Is Promiscuity An Act of Self-Mutilation?

This question was raised in a recent episode of Oprahs LifeClass while discussing the issue of girls who grow up without their fathers and then look for validation in all the wrong places. I know I have seen this around and I have heard it being discussed but I never saw it as an act of self-mutilation, ie the girl in question using it as a way of hurting themselves. (Please watch the video above)

Dr Steve Perry has worked with a lot of fatherless girls and sees this common syndrome in the girls he has worked with "Promiscuity is the main thing," Dr. Perry says in the video from "Oprah's Lifeclass," while speaking on the issue of girls who grow up without their daddies "It's rarely seen as self-mutilation, but that's exactly what it is.""Often when we look at young girls who are dealing with pain, we think of self-mutilation as the cutting. That, too, but [promiscuity is] the self-mutilation of allowing someone to physically enter you."

Ok. I welcome a debate on this one. Do you agree with Dr Perry's expert opinion? If you do, my question to you is what about the girls that grow up with their fathers but who still end up promiscous? Does that mean a father can be present without actually being present? Could this still have a negative effect on the girls raised in such a household? What really does a father need to do to actually avert such an effect on his daughters?

What are your thoughts on this?