Necrophilia

Recently trending online is a story from Sweden of a woman who was arrested and charged with disrupting the peace of the dead. You can read the news story here: http://www.thelocal.se/44536/#.UQHkLx3O1sF
The woman in the story was not suspected of murder despite evidence that she was, shall we say, intimate, with her bone collection. Her affliction is necrophilia. Merriam-Webster defines necrophilia as, "obsession with and usually erotic interest in or stimulation by corpses (Merriam-Webster, Para. 1)."
However twisted this may seem to the average non-necrophiliac, her condition compelled her to do god-knows-what with the bodies and bones in her possession. Does that excuse it? Certainly not.
Despite its obscurity, I'm desperately curious about her case. She had to know on some level that her actions were reprehensible. Bone-lover that she is, she was still declared competently sane by a psychologist to stand trial. The means she knew right from wrong, and did it anyway.
What could have happened to this poor woman, in order for her mind to take that deep plunge into necrophilia? Was this condition hereditary or was she catastrophically abused in her youth? Was she exposed to death at an early age, thus associating sexual development with corpses? Only she could tell you, but I have my better guesses.

I could go dive into a mountain of research and psychosexual theory but let's boil it all down to this: the woman in question should have found a legal (and less disgusting) means of gratifying herself.  Maybe then she wouldn't be looking at years in jail over getting her jollies.

   

Traveling

Some people hate to travel while others love it. I am one of the latter, but I despise waiting around for a flight. I suppose my car has given me a travel-on-demand attitude towards going anywhere. There comes a moment in your life when you realize that your self-oriented, hedonistic thinking slaps you in the face when you've missed your flight because you just couldn't be so inconvenienced as to wait at the gate for a lengthy spell. I am paying dearly for my error, as I sit at the gate for three times the length of time I would have if I had arrived early enough. Lesson learned. I won't be making this mistake again.

Peacock

If a peacock's plumage is meant for attracting a mate, what do men do to lure a woman with their lack of beautiful feathers?

As a woman and psychology enthusiast, I am intrigued by the behavior men use to impress or allure women.  There seems to be a specific formula men use in order to present themselves in a positive light and make themselves stand out from the crowd.  Women tend to make the general assumption that men are primarily interested in looks, so we flirt with hair flipping, lip biting and showing more of our skin.  Men operate in an altogether different fashion.  Men seem to "peacock" by boasting about their income, education, career, stability, possessions, or their prestige/status level.  I have had plenty of conversations with men who have told me their income level immediately, and I'm continually surprised by this divide between men and women.
Women don't shake hands with a man and announce their fiscal revenue.  Truthfully, disclosing my wealth (or lack thereof) never crosses my mind regardless of the company I keep.  As a woman, it is generally not the quality by which I measure my worth or my level of attraction to the opposite sex.  (Now, the scale, that's a different story...) I wonder, do men tell each other what they make as a matter of course?  Would two strangers, both men, sitting at the bar, drinking beer and watching the game, talk about their annual gross income?  Doubtful, but hey, maybe they do.  I wouldn't know; I'm not allowed in the boys' club.
Though it may be easy to surmise that men think that women are only interested in a man's prosperity, this is, of course, no more true than a man being fixated entirely on a woman's looks rather than her personality as well (or her income, education, career, possessions, stability, etc.).  I think many women would agree that the confidence that men exude when showboating is attractive, even if its shocking that they would be so forthcoming with their personal information.  That being said, I don't see how else a man would let you know how stable or financially sound he is unless he just came right out with it.  I suppose in the grand scheme of things, we are all wired to do what's natural to attract a mate.  A peacock fans his feathers out, and man opens his proverbial wallet.  Its the different means to the same end, whether man or animal.      

  

Self Acceptance

In this culture of overly aggressive sexuality in the media, why is it still shameful for women to be open about their sexual identity? (Um, has anyone else noticed that female pop singers, in particular, no longer wear anything other than leotards?)  Sure, there's the 'he's a stud, she's a slut' double standard, but regardless of that stigma, there's still some deeply held beliefs about female sexuality (as in my case, female author's persona, but really its an every-woman issue) that I feel should fade into oblivion along with the quill and inkwell of centuries past.
It doesn't matter what other people tell you, whether it's men wanting you to let it all hang out, only to put you down for being easy, or the women scorning you for letting your sexuality show too overtly instead of hiding it for only your lover to see behind closed doors.  Under it all (regardless of religious teachings), each of us are nothing more than animals who have an inherent need to touch and be touched.  A baby will not survive if never held and that translates into our sexual identities as we age and reach maturity.  Being human means needing to be touched, loved, and to make connections (emotional and physical) with others.  There's nothing shameful about that at all.  That being said, why is it taboo for anyone (especially women) to let that part of their identity show?
I don't mean broadcasting your private relationship.  True love should be cherished and kept between lovers alone.  This world doesn't need another Pamela and Tommy Lee video (though others may disagree).  I am speaking of the desire to embrace every aspect of who I am, even if it's not the most socially acceptable thing to do.  I think I will be much happier if I just let that all go.  I want to be free.  I want to be a sultry and sensuous woman, and have that not mean I'm a whore or trashy or having little to no moral values.  I want to be comfortable in my own skin, regardless of others' opinions.  I long to be who I am, unencumbered and unashamed.