Research has shown that paraphilias are rarely observed in women. However, there have been some studies on females with paraphilias. Sexual masochism has been found to be the most commonly observed paraphilia in women, with approximately 1 in 20 cases of sexual masochism being female.

Many acknowledge the scarcity of research on female paraphilias. The majority of paraphilia studies are conducted on people who have been convicted of sex crimes. Since the number of male convicted sex offenders far exceeds the number of female convicted sex offenders, research on paraphilic behavior in women is consequently lacking. Some researchers argue that an underrepresentation exists concerning pedophilia in females. Due to the low number of women in studies on pedophilia, most studies are based from "exclusively male samples". This likely underrepresentation may also be attributable to a "societal tendency to dismiss the negative impact of sexual relationships between young boys and adult women". Michele Elliott has done extensive research on child sexual abuse committed by females, publishing the book "Female Sexual Abuse of Children: The Last Taboo" in an attempt to challenge the gender-biased discourse surrounding sex crimes. John Hunsley states that physiological limitations in the study of female sexuality must also be acknowledged when considering research on paraphilias. He states that while a man's sexual arousal can be directly measured from his erection (see penile plethysmograph), a woman's sexual arousal cannot be measured as clearly (see vaginal photoplethysmograph), and therefore research concerning female sexuality is rarely as conclusive as research on men.

Ego-dystonic sexual orientation is an ego-dystonic mental disorder characterized by having a sexual orientation or an attraction that is at odds with one's idealized self-image, causing anxiety and a desire to change one's orientation or become more comfortable with one's sexual orientation. It describes not innate sexual orientation itself, but a conflict between the sexual orientation one wishes to have and the sexual orientation one actually possesses.

Transvestism is the practice of dressing and acting in a style or manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional or ceremonial reasons.

In the United States, following a series of landmark cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, persons diagnosed with paraphilias, particularly pedophilia ("Kansas v. Hendricks", 1997) and exhibitionism ("Kansas v. Crane", 2002), with a history of anti-social behavior and related criminal history, can be held indefinitely in civil confinement under various state legislation generically known as sexually violent predator laws and the federal Adam Walsh Act ("United States v. Comstock", 2010).

Some types of BDSM play include, but are not limited to:

- Animal roleplay

- Bondage

- Breast torture

- Cock and ball torture (CBT)

- Erotic electrostimulation

- Edgeplay

- Flogging

- Golden showers (urinating)

- Human furniture

- Japanese bondage

- Medical play

- Paraphilic infantilism

- Predicament bondage

- Pussy torture

- Sexual roleplay

- Spanking

- Suspension

- Torture

- Tickle torture

- Wax play

The following are some of the partialisms commonly found among people:

There are many ways a person may go about receiving therapy for ego-dystonic sexual orientation associated with homosexuality. There is no known therapy for other types of ego-dystonic sexual orientations. Therapy can be aimed at changing sexual orientation, sexual behaviour, or helping a client become more comfortable with their sexual orientation and behaviours. Human rights groups have accused some countries of performing these treatments on egosyntonic homosexuals. One survey suggested that viewing the same-sex activities as compulsive facilitated commitment to a mixed-orientation marriage and to monogamy. Treatment may include sexual orientation change efforts or treatment to alleviate the stress. In addition, some people seek non-professional methods, such as religious counselling or attendance in an ex-gay group.

Biphobia is aversion toward bisexuality and toward bisexual people as a social group or as individuals. It can take the form of denial that bisexuality is a genuine sexual orientation, or of negative stereotypes about people who are bisexual (such as the beliefs that they are promiscuous or dishonest). People of any sexual orientation can experience or perpetuate biphobia, and it is a source of social discrimination against bisexual people.

As a paraphilia, breast fetishism (also known as mastofact, breast partialism, or mazophilia) is a highly atypical sexual interest focused on female breasts (see partialism). The term "breast fetishism" is also used in the non-paraphilic sense, to refer to cultural attention to female breasts and the sexuality they represent, with debate existing as to whether the modern widespread fascination with breasts among heterosexual males in western societies is a sexual fetish.

