Necrophilia. To put it bluntly, it’s sexual attraction to corpses. Most necrophiles (those who are subjected to necrophilia) are funeral workers or even professionals in the medical field. Close proximity to the corpses might have done the trick, snapped whatever usual sexual attraction yarn people have and left their hormones in constant war against what humanity has deemed moral or immoral. Rosman and Resnick concluded that necrophiles’ prime motivation is to experience control over unresisting bodies. Most people’s reaction would be “WTF”. If you dig the internet deep enough and uncover pieces of information about our little friends, it’s almost impossible not to ask, “Is the society questioning the morality of necrophiles’ actions? Is that really the first thought that runs on their brains?”or “Do people’s imaginative minds just can’t take the how-do-they-have-sex-with-the-dead part? Are they the type of people who can’t accept the things they don’t think are following the usual?”
Human beings are terrified beings. We are afraid of change after being comfortable in the life that was first offered. We are big failures when it comes to thinking beyond the norm but very successful indeed in sticking to what the society thinks is alright. Society dictates. But what is a society? It’s nothing but a group of people pretending to stick to an opinion foolishly believing that the rest of the group is united with that same idea. It’s nothing but a group of cowards who are frightened of what the rest will say if they believe otherwise.
Extracurricular activities of necrophiles are often kept secret (well, who can blame them?), but of course, in every population, a unique specie will always stand out and dare the others laugh! A certain Karen Greenlee stole the spotlight a couple of years ago when she made it to the national headlines after driving a hearse off course, and having a date with the corpse for a few days. Like most necrophiles, she suffered while keeping her desires secret in fear of condemnation. She poured all her emotions in a letter addressed to no one because of both fear and shame. After her four-and-a-half pages of confession letter was found out, she accepted herself, tried to get on with life despite rejection, and sat down with a couple of reporters for a little chat. “I'm miserable when I try to be something I'm not,” said Karen. We do not need researchers or psychiatrists to confirm that.
After sharing this story to a number of friends, most blurted out all sorts of shit about her. However, few of them chose to be open-minded, and viewed Karen in a different light. Karen was brave enough to admit and accept what her heart and body desire the most (an impossible peak for most of us) and obviously, had enough guts to shout that mere earthlings shouldn’t give a damn.
Another case of necrophilia was shared by Katherine Ramsland in her article, entitled “A Macabre Love Story”. It featured a radiologist who fell in love with his patient. Most unfortunately, the woman died without having the chance to respond to his feelings. He then illegally removed the woman’s body from its resting place and kept it home. The body was decomposing so he tried all means possible to preserve it, using piano wires to attach bones together and replacing her eyes with glass. The title of the article is very inconsistent with what the story is obviously trying to say – obsession! Obsession can lead to necrophilia, another fact thrown to all of them. The wrongdoing of one of the necrophiles leads to society’s outright dismissal of the rest. Is it fair?
Aside from obsession, necrophiles are usually feared because some of them kill for the purpose of acquiring a corpse. Those are the minority. However, society tends to blame a whole group for an individual’s wrongdoing. What group didn’t have a black sheep?
Questions of morality have been raised by different people. Those who are into having sex with a corpse are termed as immoral. I find it hard to define morality because of difference in belief, culture and religion. Through these differences, morality’s definition may vary depending upon the individual. For others, morality is when you do something good. For me, morality is simply when you do not do something bad. If you are not a serious threat to other people, then you are moral.
However, it must be noted that the society’s take on morality changes. Even though the change is gradual, members of a community are always bound to realize something off about their beliefs. During the Victorian Era of England, it was inappropriate for a lady to dress above her ankle. Today, women wear the shortest of skirts but only a few go out of their way to insult them. The opinion of people that women are immoral depending on their choice of clothes is long gone.
Point is morality relies on what the society thinks as a whole, failing to grasp an individual’s opinion, therefore realizing too late that what they believed in before was absurd. Skirts above the ankle were proven to be harmless. While people are still busy debating on the morality of necrophilia, New Zealand and United Kingdom are among the countries that decided too early to push their beliefs onto their citizens and punish necrophiles.
On the arguments raised about disrespecting the bodies, it is reasonable for the family to be furious. The corpse reminds them of their grief. However, let’s take into account that what the family loved are the memories, personality and soul of the deceased.
The necrophiles, whether they like it or not, are necrophiles. Their habits must have been rooted from some personal issues. I view necrophilia as kleptomania. It cannot be suppressed. It cannot be covered up. It’s part of the person. Things that are not socially accepted are not necessarily immoral. If being who you are is immoral, then I don’t know what else to say.
"Every man to own taste. Mine is for corpses." Henri Blot, a necrophile.
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