Philias List

Unpolished work-in-progress. I need to check sources and get more information. This is just a summary of what I know at the moment.

How do people express these attractions?
Outside of doing something direct, many people “act on” their paraphilias indirectly through creative expression or roleplay. Paraphiles making art about their attractions might include warnings on their work if it is disturbing. Roleplayers might play out a fantasy that couldn't be done in reality.
In the paraphile community, opinions vary on if it is moral to have relationships or sex with underage / far younger people, animals, and dead bodies. Arguments about this are called “contact discourse.” “Restricted contact” describes a position where one believes that romantic interactions are okay, but not sexual interactions. “Complex contact” describes a more complex position, and “neutral contact” describes a neutral position. Terminology like “anti-abuse” and “pro-consent” are (in my opinion) mostly useless because both discourse sides believe that they are pro-consent and anti-abuse.

Minor Attraction
Minor attraction is the umbrella term for nepiophilia (attraction to babies and toddlers), pedophilia (prepubescent children - usually under 11), hebephilia (pubescent teens - 11-14), and maybe ephebophilia (15-19).
Not all people who are attracted to children are child molesters - and not all child molesters are attracted to children. [need to double check the sources i read on this, i only skimmed them months ago.]
I believe the term “MAP” originated from the group B4U-ACT as “MAA” (minor-attracted adult), but I need to find the source. Since then, “minor attracted” has been used many times in academic literature.
Stigma against those with minor attraction can result in them isolating themselves. They might not seek therapy or help that they could need. Many MAPs realized their minor attraction when they were minors themselves. [need to find source].
In contact discourse, the focus is on whether or not underage people can consent to sex with adults much older than them. It also may focus on large age gaps among minors, such as one between a 17-year-old and a 7-year-old. Groups like NAMBLA are pro-contact - they believe that young people can consent to sex, and that it should not be a crime to have non-coercive sex with them. On the side are those who believe that children / younger people cannot consent to sex with adults. One example is Prostasia, an group that is anti-contact for children. They state that “children can’t consent to sex with adults” and their focus is on preventing child sexual abuse.
The original MAP flag was made possibly in 2018, specifically for MAPs who do not offend (commit sexual offenses). They are known as NOMAPs (Non-Offending Minor-Attracted Person/People).

Zoophilia
Zoophilia is the attraction to animals. Commonly, zoophiles are attracted to dogs and horses. Being a zoophile is different from being in the furry fandom.
Sexual interaction between a human and animal is sometimes called bestiality. Not every zoophile is a bestialist. An anti-contact zoophile believes that bestiality is wrong. They would believe that animals cannot consent to sex and that it is harmful. A pro-contact zoophile would believe that animals can consent to sex, and that unharmful sex between humans and animals is possible.

Necrophilia
Necrophilia is the attraction to dead bodies.
Minor attraction, zoophilia, and necrophilia are known as the “big three” paraphilias in the community.

Biastophilia / Raptophilia
Biastophilia is the attraction towards non-consensual sexual acts. Autobiastophilia is the attraction to the idea of these acts happening to oneself. People with this philia might engage in CNC (consensual non-consent). An example of this is two people agreeing to roleplay a nonconsensual act but in reality having a way to get out of it. They might use a word like “red” to unabmiguously indicate that they need to stop - this is called a safeword. Like how an agreed-upon boxing match with rules and a way to tap out is different from physical assault.

Objectophilia
Objectophilia is the attraction to objects. Many prefer terms like objectum or objectsexual/romantic. Some people feel like objects have a sentience they can percieve (POSIC), and some don’t. (Not every POSIC person is an objectophile/objectum.) Some common specific object attractions include leather, rubber, latex, gloves, and boots. Many in the objectum community love their stuffed animals.

Others?
The amount of things someone could be attracted to is theoretically infinite. Some ones I thought of including were sadism & masochism and foot fetish. A lot more than I could write about here! Many are found commonly in the BDSM and kink community. Here is a big list.

Paraphiliac Disorders
Paraphiliac disorders are not the same as paraphilias. Paraphilic disorders are specific mental illnesses defined in the DSM. If someone has an abnormal sexual interest, it isn’t necessarily a disorder.