Piquerism (derived from the French ''piquer''—"to prick") refers to a sexual interest in penetrating the skin of another person with sharp objects (such as

pins A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body: *a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...

razors A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before ...

knives A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

, etc.). Sometimes, this is serious enough to cause extreme

injuries Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with b ...

or even death. Piquerism is a

paraphilia A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human ...

as well as a form of

sadism Sadism may refer to: * Everyday sadism, the derivation of gratification from the physical pain or humiliation of another person * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliatio ...

. The most frequently targeted areas of the body are the breasts, buttocks, and groin.

Examples

Jack the Ripper

Robert D. Keppel Robert David Keppel (June 15, 1944 – June 14, 2021) was an American law enforcement officer and detective. He was also an associate professor at the University of New Haven and Sam Houston State University. Keppel was known for his contribution ...

and his colleagues concluded in an analysis of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

murders of 1888 that "the injuries sustained by the victims displayed the signature characteristic of picquerism."

Andrei Chikatilo

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

serial killer who operated in the late 70s and early 80s, the Rostov Ripper, after he murdered his first victim, 9 year old Yelena Zakotnova, was able to achieve erection and orgasm only upon the stabbing and slashing of women and children to death.

Graham Dwyer

Is a convicted Irish murderer, revealed at trial to have expressed an overwhelming interest in, and who carried out a murder for sexual gratification by stabbing Elaine O'Hara. He also had videos recorded by himself on a personal harddrive, showing sexual intercourse with victims he met through fetish websites where stabbing took place during these encounters.

Frank Ranieri

A 25-year old American was arrested in June 2007 for bribing multiple young females with large sums of money in exchange for poking their buttocks with sharp objects.

Footnotes