Weeks uses the terms ‘perverse’ and ‘diverse’ to explain the shift within the society regarding the public attitudes to sex. For a long time, the term ‘perversity’ has been used to define the behaviors that are unreasonable and deviating the social expectations. On the other hand, the term ‘diverse’ has been used as a synonym to perverse except for the context of sexuality.
When the term ‘perverse’ was applied to the context of sexuality, it conveys the meanings of immorality and badness. The term was commonly used when sexual deviance was regarded as a crime and was condemned by society. The roots of this trend can be found in religious studies assuming that any deviance in sexual activities should be condemned and prohibited.
Another important predictor of stigmatizing sexual deviance was the attitudes of scientists and the findings of their studies. The list of the so-called sexual deviance included homosexuality and fetishism, among others. Applying the functionalist approach, it can be stated that sexual abnormalities existed in society and played an important role in changing the traditional views on sex and sexuality.
Sigmund Freud was one of the scientists who discussed the issues of sexuality and perversions. The working definition he provides in his Three Essays for perversions demonstrates his views on the direct goals of sexual practices, which became a basis for Freud’s prescriptions of what sexual practices should be. Although Freud’s assumptions were limited with the model of sexuality characteristic of his times, he made a significant step toward reconsidering the issues of sexuality and the so-called perversions. The application of Freud’s method of psychoanalysis to the explanation of homosexuality was progressive for his times. It can be regarded as an important predictor of the future transition to the term of diversity. Taking into account the fact that the debates of perversity previously had a strong moral accent, it can be stated that Freud’s attempts to discuss the instances of sexual deviance by using medical terms can be regarded as a significant event in the history of sexological writings and history of the concept of sexual perversity in general. There is a term pre-Freudian moralism, which refers to the debates of sexuality in the pre-Freudian era and demonstrates the role the scientist played in this field. Freud’s concept of universal bisexuality was a revolution in the sphere, and his claim that homosexuality was not a pathology had an impact upon his followers’ views.
The shift from the term of ‘perversity’ to the term of ‘diversity’ when discussing certain conduct which was previously regarded as sexual deviance indicated an important shift in the social attitudes towards sex and sexuality. For instance, previously, homosexuality was linked to the concept of amorality, but currently, it is discussed in terms of diversity.
Therefore, according to Weeks, the shift of the terms of perversity and diversity in the context of sexuality was a consequence of the changes in the social perception of phenomena that were previously regarded as deviance and sexual anomalies but have become socially accepted.