Where do we find a man who knows of himself only through the lives of others?

We find him as the voyeur.

voyeur/vɔɪˈjəː,vwɑːˈjəː,vwʌɪˈjəː/noun

a person who gains sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity.

The individual, though perhaps present in love and marriage, career, and wellness, may find himself dissatisfied with some element of his life. This element, perhaps, is where his real lively spirit is wandering, hopelessly searching for that great finding. Or we could be dealing with an individual who has no desire for anybody’s purpose but to steal it from them as it flickers across their present moments—for his snatch, camera, shot, role. Bang.

The voyeur is a strange lick of a man. His thrill for being caught balances his rather obvious dysregulation between raping or engaging. In this sense, he is afraid of being a rapist, or he faces some moral intuitions about the notion of rape as something immoral. Yet his very life is the spy, is illegal, and a notch under a rapist—despite neither entertaining his true intentions. Though, we cannot know what his true intentions may be.

• Why does he not become a rapist? A sexual predator?
• What holds his desires back to be kept in the dark?
• Is he afraid or excited, or both?

These are some questions I wish to explore.

For a man to seek his pleasure from the experience of watching two persons or a singular person perform sexual activities whilst neither knows of his presence, all parties involved are simultaneously living in the present moment—unified—only one is aware of the others, whereas the rest are totally unaware of his existence. That is manifested omniscience in this specific context. Are we talking about a power dynamic here? Or is this a crippled and sadly sworn-by mortal man wanting to be a sex god playing sexual monopoly?

His initial intent reveals that he must not be noticed. He must reign as a shadow figure, one fully aware of his intervals of excitement, sexual gratification, and the immediate acknowledgment of his possible revealing. The voyeur faces many threats to his well-being, despite inherently pursuing something of criminal intent. His burden is that he may be witnessed and publicly embarrassed—a threat that carries with it a prison sentence, where inside, he is placed alongside the lowest of the low—paedophiles and child molesters. But perhaps not? Perhaps his secrecy alleviates these pressures of criminal intent and acts as a guide for his overcoming of potential paranoia during his pursuits.

What holds him back from acting on his intentions whilst observing? He initially posits the stance to act as an omniscient presence, demanding control in his shadow momentum. But he is separate in his criminal category from the rapist, who is sexually predatorized from the beginning—the rapist intends to perform his desires explicitly, using his will to exert on a stranger. Similarly, the voyeur exerts his will on another, but without the act of harm, without performing violent intent. He exerts his imagination through the alchemicalisation of his fantasies alone. He relishes his imaginative experience. He is of strictly internal origin, unlike the rapist, who is of extraverted criminality.

Yet, these thresholds of criminal intent arise separately for both individuals. The voyeur, however, is actively secured from the law until he is caught in the act, whereas the rapist is almost consistently caught, his acts never going unnoticed by both the law and the individual. The voyeur remains outside of the law until his exposure—he is a criminal ghost, like a special ops soldier behind enemy lines, invisible, but if exposed, his entire ethos, his communal and military network, collapses.

In this relation, the same applies to the voyeur—he will lose his entire framework: family, career, personal life. He will be branded an enemy to society, which he already is in our eyes, but until his exposure, his presence remains unannounced.

What captures his imaginative inclination so strongly that he pleases himself rather than essentially kidnapping the person?

I believe it is a combination of fear derived from early traumatic experiences, coupled with a personal appetite for total power. Below, you can find key components from the literature on this topic that indicate the psychological intentions of the voyeur.

Early Experiences: An accidental sighting of someone undressing or engaging in sexual activity during childhood or adolescence can imprint a lasting association between arousal and observation.psychologytoday.com

Psychological Factors: Emotional abuse and family dysfunction during formative years have been identified as significant risk factors.psychologistanywhereanytime.com

Personality Traits: Individuals with voyeuristic tendencies may exhibit higher levels of sexual preoccupation and hypersexuality.verywellmind.com

Co-occurring Disorders: There is a noted association between voyeurism and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Treating voyeuristic behaviors with approaches used for OCD has shown effectiveness in reducing such behaviors.en.wikipedia.org

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a striking commentary on his existence. He is undoubtedly inclined to repeat controlled intuitions, and at his own advantage, it allows him to be careful and orient himself with an orderly orientation. Those who suffer from OCD tend to preoccupy themselves with total cleanliness; the spectrum ranges from material possessions being in perfect order to repetitive psychological landscapes—frameworks that, in the end, are cyclical and meaningless. Yet, to the victim of this behavior, it involves a sense of detachment from their own awareness—they are but slaves in shackles to these thought patterns that emerge where instinct follows.

The voyeur is, without a doubt, a hypersexual obsessive animal. If we examine the photos, though artistic, they indicate a deeper layer of intimacy—perhaps criminal, but compelling nonetheless. Because we live in a world where we wear many faces, navigating an existence dictated by economic survival, we remain singular vessels traveling through life alone. The need to witness another individual in their private habitat is significant, as it is the only time one can truly observe another person in their rawest form—not just in terms of nakedness, but in their natural, unfiltered state of being. It is as if the call to voyeurism is the desire to watch unconsciousness unfold and, in its draft, to sexualize it.

