Katoptronophilia
Encyclopedia
Katoptronophilia is a paraphilia
for mirror
s (the Greek
word for mirror is katoptron). It may include activities such as having sex
in front of mirrors, masturbating in front of mirrors, enacting other paraphilias in front of a mirror, having an orgy
in front of a mirror, or enacting stripping fetishism in front of mirrors.
Enacting katoptronophiliac fantasies may involve constructing environments for erotic activity in which one is completely surrounded by mirrors, sometimes including even on the ceiling. A person who is a katoptronophiliac may put mirrors all over their house so they can have sex in any room in the house.
Many pornographic films show porn stars
having sex in front of mirrors.
Many people enjoy having sex in front of mirrors and have mirrors in their bedrooms in which they can watch themselves have sex. They sometimes engage in this activity for their personal enjoyment. On a deeper level this could relate to the person's need to reflect and critique themselves, and also being on a mental state of narcissism
. The person often is solely absorbed in themselves and likes to watch their actions so as to admire.
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
for mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
s (the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word for mirror is katoptron). It may include activities such as having sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
in front of mirrors, masturbating in front of mirrors, enacting other paraphilias in front of a mirror, having an orgy
Group sex
Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Group sex can occur amongst people of all sexual orientations and genders...
in front of a mirror, or enacting stripping fetishism in front of mirrors.
Enacting katoptronophiliac fantasies may involve constructing environments for erotic activity in which one is completely surrounded by mirrors, sometimes including even on the ceiling. A person who is a katoptronophiliac may put mirrors all over their house so they can have sex in any room in the house.
Many pornographic films show porn stars
Porn Stars
Porn Stars is the second studio album by the band Pretty Boy Floyd. It features re-recordings of five tracks from their debut album Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz, a re-recording of one track from Tonight Belongs To The Young, and a re-recording of one track from their EP A Tale of Sex, Designer...
having sex in front of mirrors.
Many people enjoy having sex in front of mirrors and have mirrors in their bedrooms in which they can watch themselves have sex. They sometimes engage in this activity for their personal enjoyment. On a deeper level this could relate to the person's need to reflect and critique themselves, and also being on a mental state of narcissism
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
. The person often is solely absorbed in themselves and likes to watch their actions so as to admire.
Katoptronophilia in popular culture
MusicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
- RnBRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer Ne Yo included a song on his debut album In My Own WordsIn My Own Words- Chart positions :- External links :* at Discogs* at Metacritic* at The Washington Post...
entitled "Mirror", describing the fetish.
- In the film, The Dreamers, from Bernardo Bertolucci, there is a scene in which one of the main characters practices the fetish.
- The film American Psycho (film)American Psycho (film)American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...
also contains a scene in which the protagonist, Patrick BatemanPatrick BatemanPatrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
admires himself in the mirror whilst having intercourse with two escort girls, one of whom tries to get his attention shortly afterwards, apparently unsuccessfully, implying Bateman's fixation on his own image.
Further reading
- Pendergast, Mark Mirror, Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection New York:2003 Basic Books Perseus Book Group ISBN 978-0-465-05470-1