Abstract

This book deconstructs the pathologizing category of 'sadomasochism' in order to account for the 'lived realities' of consensual 'SM' play. It critically investigates the interconnections between the corporeal and the political realm against the backdrop of a commercial homogenization of desire, and explores the body, intimacy and sexual ethics. Legitimated, non-consensual relationships of power that generate profound harms are contrasted with the semi-criminalized bodily practices of consensual 'SM' that serve to facilitate psycho-sensual pleasures. The book demonstrates that consensual 'SM' play should not be pathologized and/or criminalized as it allows for existential learning in a 'laboratory of life'.