History Main / DirtyMindReading

* [[Creator/CrossGen Persha of the First]] has the power to see through the eyes of others. She sometimes uses it to keep track of her scheming mother Ingra, who is TheVamp. She's rather deadpan about those moments when Ingra is... [[PrimalScene busy]].

* In ''[[Literature/Touch|2017]],'' thirteen-year-old [[TheEmpath empath]] Caspar usually feels uncomfortable when he can sense people's romantic or sexual feelings, which are described as feeling warm and occasionally "icky." Notably, the first story arc kicks off when he senses what he's fairly sure is a child being molested.

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'', Issei's Bilingual[[note]]a power that allows Issei to [[spoiler: communicate with the female breasts, which apparently cannot lie and will truthfully reveal what their owner is thinking.]][[/note]] fails on [[spoiler: Sairaorg's Bishop because she's ''willing'' to strip in front of Issei. Yes, ''her breasts'' tell which clothing she's going to strip next.]]

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', you don't even need another person to find yourself in this situation, such as [[ShrinkingViolet Nodoka]] [[MindProbe Miyazaki]], who has a rather [[CovertPervert perverted subconscious]]. Much later, she meets a huge-bodied masked mercenary with creepy tentacles whose predominant thoughts are "Boobies!". Very creepy until [[SamusIsAGirl the truth]] [[DoubleStandard is revealed]].

** During the ''Comicbook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga'' Jean uses her powers to scan the minds of the [[WretchedHive audience]] at ComicBook/{{Dazzler}}'s concert and finds that part of her is actually ''enjoying'' their sleazy and obscene thoughts. It's an early indication that Jean's starting to succumb to her darker impulses and losing control of the Phoenix.

* Her daughter Comicbook/RachelSummers, reacts to this in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}'', during the ''Cross-Time Caper'' story (where Excalibur were bounced around the multiverse), from a version of Nigel Frobisher - a creep in the 616 'verse who's obsessed with Rachel, and apparently a creep throughout the multiverse. This results in her very suddenly tarring & feathering him. We never find out what the exact thoughts were, but when Brian Braddock (Captain Britain) rebukes Rachel for her behaviour - they are, after all, guests - she shows them to him by way of explanation. Cue an expression of shock from Brian, before ''[[BigBrotherInstinct his]]'' [[HotBlooded temper slips as well.]] [[SuperStrength Thankfully]] for alt!Frobisher, through the efforts of the rest of Excalibur, he's prevented from actually throwing a punch.

* While it never actually happens in the show (bar the pleasure sensing in "Objects In Space"), rather a lot of ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' {{fanfiction}} takes River's well-established PowerIncontinence to its logical conclusion.

* This trope plagues poor Satori Komeiji in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' fanworks, sometimes [[http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=264852 freaking her out]] or [[CorruptTheCutie getting to her]], other times subverting this with Satori getting ''bored'' with dirty thoughts due to overexposure. Since subconscious desire is a massive part of Freud's theories of psychology, this trope also gets used by her sister, Koishi, though she tends to be portrayed as less bothered by it. Or, indeed, [[EmptyShell anything]].

* [[http://archiveofourown.org/series/82162 Stars From Home]]: Charles is hesitant to read Scott's mind after accidentally reading his thoughts when he [[ADateWithRosiePalms "did what all teenage boys do".]]

* A fairly [[{{Squick}} squicky]] ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' example: shortly after Phoebe becomes [[TheEmpath an empath]], she's trying to talk to her sister Piper when a man begins to check Piper out. Phoebe feels his attraction for her sister--apparently as if it belonged to her--becomes flustered, and has to shoo him out.

* ''Series/DoctorWho''

* In ''{{Series/Firefly}}'', River suffers a brush with this in the episode "Objects In Space", where she comes across Zoe and Wash making out on the bridge. Her... ''reaction''... to it says everything; she starts swaying, mouth opening and closing, and her hands start rubbing her arms, and she's forced to retreat very quickly.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''

* In a few early ''{{ComicStrip/Dilbert}}'' strips, Dilbert goes on a blind date with a two-headed telepath. It doesn't go well.
-->'''Dilbert:''' Must not think anything naughty, must not think anything naughty -- (the woman's faces freeze in horror) -- Oops.\\

'''Dilbert:''' I must admit, this is the first time I've been on a date with a two-headed telepath. Now I'm sure some of the thoughts you're picking up seem strange and disturbing, but I assure you, these are perfectly normal thoughts for a guy -- (''the woman grabs the tablecloth in disgust and horror'') -- Well, maybe not that last one.