Transmisogyny (sometimes trans-misogyny) is the intersection of transphobia and misogyny. Transphobia is defined as "the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against transgender or transsexual people". Misogyny is defined as "a hatred of women". Therefore, transmisogyny includes negative attitudes, hate, and discrimination of transgender or transsexual individuals who fall on the feminine side of the gender spectrum, particularly transgender women. The term was coined by Julia Serano in her 2007 book "Whipping Girl" and used to describe the unique discrimination faced by trans women because of "the assumption that femaleness and femininity are inferior to, and exist primarily for the benefit of, maleness and masculinity", and the way that transphobia intensifies the misogyny faced by trans women (and vice versa). It is said many trans women experience an additional layer of misogyny in the form of fetishization; Serano talks about how society views trans women in certain ways that sexualize them, such as them transitioning for sexual reasons, or ways where they’re seen as sexually promiscuous.Transmisogyny is a central concept in transfeminism and is commonly referenced in intersectional feminist theory. That trans women's femaleness (rather than only their femininity) is a source of transmisogyny is denied by certain radical feminists, who claim that trans women are not female.

BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people who do not consider themselves as practicing BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM community or subculture is usually dependent upon self-identification and shared experience.

The term "BDSM" is first recorded in a Usenet posting from 1991, and is interpreted as a combination of the abbreviations B/D (Bondage and Discipline), D/s (Dominance and submission), and S/M (Sadism and Masochism). BDSM is now used as a catch-all phrase covering a wide range of activities, forms of interpersonal relationships, and distinct subcultures. BDSM communities generally welcome anyone with a non-normative streak who identifies with the community; this may include cross-dressers, body modification enthusiasts, animal roleplayers, rubber fetishists, and others.

Activities and relationships within a BDSM context are often characterized by the participants taking on complementary, but unequal roles; thus, the idea of informed consent of both the partners is essential. The terms "submissive" and "dominant" are often used to distinguish these roles: the dominant partner ("dom") takes psychological control over the submissive ("sub"). The terms "top" and "bottom" are also used: the top is the instigator of an action while the bottom is the receiver of the action. The two sets of terms are subtly different: for example, someone may choose to act as bottom to another person, for example, by being whipped, purely recreationally, without any implication of being psychologically dominated by them, or a submissive may be ordered to massage their dominant partner. Despite the bottom performing the action and the top receiving they have not necessarily switched roles.

The abbreviations "sub" and "dom" are frequently used instead of "submissive" and "dominant". Sometimes the female-specific terms "mistress", "domme" or "dominatrix" are used to describe a dominant woman, instead of the gender-neutral term "dom". Individuals who can change between top/dominant and bottom/submissive roles—whether from relationship to relationship or within a given relationship—are known as "switches". The precise definition of roles and self-identification is a common subject of debate within the community.

Lesbophobia (sometimes lesbiphobia) comprises various forms of negativity towards lesbians as individuals, as couples, or as a social group. Based on the categories of sex, sexual orientation, lesbian identity, and gender expression, this negativity encompasses prejudice, discrimination, and abuse, in addition to attitudes and feelings ranging from disdain to hostility. As such, lesbophobia is sexism against women that intersects with homophobia and vice versa.

Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with, or not culturally associated with, their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including hormone replacement therapy and other sex reassignment therapies) to help them align their body with their identified sex or gender.

"Transsexual" is generally considered a subset of "transgender", but some transsexual people reject the label of "transgender". A medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria can be made if a person expresses a desire to live and be accepted as a member of their identified sex, and if a person experiences impaired functioning or distress as a result of their gender identity.

A non-operative transsexual person, or non-op, is someone who has not had SRS, and does not intend to have it in the future. There can be various reasons for this, from the personal to the financial.

Partialism is sexual interest with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than the genitals. Partialism is categorized as a fetishistic disorder in the DSM-5 of the American Psychiatric Association only if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. In the DSM-IV, it was considered a separate paraphilia (not otherwise specified), but was merged into fetishistic disorder by the DSM-5. Individuals who exhibit partialism sometimes describe the anatomy of interest to them as having equal or greater erotic attraction for them as do the genitals.

Partialism occurs in heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual individuals. The foot is considered one of the most common partialisms.

Males with late onset gender dysphoria "frequently" display transvestic fetishism.

Some male transvestic fetishists collect women's clothing, e.g. panties, nightgowns, babydolls, bridal gowns, slips, brassieres, and other types of nightwear, lingerie, stockings, pantyhose, shoes, and boots, items of a distinct feminine look and feel. They may dress in these feminine garments and take photographs of themselves while living out their fantasies.

