Introduction
Bestiality, sex with animals, is on the rise amongst high school girls according to figures recently released by the Murdock Report. The questionnaire prepared by the Report also indicated that this trend towards bestiality by high school girls will probably continue until new methods are developed for treatment of this aberration. To fully comprehend a teenage girl's preference for an animal, it is first necessary to be acquainted with the terms employed by the analyst as he digs for the motivations from each case subject.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines the act in simple layman's terms; sexual relations between. a human being and a lower animal. But this is merely a surface description of the act. The analyst defines such abnormal conduct in terms of motivation, and inner, mental crisis. Accordingly, Dr. James Leslie McCary in his authoritative Human Sexuality tells the reader that the pattern of bestial behavior becomes fixed as a mechanism to avoid feared failure with the opposite sex, a means of avoiding distress or threat because relations with a boy could lead to dissatisfaction on his part, and reveal the girl's incompetence and ignorance of sex. Thus, one of the major, contributing factors towards bestial conduct is fear of failure with the opposite sex. And fear of sex and its consequences with a boy (pregnancy) is rampant today with high school girls despite the development of birth control pills.
In An ABZ of Love by the Drs. Inge and Sten Hegeler, two well known Danish psychologists who practice in Copenhagen, we're told that it is not possible for an animal to conceive an offspring with a girl. They tell us that this myth probably arose from the Greek legend about Leda who produced the beautiful Helen with the help of a swan. They further state that,"
... beautiful girls have set our imagination going when they have been carried off by gorillas in Tarzan films. They cannot have children with gorillas either ..."
Today, high school girls are sophisticated enough to know that they cannot become pregnant with an animal. And so, we discover another motive for bestial behavior; fear of pregnancy. They can gratify themselves sexually with an animal's genitals without running the risk of getting pregnant.
What kind of animals do high school girls prefer?
The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior by Robert M. Goldenson, Ph.D. sheds light on this question. Dr. Goldenson informs us that bestiality is most commonly practiced with large domesticated animals, such as sheep, goats or dogs and less often with chickens, ducks, and geese. The Encyclopedia further states that bestiality is not restricted to merely the United States but appears to be a universal phenomenon, since laws and taboos concerning bestiality are found in practically all societies. Accordingly, statistics provided early in 1974 indicate a worldwide rise in bestial practices amongst high school girls.
Most religious codes, including the Old Testament, condemn the practice, but it is permitted in a few societies, particularly during initiating ceremonies. The Encyclopedia informs us that in our culture the practice usually results from observing coitus between animals. Girls on farms find this form of voyeurism stimulating, and usually masturbate after watching coital relations between farm animals. In time, they become bolder, more explorative and attempt a direct, physical relationship with a farm animal, usually a dog. If they do not have an adequate opportunity to find a normal heterosexual relationship with a boy, the practice of bestiality between farm girl arid animal becomes a fixed pattern of behavior. Usually, after school hours, the girl seeks out the animal and has sex with the beast in a secluded area of the farm.
Is the behavior between the farm girl and her animal lover abnormal?
The Encyclopedia states that, "... although all forms of bestiality are considered objectionable in our society, the practice is regarded as clearly pathological only when sexual relations with animals are preferred to contacts with humans of the opposite sex. As in other cases of sexual deviation, it may reflect a fear of inadequacy and rejection in approaching ordinary sexual relations. When this deviation is persistently practiced, it is often a sign of either psychosis, or inferior intelligence ..."
So far, the authorities on the subject of bestiality and high school girls have informed us that fear is the most prevalent reason for such conduct; fear of failure, fear of pregnancy. And the fear motive can also be applied to slightly older females who seek sexual release with animals. But, one motive, unique to high school girls is the fantasy factor. Most girls, teenagers, and coming from a middle class family are dissatisfied with their social status. Their parents, middle class strivers, are perpetually attempting to better their status. This unceasing effort to climb the social ladder produces several effects on their daughters. Either the girl is repulsed by the never ending efforts of her parents to"
keep up with the Joneses," or she approves of the conduct of her parents. The girl who approves quite often projects images of herself in role fulfillment fantasies. She sees herself, in fantasy, as having achieved all the goals set for her by the parents. Both types of girl, the one who approves of her parents social climbing and the type who disapproves are subject to fantasy and bestial behavior.
Why bestial behavior?
Fantasy is an escape mechanism, The girl who disapproves of her parent's social seeking efforts is highly dissatisfied with home life, She wants desperately to escape. The type of boys recommended by her parents fill her with revulsion. All of them, too, come from the environment of the middle class striving family. She wants nothing to do with them. In her desperation, and distaste with the life style of her parents, the girl turns to animals to express her disapproval. Even though the bestial act is performed in secret, she feels a certain amount of relief by her display of rebellion.
The high school girl who approves of her parent's social striving activities also turns to animals but with a different type of fantasy in mind. In her sexual fantasies, she sees herself as having attained all of the higher, social goals set by her parents. The animal, in her fantasy, takes the form of a boy from a higher, social class. Thus, she is able to transform her dreams of success into a sort of reality by having direct, sexual contact with the beast and achieving a climax with his genitals.
