Post-modernism, Paraphilia, Sadism, Necrophilia, and Sexually Motivated Homicide: An Interdisciplinary Reading of Dennis Cooper’s “Frisk” (1991)

Abstract

This paper explores the representation of sexually motivated homicide in Dennis Cooper’s “Frisk” (1991) while employing an interdisciplinary framework in methodology, specifically: psychopathology and forensic psychology. First, the novel’s cultural context points to its postmodern strategies, indicative of the psychopathological effects of late capitalist culture. Then the paper turns its attention to the novel’s protagonist, Dennis, who is initially diagnosed with paraphilic disorder as defined by the “Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders” (2013). Afterward, implementing a typology developed by Anglo-Canadian criminologist Lee Mellor, Dennis is analyzed and categorized as a homicidal necrophilic offender and a homicidal sexual sadist. The detailed investigation of his sexually motivated crimes places the character among the most notorious serial killers in the world.