According to DSM-IV, this fetishism was limited to heterosexual men; however, DSM-5 does not have this restriction, and opens it to women and men with this interest, regardless of their sexual orientation.

There are two key criteria before a psychiatric diagnosis of "transvestic fetishism" is made:

1. Individuals must be sexually aroused by the act of cross-dressing.

2. Individuals must experience significant distress or impairment – socially or occupationally – because of their behavior.

Gender dysphoria in children or gender identity disorder in children (GIDC) is a formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe children who experience significant discontent (gender dysphoria) with their biological sex, assigned gender, or both.

GIDC was formalized in the third revision of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-III) in 1980 and primarily referenced gender non-conforming behaviors. GIDC remained in the DSM from 1980 to 2013, when it was replaced with the diagnosis of "gender dysphoria" in the fifth revision (DSM-5), in an effort to diminish the stigma attached to gender variance while maintaining a diagnostic route to gender affirming medical interventions such as hormone therapy and surgery.

Controversy surrounding the pathologization and treatment of cross-gender identity and behaviors, particularly in children, has been evident in the literature since the 1980s. Proponents of more widespread GIDC diagnoses argue that therapeutic intervention helps children be more comfortable in their bodies and can prevent adult gender identity disorder. Opponents say that the equivalent therapeutic interventions with gays and lesbians (titled conversion or reparative therapy) have been strongly questioned or declared unethical by the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Association of Social Workers and American Academy of Pediatrics. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) states that treatment aimed at trying to change a person's gender identity and expression to become more congruent with sex assigned at birth "is no longer considered ethical." Critics also argue that the GIDC diagnosis and associated therapeutic interventions rely on the assumption that an adult transsexual identity is undesirable, challenging this assumption along with the lack of clinical data to support outcomes and efficacy.

Gender identity disorder in children is more heavily linked with adult homosexuality than adult transsexualism. According to limited studies, the majority of children diagnosed with GID cease to desire to be the other sex by puberty, with most growing up to identify as gay or lesbian with or without therapeutic intervention.

Homophobic attitudes and behaviors may be linked to sexophobia: doctor Martin Kantor describes many homophobes as being basically sexophobes, who fear and loathe sexual relationships both between partners of the same sex and between heterosexual partners.

Children with persistent GID are characterized by more extreme gender dysphoria in childhood than children with desisting gender dysphoria. Some (but not all) gender diverse / gender independent / gender fluid youth will want or need to transition, which may involve social transition (changing dress, name, pronoun), and, for older youth and adolescents, medical transition (hormonal and surgical intervention). Treatment may take the form of puberty blockers such as Lupron Depot or Leuprolide Acetate, or cross-sex hormones (i.e., administering estrogen to an assigned male at birth or testosterone to an assigned female at birth), or surgery (i.e., mastectomies, salphingo-oophorectomies/hysterectomy, the creation of a neophallus in female-to-male transsexuals, orchiectomies, breast augmentation, facial feminization surgery, the creation of a neovagina in male-to-female transsexuals), with the aim of bringing one’s physical body in line with their felt gender. The ability to transition (socially and medically) are sometimes needed in the treatment of gender dysphoria.

The Endocrine Society does not recommend endocrine treatment of prepubertal children because clinical experience suggests that GID can be reliably assessed only after the first signs of puberty. It recommends treating transsexual adolescents by suppressing puberty with puberty blockers until age 16 years old, after which cross-sex hormones may be given.

The University of Washington is leading the largest study of transgender youth ever conducted. The study, known as the Transgender Youth Project, looks at 300 transgender kids between the ages of 3 and 12. Researchers hope to follow the children for 20 years.

Transphobia is a range of negative attitudes, feelings or actions toward transgender or transsexual people, or toward transsexuality. Transphobia can be emotional disgust, fear, violence, anger or discomfort felt or expressed towards people who do not conform to society's gender expectations. It is often expressed alongside homophobic views and hence is often considered an aspect of homophobia. Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination similar to racism and sexism, and transgender people of color are often subjected to all three forms of discrimination at once.

Child victims of transphobia experience harassment, school bullying, and violence in school, foster care, and social programs. Adult victims experience public ridicule, harassment including misgendering, taunts, threats of violence, robbery, and false arrest; many feel unsafe in public. A high percentage report being victims of sexual violence. Some are refused healthcare or suffer workplace discrimination, including being fired for being transgender, or feel under siege by conservative political or religious groups who oppose laws to protect them. There is even discrimination from some people within the movement for the rights of gender and sexual minorities.

