Berthold Woltze (1829–1896), Der lästige Kavalier (The Annoying Bloke) (1874), oil on canvas, 75 x 57 cm, Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.
Hyper-eroticism is when someone is easily aroused by stimuli that isn't generally or typically meant to be arousing.
Examples abound with in the culture. Just this past week on Twitter, Pastor Brian Sauve wrote about how women shouldn't post pictures of themselves post-birth holding their newborn because it is erotic. That's not normal! That's a prime example of hyper-eroticism. A mother holding a newborn baby isn't eroticism, isn't sexual, and she and baby certainly are NOT inviting you into their sexuality, nor consenting to be sexualized!
Though I don't remember the source (might have been Pearls, it has been brought to my attention that it was probably in Created to Be His Helpmeet) I remember reading a story within fundamentalist purity culture when a new mom (seems to typically be moms of babies or under-aged girls they go after) was back in church with her baby, her post-partum baby weight, and her skirt now fitting more tightly around her hips and backside. The story goes that this new mom was sitting in a pew ahead of this narrating parents and their teen son. They noticed the son was fixated on new mom's body, and when new mom bent over to pick up her child and the fabric of her skirt pulled more tightly over her body, the teen boy had an ejaculation in his pants. Of course, the story goes that the new mom, and moms the world over, are sinful and at fault for causing boys to orgasm in church. THIS IS NOT NORMAL! This is a boy who has grown up in a hyper-erotic culture, a boy trained to view even the most benign things as sexual. He has been trained to see sex everywhere rather than seeing people and life and normalcy and science. I have a teenage son! This nonsense doesn't even cross his mind!
When I was found breastfeeding in church not just covered but shrouded in a blanket from chin to toes, I was hyper-sexualized and admonished simply because men knowing that I'm "doing THAT under there" was enough to cause them to have sexual thoughts. That's not normal!!! That's hyper-eroticism.
Stories abound online and all over social media, and are revealed in examples and admonitions given by the very proponents of purity culture and evangelical modesty policing. Even infant girls are policed on modesty! Girls entering puberty are particularly targeted. Even modesty is hyper-sexualized with women sharing stories of being sexually harassed for wearing headcoverings in church and dressing in modest dresses. Then, there's the whole "modest is hottest" trope.
In my own experiences in purity culture, I became aware that what was no big deal with others not brought up in this sex-cult-like line of thinking was a huge deal to me! For example, I noticed if I was watching a movie with my husband and a quick nude or sex scene occurred, I would hyper-focus on that, remember it, dwell on it, and it would ruin the movie. My husband, on the other hand, wouldn't even remember it. He might say a couple years later, "hey, let's watch this movie, again!" and I'd say, "no! It's got that sex scene in it!" He'd look surprised and say, "It does? I don't remember! The movie is about..." and he'd go on the describe the whole movie whereas I could only describe the sex scene.
Is it any wonder porn use and porn addiction is rampant in this culture? When everything is pornographic to them, and when they can't view women as people and bodies as human bodies, they're going to have major problems. It "amps up" their responses to the stimuli similar to how a sexual deviant needs more sick, twisted, graphic, and abusive material to "get off."
Men, in particular, who buy into this cult-like mentality will often say or feel that they are facing a constant bombardment of sexual assault. However, the opposite is true. They are constantly sexually assaulting innocent victims with their hyper-eroticism, which sexualizes others, without their consent, over their non-sexual, non-erotic being. A mother sharing that beautiful moment when her newborn in placed on her chest is NOT BEING SEXUAL. To even suggest that it is is to sexually assault her and the baby. She's not inviting you to her and her baby's sexuality. You have no business even inferring that what she is sharing is sexual.
Listen, we can easily tell when someone is being sexual. For example, the nudity in Amistad is obviously not meant to be sexual. The actors' being nude portrays the horrific and dehumanizing reality of the slave trade. It isn't meant for you to sexually consume their body parts. However, I think we can all agree that the sex and nudity in, say 50 Shades of Gray was certainly an invitation for people to enjoy it sexually, get aroused, etc.
This purity culture hyper-eroticism is a form of unhealthy sexuality. It needs therapy. It needs healing. Get help!!