According to Kinsey, it is very common for women and especially girls of high school age to indulge in fantasies while masturbating. But he also informs us that disturbed girls have to seek release with something stronger than mere fantasy. That's why they turn to animals. They must have real contact with a blood and flesh male genital. At the same time, the type of dumb, sex partner, permits them to fantasize. Closing their eyes, they see on the screen of their mind, the lover they really want to have.
Kinsey's theories are supported by Sigmund Freud. In The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, we're told that teen-age girls from the middle class family is subjected to much more strife and mental anguish than her counterparts in the upper middle class and lower middle class social structures.
According to Freud, the girl from age thirteen is confronted by the strife's that have long gripped her parents. And these strife's are transmitted to the girl and in a more acute form if the parents haven't succeeded in finding a higher social niche on which to function. Having failed to elevate themselves socially, they pin all their hopes on the daughter. They want her to marry a boy from a wealthier family, and thus, in their estimation, a more socially acceptable one. Freud states,"
... if the teen-age girl is intelligent, she is going to rebel, at least inwardly. She is going to reject the artificial values, at least in her estimation they're artificial, imposed on her by the older generation. Unhappy, and frustrated by her inability to escape physically from her home environment, the girl seeks escape in her own unique ways. Sometimes, this escape takes the form of bestiality, sex with animals. And this behavior is clearly triggered by feelings of resentment, rebelliousness and the very definite need to escape, however briefly, into a time and place where she is mistress of her own fate ..."
And so, we have added the fantasy factor as another motivation that drives high school girls to have sex with animals. And depending on the background and attitude, the fantasy is induced in either a happy or unhappy girl; a girl who approves or disapproves of her parents.
Closely linked with the fantasy factor of escape is the anxiety reaction disorder which many high school girls are afflicted with. Many middle-aged or older people have a tendency to worship youth in all forms. But they are only worshipping the surface aspects.
In reality, teen-age girls attending high school are passing through an especially difficult period of their lives, a time filled with rivalry and mental anguish. And these factors are especially pronounced in girls who are not pretty or popular at school. And yet, these girls desire attention and sexual attention from the opposite sex. Unfulfilled by reality, they turn to animal substitutes.
What is it like to be a high school girl and be subjected to the anxiety reaction neurosis?
According to The Encyclopedia,
"... the chronic reaction is a persistent, distressing feeling of apprehensiveness and catastrophic expectation, the feeling that something terrible is going to happen. Other prominent symptoms are general uneasiness, insomnia, difficulty in concentrating and making decisions, fear 'of making mistakes, together with a loss of appetite, frequent nausea, heart palpitations, and raised blood pressure without apparent cause ..."
The Encyclopedia goes on to tell us that,
"... anxiety reactions are responses to dangers the individual (high school girl) feels but does not recognize. These responses are out of proportion to any apparent cause. This is because they arise from situations touching sensitive areas deep within the personality, unresolved conflicts, forbidden impulses, disturbing memories, which threaten self-esteem and well being ..."
It is not surprising then to discover from the well-documented Murdock Report and from the earlier Kinsey Report that high school girls suffering from the anxiety reaction neurosis come from the lower middle class. And from this poorer strata of society, bestial behavior is largely motivated from anxieties arising out of personal appearances, feelings of inadequacy, and a strong desire to escape from what they feel is a humiliating and inferior role forced upon them by the accident of birth. They openly envy the girls who come from the more well-to-do homes, and are jealous of their boy friends. Refusing to settle for boys who come from their own social level, they turn to animals for sexual expression. Their motives are two-fold. By taking on an animal lover, they are spiting their parents whom they blame for their inferior role. Also, they fantasize that the animal is a dream lover, the kind of boy they secretly yearn for. And this dream lover may or may not be someone above them in social rank. He may be a rebel, too, someone they can turn to and communicate with. In almost all cases, girls from the lower and middle class who accept animal lovers have never experienced normal coitus with a male. The situation is much different in the upper middle class, and also the girls who come from the extremely wealthy families. High school girls from these levels have invariably experienced normal sex with a male. Why would a girl from the wealthy class accept an animal as her lover?
The most basic reason a rich girl takes on an animal lover is loneliness, and a desperate search for love. Many girls in wealthy families are actually raised by adults other than their parents. The governess or housekeeper is a poor substitute for parental love, and when a girl from such a family has sex with an animal, there are overtones of incest in her desires for release. As the animal makes love to her, he takes on the appearance, in the girl's mind, of her father.
In The Need to be Loved by Psychologist Theodor Reiker, we're told that small girls develop an early sense of inferiority because of their genitals. In the view of the little girl, the female genitals appear to be ugly, and comparing herself with a boy considers herself handicapped. From the very earliest stages of the girl's development, she must be constantly assured by her father that she is wanted, and that she is not inferior because of her sex. Many parents fail to give their small daughters this very necessary reassurance. And in the case of the very rich where the child is raised by a paid housekeeper, she never hears words of praise or of acceptance. But with an animal, she can pretend that her father is making violent love to her and making up for all the previous years of indifference.
In High School Girls and Their Four Legged Lovers, four case subjects are examined, their histories are documented, and their motives probed. Each of the girls come from a different socio-economic background; lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class and one from extreme wealth. Each girl accepted an animal lover for her own unique and very special reason. This manuscript has been transcribed verbatim from tapes made by the case subjects. Since language, free-flowing and extemporaneous is a clue to the innermost thoughts of a case subject, their histories are presented, as they were first spoken to this analyst.