Does "perversion" necessarily have a negative connotation?

There is a question at Spanish SE about the Spanish equivalent of the English word perversion. The question refers specifically to sexual perversion (which I did not want to mention in the title, since I've noticed at Academia SE that any mention of anything related to sex in a title attracts throngs of visitors for the wrong reasons).

Not much progress is being made at that page. (One possible factor is that Spanish SE is in Beta and has yet to build up its participation levels.)

I realize that in another language and culture, a cognate might have slightly different meanings, connotations and usage, but still, I would like to see what is contributed here in order to enrich the discussion there.

Does sexual perversion necessarily have a negative connotation?

Solution 1:

In many cases, there's no clear line between denotation and connotation.

Words are used by people for various reasons. Nobody can prevent a word from being used to mean the opposite of what it is usually understood to mean. In fact, this is a common type of figurative language (sometimes this is referred to as "irony", although I really don't want to get involved in a more detailed discussion about the meaning of that particular word).

Taking this into account, it's pretty much impossible to say that any word necessarily has a negative connotation. People work to "reclaim" all sorts of slurs that would ordinarily be considered reprehensible in any kind of context.

From a slightly different angle, words that explicitly refer to evil things, like "sinful," may be reframed in certain circumstances as positives ("Our chocolate cake is sinfully delicious!").

So it's quite conceivable for someone to use the word "perversion" without intending a primarily negative connotation, and for it to be understood as neutral or positive in some particular context.

However, this is not the usual use of the word "perversion" in English. Usually, it is fairly unambiguously negative. This negative connotation will likely be in the back of most people's minds even in situations where it is re-purposed for some neutral or positive meaning.

Solution 2:

The Oxford English Dictionary says, of sexual perversion (SP): (The OED defines SP under sexual. I've given the definition of SP in full, because a reader may not be able to access the link.)

sexual perversion n. sexual development or behaviour regarded as abnormal or deviant; an instance of this.

1857 A. J. Davis Magic Staff lvi. 477 The yet unmarried must resist every impulse toward sexual perversion.

1881 Chicago Med. Rev. 4 379/2 Sexual perversion, a symptom of the hereditary and degenerative mental states, is divided into four groups.

1977 E. J. Trimmer et al. Visual Dict. Sex (1978) i. 12 The common paraphilias that we choose to call sexual perversions today, were defined by the Greeks as being parallel to love.

2002 M. J. Kehily Sexuality, Gender & Schooling iv. 84 Freud's discussion of sexual perversions regard the perversions of scopophilia and exhibitionism as psychical opposites.

From this definition, I conclude that SP always has a negative connotation to the speaker, but that the specific SP that he is talking about may be negative; neutral or even normal; or positive depending on the time and the culture or the listener.