Exhibitionist”, an award winning and comprehensive book that examines all aspects of modern day exhibitionism – from the law, to court procedure, to the different therapies available, to the psychology of the act and also to the different methodologies used by exhibitionists. To read more about The Exhibitionist Book Webiste, please click here.
You can get a free interview with the author of the book - No Holds Barred Interview - With the Author of "The Exhibitionist"
Also, see the Video Section for the Exhibitionist Book
Thoughts on Legal and Healthy Exhibitionism
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