Dead and Lovin' It

Have you ever seen a dead body? By the time we’re adults, most of us have attended a funeral or two. It’s a select few who go through life without actually viewing a corpse.

I’ve always had a fascination with death. From the time I was very young, I wondered about that thin line separating the living from the dead, and how, in an instant, life can be extinguished, leaving behind the shell of an individual.

I saw a lot of death as a medic. From homicides to suicides, accidents to natural causes, death was pervasive. And now, as a bioarchaeologist, I’m pretty much dependent upon the dead, since I rely on their skeletons to provide information about the past. I guess death and I are forever in collusion…

So it’s only natural for me to be curious about customs surrounding the dead. I’ve already touched on the theme of death in July’s Dead and Buried, where I ruminated over the concept of burial. However, the range of funerary treatments is as vast and varied as culture itself, for death is the one aspect of life that demands universal participation. It’s gonna get us all.

When the body dies, decomposition sets in, unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to croak on a glacier. In forensics, decomp is broken down into two general stages. Autolysis occurs when fluids that normally reside in the intestinal tract are released and start digesting the body. Putrefaction follows as bacteria within the body reproduce unhindered. As the bacteria work, they release gases; thus the characteristic bloating. This is also the stage where insects descend, since they find the gases irresistible.

It’s the messy process of decomposition that has compelled most cultures to devise elaborate means of slowing or halting the process. Embalming, mummifying, and torching are all methods of avoiding a stinking corpse.

But I’ll save funerary customs for another week. Today, let’s talk sex. Not just your average, everyday sex - I’m talkin’ sex with the dead.

Known formally as necrophilia, sex with the dead is not a modern construct. Even the ancient Egyptians knew to guard the bodies of beautiful women. They’d hold onto them for a few days until decomp set in, just to ensure the bodies weren’t diddled during embalming.

Today, psychologists identify three types of necrophilia. First, there is the harmless practice of fantasizing about the dead. These individuals typically don’t act on their desires; they’re usually satiated by deadly daydreams. Second are those who have access to a corpse and simply go for it. Makes you wonder about the quizzical grins of morticians… Third are the hardcore necros. These are the ones who kill in order to have a corpse at their disposal. I advise you to steer clear of these guys (or girls!).

Necrophilia is a form of paraphilia: a condition where a person’s sexual arousal and gratification are tied to abnormal or extreme behaviors. Think of them as the skydivers of sexual dysfunction. Paraphilias also include pedophilia, voyeurism, and S&M, among others. As prevalent a role as sex plays in culture, it’s no wonder we have a whole slew of deviancies associated with it.

On rare occasions, necrophilia is partnered with other dysfunctions. Take Jeffrey Dahmer, for example. Not only did Mr. Dahmer kill, mutilate, and violate his young male victims (typically in that order), he also served them up for dinner. Jeffrey was indicted on seventeen counts of murder after one of his potential victims made a hasty escape. The boy managed to flag down a few officers, whom he then led back to Dahmer’s lair. There they discovered human heads scattered throughout the apartment, a plethora of body parts in the fridge, and a photo montage depicting his gruesome hobby. His arrest brought an end to his grisly pastime, but you can imagine what the cleanup entailed...

Fun fact: the term for ingesting the flesh of the dead is necrophagia… Cannibals, on the other hand, tend to prefer fresh meat.

Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm mused on the character traits of necrophiliacs in his book, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness. He viewed these individuals as products of social evolution and listed their personality traits as follows: Use of language that includes numerous death-related words, dreams involving death or dead parts, and an interest in sickness. Holy S!#t!! He just described the entire audience at our last bioarchaeology conference!

To avoid being labeled a necrophiliac and to assure you I have no intention of “digging up” my next date, I’ll close by saying that necrophilia encompasses a wide range of dysfunction, but not necessarily those of us in the skeletal biz. I’ve never been sexually aroused by the dead, despite being surrounded by an abundance of bone.

So on behalf of all bioarchaeologists, I proudly proclaim that, although we are fixated on the dead, we're not out there lookin’ to get lucky.

Didn't get enough? Here's a great article on necrophilia by Rosman and Resnick.

Catch you next Friday and don't forget to share!