* Invoked by Gault in the ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'' expansion of ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', who deliberately thinks of the most repulsive and perverse thoughts possible when dealing with Force Users as a form of PsychicStatic. It's even effective on a Force-sensitive PC, can try to read his mind only to recoil in disgust soon after.

** In one episode, Picard and Crusher were implanted with chips in their heads that ended up sending each other the thoughts of the humans. Crusher later told Picard that she read his thoughts while he was sleeping, prompting Picard to say that he cannot be held responsible for his unconscious thoughts.

* Kelly from ''Series/{{Misfits}}'', a telepath, has the dubious honour of hearing the horny thoughts of the men around her. She hears Nathan's so often it becomes a bit of a RunningGag.

This isn't always the fault of the mind-readee, however. Sometimes the telepath [[PowerIncontinence can't control their powers]]. Other times, it's part of an implied lesson in [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility using one's power responsibly]] and the presence of this trope [[MindOverManners is simply karmic justice.]]

* The WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} episode "I Roommate" has Bender's thoughts interrupting satellite signals via his antenna.
-->'''Woman:''' [Your thoughts] are on my cell phone too.
-->'''Bender:''' Madame, I believe you're mistaken.
-->'''Cellphone in Bender's voice:''' Wow, that lady has a huge ass.
-->'''Bender:''' Those could be anyone's thoughts, fat ass.

* In the WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers episode "What Color is Your Clean Suit", Dean tries to talk to a girl with telepathy but all his mind is focused on is her boobs.

* Also in ''X-Men'', ComicBook/{{Gambit}} deliberately invokes this trope to [[PsychicStatic keep telepaths out of his mind]]. These aren't just ''any'' dirty thoughts, though, no... they involve [[spoiler:[[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead the Blob]]]].

* [[Creator/StephenKing Stephen King's]] ''Literature/TheShining'' has an early scene where Danny Torrance notices a female hotel guest watching a bellhop and thinking she'd "like to get into his pants." This leads to a kind of EntendreFailure, as five-year-old Danny can't understand why she doesn't just get some pants of her own to wear instead of taking his.

* [[Creator/DaveDuncan Dave Duncan's]] book ''Cursed'' has a family traveling in the country come through an area where an exiled telepath is hiding. Several erotic thoughts are revealed, although no names are associated with the thinkers directly. Other thoughts are revealed as well, and the patriarch decides that having a telepath living outside their enclave will be beneficial to both parties: the telepath would have food, clothing, etc., while the enclave would have a guardian to alert them to invaders or thieves.

* In ''[[Literature/{{Touch 2017}} Touch]],'' thirteen-year-old [[TheEmpath empath]] Caspar usually feels uncomfortable when he can sense people's romantic or sexual feelings, which are described as feeling warm and occasionally "icky." Notably, the first story arc kicks off when he senses what he's fairly sure is a child being molested.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Jake falls in love instantly with Aranea when he meets her, due to having a fetish for blue women. Unfortunately, Aranea is telepathic, and she picks up on the fact that he's thinking certain things about her. In the same scene, Jake also conjurs up Brain Ghost Dirk, a semi-imaginary version of his real friend who lives in Jake's mind, and thus can read his thoughts. To troll him, Brain Ghost Dirk repeatedly comments on Jake's sexy thoughts and threatens to make him pop a boner. Jake struggles to maintain both conversations while trying not to think anything too dirty around either mind-reader.

** In "Warlord", Kes is [[GrandTheftMe taken over]] by the VillainOfTheWeek, who reads Tuvok's mind and suggests that [[HotForStudent he secretly desires the student he's been coaching]] in the use of her PsychicPowers.

** In an uncensored joke much later in the series, Picard asks Troi to try sensing what some aliens are thinking. Troi ends up sensing one of Picard's dirty thoughts and confusingly mentions how Picard is standing over her and begins pouring lemonade all over her... until she realizes it wasn't lemonade. Picard quickly cuts her off and changes the subject before she can finish what he's thinking, and then gives Riker a command and heads off to his quarters.

* In ''Literature/{{Touch}},'' thirteen-year-old [[TheEmpath empath]] Caspar usually feels uncomfortable when he can sense people's romantic or sexual feelings, which are described as feeling warm and occasionally "icky." Notably, the first story arc kicks off when he senses what he's fairly sure is a child being molested.

