Deviant Desire

Ever wished you were different from the rest? The ability to "stand out" from the crowd with some unique characteristic that would differentiate you from the normal, average person who walks on the street and no one would give a second glance nor turn their heads to look after passing by?

Some people labelled these subjects [those who seek attention] as "attention whores" which of course we have heard this term raised fairly often from a well-known local blogger. Other terms that might have been coined are terms like "exhibitionist" and "show-off".

Exhibitionist - ex·hi·bi·tion·ism
1. The act or practice of deliberately behaving so as to attract attention.
2. Psychiatry. A psychosexual disorder marked by the compulsive exposure of the genitals in public.

Oh dear, I never realised there're actually sexual innuendos attached to the meaning of the word. Words indeed are sharper than a double-edged sword at times.

Well then, what gives rise to this compulsive behaviour? The desire to attract attention that is; not the psychosexual disorder.

The most common explanation given is perhaps that the personality of the intended subject had been deprived of the needed attention at a very early stage[usually assumed from childhood]. It would sound logical enough because it is often widely acknowledged that we covet what we do not possess just that it varies in intensity as according to specfic individuals.

I would not like to call it so much as personality driven but rather the amount of education and self-reflection that the individual has been exposed to. For example, the category of education need not necessarily refer to academic texts but they can stem from life's education as well. If you had been educated in the ways of the street it is possible that you would be very clear about certain consequences when you perform certain actions. The upcoming Reality TV show "The Apprentice" has advertised in its second season that they will pit the "Street Smart" versus the "Text Smart" thus I am inclined to believe they're testing the potential of these two extreme forms of education.

Now then, back to the possible reasons for wanting attention.

I titled this post "Deviant Desire" simply because I hold the belief that people who wanted attention is simply because they wanted to be different. What about the logic that they were deprived of attention since they were young? Simple, because they did not stand out from the rest of the siblings [under the assumption that it's a very large family]. For nuclear families especially the case of a single child it could possibly mean that the parents could not regard the child as a different state of required attention in comparison to the other priorities they might have in their lives; meaning to say that the parents could not differentiate the need to pay attention to their child any different from the need to pay attention to their work or hobbies or other priorities they would have.

Therefore their subconciousness tells them in order to get attention from your intended target, you must be different from the rest of the priorities that surround the intended subject's life. Thus the desire to deviate is born. This theory might actually provide some insight as to why some children choose to take the path of self-destruction - because they believe it makes them very different from the kids who simply go to school, eat from the school canteen, take classes then go home. The desire to deviate - skip classes, aneroxia and violent behaviour - reaches new levels of intensity and unfortunately the juvenile deliquent is born.

Can this desire be inborn? Meaning there are scenarios where rich kids with good grades in school and loving parents still deviate? Yes it is possible which in this case they could be suffering from "expected development" from peers and family members alike. Parents shower love and concern on the child expecting the child to shine, peers envy the loved child's background and likewise expects the child to shine as well. The child is thus led to believe they can only choose this path and the subconciousness might actually instigate the child to believe that if they develop as according to "plan" they would never possess anything "special" or "unique" that they can call their own. So they deviate.

Does this provide any alternate insight into the increasing number of cases of juvenile deliquency? I hope so. On a twisted perception, the continual emphasis on "creativity" might actually have an indirect influence as well because by nature, you have "deviate" from the norm before u can create. To create is to be original and to be original you have to be different from the rest.

It would appear then the current younger generation is pretty obedient in an ironic sense.




This is my state of exhibitionism that any restaurant who takes in our dance group for sushi buffet must be prepared for heavy losses. Oh by the way, that was not the full amount. Most of us were worried it might topple.




Joke of the Day!

Son : Dad, I have to do a special report for school. Can I ask you a question?

Father: Sure son, what's the question?


Son : What is politics?

Father: Well, let's take our home for example, I am the wage earner, so let's call me the management. Your mother is the administrator of the money, so we'll call her government. We take care of your needs, so let's call you the people. We'll call the maid the working class and your baby brother we will call the future. Do you understand?


Son: I'm not really sure, dad. I'll have to think about it.


That night, awakened by his baby brother's crying, the boy went to see what was wrong. Discovering the baby had seriously soiled his diaper, the boy went to his parents' room and found his mother sound asleep. He then went to the maid's room where, peeking through the key hole, he saw his father in bed with the maid. The boy's knocking went totally unheard by his father & the maid, so the boy returned to his room and went back to bed.


The next morning -

Son : Dad, now I think I understand politics.

Father: That's great son, explain it to me in your own words.


Son : Well Dad, while management is screwing the working class the government is sound asleep. The people are being completely ignored & the future is full of shit.