Nearly all data concerning the sex ratio of paraphilias show a striking male predominance, suggesting that paraphilias are in some way linked to male sexual development.

In this paper we demonstrate that paraphilic elements constitute an integrative part of normal male sexual behaviour.

Two major clinical theories on the paraphilias are presented. According to Money paraphilias are generated by severe distortions of the sexual script (the so-called lovemap). Men are particularly sensitive to lovemap distortions because of a biological vulnerability and because of traumatic experiences during socialisation. The psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the specific risks of the development of the sense of masculinity and its relation to paraphilic behaviour. In contrast with these theories, some recent opinions on `female perversions' are discussed.

Finally, some psychodynamic remarks are made on the function of paraphilic inclusions in normal sexual behaviour.