We can draw parallels between abandonment and love here—the desire for closeness contrasted with the total disregard for a person's privacy. In this regard, he is not a fellow director of some surrealist instinct; his actions revolve entirely around realist concepts—the rawness of existence, the flesh and function of a living human. He is a spy governing human life as he wishes to see it, an invalid for observable conscious expression.

The rapist, in this regard, is uniquely separate. His intentions are similar—he seeks proximity, intimacy, and direct engagement with his violent sexual urges—but the voyeur merely watches. The rapist’s intent is purely physical; his thrill and enjoyment are centered on total dominance and invasion—the violation of an individual’s private space and personal spatial awareness. It is an act of attack.

The voyeur, however, prefers to position himself as a panther, stalking without being seen while completing his metaphysical attack. After all, he never makes direct contact with his victims—or prey, as he may see them. Instead, he finds gratification in the process of secrecy itself.

"Voyeurism, defined as the act of gaining sexual pleasure from observing others without their consent, is a criminal offense in many jurisdictions. Despite its prevalence, prosecution rates remain low. For instance, in the year leading up to March 2020, police in England and Wales recorded 10,775 cases of "exposure and voyeurism," yet only 594 suspects were taken to court, indicating a charge rate of approximately 5.5%." theguardian.com

"In London, the Metropolitan Police recorded 1,566 indecent exposure or voyeurism crimes, with a charge rate of just 10.9%."standard.co.uk

"Research into the behaviors and backgrounds of individuals convicted of voyeurism provides insight into common factors. A study involving interviews with 17 incarcerated men in the UK identified various cognitive, emotional, and contextual elements contributing to their offenses. These findings were synthesized into the Descriptive Model of Voyeuristic Behavior (DMV), highlighting vulnerability factors that may predispose individuals to such actions." pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Case studies further illustrate the range of voyeuristic behaviors and the legal consequences faced by offenders. For example, a primary school teacher in Leeds was charged with voyeurism after filming a colleague in a staff bathroom. Although he faced the possibility of imprisonment, effective legal representation resulted in a community order instead." marymonson.co.uk

For some further illustrations on these differences let us see some other literature on the topic.

Voyeurism and rape are distinct forms of sexual offenses, each characterized by different behaviors and motivations. As we have indicated.

"Voyeurism involves deriving sexual gratification from observing unsuspecting individuals who are naked, undressing, or engaging in sexual activities. This act is non-consensual and typically covert, with the voyeur seeking to remain unseen. While it doesn't involve physical contact, it is a violation of privacy and is considered a form of sexual assault." jta.org

"Rape, on the other hand, entails non-consensual sexual penetration, achieved through force, coercion, or when the victim is incapacitated. It is a direct and invasive act that inflicts immediate physical and psychological trauma on the victim." thebluebench.org

"Research indicates that certain paraphilic disorders, such as voyeurism, exhibitionism, and frotteurism, may share underlying disturbances with preferential rape—a paraphilic preference for coercive sex. This suggests a potential continuum in some individuals between non-contact offenses like voyeurism and contact offenses like rape." pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"It's important to note that while both behaviors are criminal and violate the rights of others, they differ significantly in their manifestation and impact. Voyeurism is often a precursor or associated behavior in individuals who commit more severe sexual offenses, but not all voyeurs escalate to committing rape. Conversely, many rapists may have engaged in voyeuristic behaviors prior to committing more invasive acts." annarbor.com

The noted point on voyeurism as a precursor is a vital mention, but not entirely definitive. There are many cases of voyeurs remaining voyeurs and not progressing to more severe criminal sexual offenses such as rape or molestation. The voyeur seems to be captured by his imaginative arousal—the arousal of his imagined pictures, fantasies, and qualities. This can often be classed as his limit or the bridge between truly being criminal in intent.

"Not all voyeurs escalate to committing rape." This is where we can solemnly suggest that his intentions are driven by the desire to seek out another’s imaginative content—an individual’s inner life. It is inherently sexual from the start, considering that an "inner life" is something eternally forbidden to be seen and entirely the only thing on this planet that cannot be witnessed in its true fruition. Though artists attempt to materialize their inner lives, it remains a mystery—an eschatological horizon that will forever remain inaccessible, for we live within the dualities of the inner and external.

Therefore, I must suggest that the voyeur is capturing the raw essence of an individual's nature, which he sexualizes because his pursuit is driven by the urge to snatch and take the purity of an individual's private behavior, kinesics, and everything that accompanies their actions.

The way they interpret the material world through their bodies is purely sexual in its state, for it is the observation of a soul maneuvering through the world. Since we dictate our lives privately through our own bodily existence, the conscious awareness of another living, breathing individual becomes attractive—it validates our own existence. It affirms that we are, in fact, alive, aware of ourselves, moving through this cycle of life, which we ultimately know nothing about and remain alien to in our many different quests.

I would like to leave you with some images of the voyeur’s psyche in action. Through artistic means, photographers have attempted to capture his desire in photo.