* Psycho Mantis laments his telepathy in his FinalSpeech in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', particularly, "how everyone thinks of only one thing". It upsets him that all humans are seemingly hard-wired with the mindless, atavistic desire to pass on their genes.

* Psycho Mantis laments his telepathy in his FinalSpeech in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', particularly, "how everyone thinks of only one thing".

[[folder:Real Life]]
* While performing for the troops during WorldWarTwo, Creator/MarleneDietrich would do a mind reading act. She would ask the audience to concentrate on whatever came into their minds, then go over to a soldier and pretend to be shocked. "Oh, think of something else. I can't possibly talk about ''that!''"
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Buffy discovers just how often teenage boys think about sex when she gets mind reading powers in the episode "Earshot". There's one particular moment where Buffy picks up on someone thinking some very flattering things about her looks. She preens a bit until the thoughts go from "she's attractive" to "I'd like to push her against those lockers and have my way with her," at which points she freaks out a little and hurries away.

--->'''Xander:''' (''voice over'') What am I gonna do? I think about sex all the time! Sex! Help! Four times five is 30. Five times six is 32. Naked girls. Naked women! Heh, naked Buffy! Oh, stop me!\\

* In the tie in comic book for ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', the psychic superheroine, Sister Psyche, was disgusted to hear the thoughts that a teenage boy was having of her. Strange, since being [[OlderThanTheyLook sixty years old]] should have given her more time to get used to it... or at least to choose a costume that wasn't absurdly {{Stripperific}}.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Harry during his tutelage by Betsy. Since he's a [[HormoneAddledTeenager 13 year old boy]] and she is a very attractive woman in, as his telepathic teacher, a very intimate situation, the inevitable result is that Harry ends up very embarrassed indeed and has a great deal of incentive to mask his thoughts. Betsy, [[BigSisterInstinct who is fond of Harry in a big sisterly sort of way,]] mostly just seems to find it funny and gently teases him about it. As she matter-of-factly points out, she's kind of used to it since she has/had a psi-link to her twin brother, so had to get very good at blocking things out when he hit puberty.

** Subverted in the case of [[CloudCuckooLander Oz]], who becomes philosphical about the whole matter and begins pondering things like "If my thoughts exist in Buffy's mind, does that mean ''I'' exist in Buffy's mind, and that Buffy is me?"

* In the WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers episode, "What Color is Your Clean Suit" Dean tries to talk to a girl with telepathy but all his mind is focused on is her boobs.

* A recurring trope in ''Literature/HiveMind'', whose main character is a telepath who works in law enforcement. Her boyfriend teasing her by imagining them having sex is fine, if somewhat embarrassing; the necrophiliac is less so.

* Her daughter Comicbook/RachelSummers, reacts to this in an early issue of ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}'', suddenly tar & feathering the offender. We never find out what the exact thoughts were, but when Rachel shows them to Brian Braddock (Captain Britain) by way of explaining her reaction, ''his'' temper slips as well. [[SuperStrength Thankfully]] he's prevented from actually throwing a punch.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Harry during his tutelage by Betsy. Since he's a [[HormoneAddledTeenager 13 year old boy]] and she is a very attractive woman in, as his telepathic teacher, a very intimate situation, the inevitable result is that Harry ends up very embarrassed indeed and has a great deal of incentive to mask his thoughts. Betsy, [[BigSisterInstinct who is fond of Harry in a big sisterly sort of way,]] mostly just seems to find it funny. As she matter-of-factly points out, she's kind of used to it since she has/had a psi-link to her twin brother, so had to get very good at blocking things out when he hit puberty.

--> "YOUR MIND CONFUSES ME EMMETT, PLEASE GO BACK TO THINKING ABOUT FOOTBALL... NO! NO EMMETT I SAID FOOTBALL, MY GOODNESS. NO I DO NOT WONDER WHAT [BELLA] LOOKS LIKE NAKED"]]''

* In an uncensored joke on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Picard asks Troi to try sensing what some aliens are thinking. Troi ends up sensing one of Picard's dirty thoughts and confusingly mentions how Picard is standing over her and begins pouring lemonade all over her... until she realizes it wasn't lemonade. Picard quickly cuts her off and changes the subject before she can finish what he's thinking, and then gives Riker a command and heads off to his quarters.

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Yusuke and company force a mind reader to help them find whoever is opening up the portal to the demon world, telling him to listen for anything strange. What he comes up with is a lusty "[[HotForStudent That girl's thinking about getting it on with her teacher, dammit!]]"