Besides the increased risk of violence and other threats, the stress created by transphobia can cause negative emotional consequences which may lead to substance abuse, running away from home (in minors), and a higher rate of suicide.

In the Western world, there have been gradual changes towards the establishment of policies of non-discrimination and equal opportunity. The trend is also taking shape in developing nations. In addition, campaigns regarding the LGBT community are being spread around the world to improve acceptance; the "Stop the Stigma" campaign by the UN is one such development.

Transvestic fetishism is a psychiatric diagnosis applied to those who are thought to have an excessive sexual or erotic interest in cross-dressing; this interest is often expressed in autoerotic behavior. It differs from cross-dressing for entertainment or other purposes that do not involve sexual arousal, and is categorized as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. (Sexual arousal in response to donning sex-typical clothing is homeovestism.)

Sexophobia in clinical talk has an effect on the way patients speak to their doctors, as it manifests itself in the communication strategies that are employed to speak about private health problems. In that sense, the use of neutral and veiled vocabulary by doctors can discourage patients to speak openly about their sexual issues.

Otherwise, historian and sociologist Cindy Patton has identified sexophobia as one of the main trends that characterised the development of the second phase of the VIH epidemics in Great Britain, along with homophobia and germophobia.

Transmisogyny is generally understood to be caused by the social belief that men are superior to women. In "Whipping Girl", Julia Serano writes that the existence of trans women is seen as a threat to a "male-centered gender hierarchy, where it is assumed that men are better than women and that masculinity is superior to femininity". Gender theorist Judith Butler echoes this assumption, stating that the murder of transgender women is "an act of power, a way of re-asserting domination... killing establishes the killer as sovereign in the moment that he kills".

Trans women are also viewed as threatening the heterosexuality of cisgender men. In media, "deceivers" such as Dil, a transgender woman from the 1992 film "The Crying Game", have been observed to invoke outrage and male homophobia in an audience when their "true" maleness is unveiled.

During the year prior to the 2015 U.S. survey, 59 percent of respondents reported avoiding using a public restroom out of fear of violence or harassment. 32 percent limited the amount they ate or drink in order to avoid using a public restroom. Eight percent reported suffering a urinary tract infection, kidney infection, or other kidney problem as a result of avoiding public restrooms.

Thirty-three percent reported having negative experiences with a healthcare professional related to being transgender, such as verbal harassment or denial of treatment. 23 percent reported that they did not seek treatment for a condition out of fear of being mistreated, while 33 percent did not seek treatment because they were unable to afford it.

During the month prior to the survey, 39 percent of American transgender people experienced major psychological distress, compared to 5 percent of the general population of the United States. 40 percent had attempted suicide at some point in their life, compared to 4.6 percent of the American population. Family and community support were correlated with far lower rates of suicide attempts and of major psychological distress.

A study conducted on transgender women of color in San Francisco has shown a higher correlation between transphobia and risk of transgender women engaging in HIV risk behavior. The study shows that the transgender youth face social discrimination, and they may not have a social role model. The young adults in this group have shown a higher risk of engaging in unprotected receptive anal intercourse when the exposure to transphobia is high. Therefore, as per the study shows a correlation between transphobia and high risk of HIV.

Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear, and is often related to religious beliefs.

Homophobia is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientations that are non-heterosexual. Recognized types of homophobia include "institutionalized" homophobia, e.g. religious homophobia and state-sponsored homophobia, and "internalized" homophobia, experienced by people who have same-sex attractions, regardless of how they identify.

Negative attitudes toward identifiable LGBT groups have similar yet specific names: lesbophobia is the intersection of homophobia and sexism directed against lesbians, biphobia targets bisexuality and bisexual people, and transphobia targets transgender and transsexual people and gender variance or gender role nonconformity. According to 2010 Hate Crimes Statistics released by the FBI National Press Office, 19.3 percent of hate crimes across the United States "were motivated by a sexual orientation bias." Moreover, in a Southern Poverty Law Center 2010 "Intelligence Report" extrapolating data from fourteen years (1995–2008), which had complete data available at the time, of the FBI's national hate crime statistics found that LGBT people were "far more likely than any other minority group in the United States to be victimized by violent hate crime."

The term "homophobia" and its usage have been criticized by several sources as unwarrantedly pejorative