Sadomasochism

 Sadomasochism can be broken down into two components: sadism and masochism (William, 2006). Sadism is defined as the sexual gravitation of causing physical, emotional, and or sexual pain to other people, whereas masochism is defined as the sexual gravitation of receiving physical, emotional, and or sexual pain from others (Wiederman, 2003). 

Casual sadism and masochism occur in settings that are made up by the parties involved, which involves consent and the ability to withdraw at any point (Wiederman, 2003). A clinical diagnosis of sadism and masochism is only made in situations where an individual gets pleasure from real world occurrences of pain (Wiederman, 2003). 

The practice of Sadomasochism when practiced correctly is generally very safe. As stated before, consent and the ability to stop is a huge factor in the community which practices sadomasochism. The saying “safe, sane, and consensual” is extremely common in such spaces and used to ensure the time spent practicing sadomasochistic activities is one that provides pleasure and enjoyment for all parties involved (William, 2006). Although the limits of participants can be tested and pushed if agreed upon, abuse is never tolerated and basic skills in communication, empathy, and caution should be used as necessary (William, 2006). 

In 2001- 2002 a representative sample of 19,307 Australians were interviewed anonymously about their sexual activity, behavior and identity  (Richters et al., 2008). Out of the 19,307 sexually active participants  surveyed only 2.2% of men and 1.3% of women engaged in sadomasochistic activities (Richters et al., 2008). The rates of sadomasochism was also reported to be higher in gay/lesbian and bisexual people (Richters et al., 2008).

A huge problem within the sadomasochistic community is sexual racism, which is racism within a sexual setting (Erickson et al., 2022). People of color tend to avoid engaging in the large established sadomasochistic community because of the fear and anxiety of being tokenized and being the victim of sexual racism (Erickson et al., 2022). 

Their fear and anxiety is not without sufficient reason. People of color are 16 times more likely to feel discriminated against and 17 times more likely to feel fetishized at sadomasochistic events (Erickson et al., 2022). 

To combat this lack of community, people of color build their own smaller communities with the mainstream community in order to avoid sexual racism (Erickson et al., 2022). 

When does sadomasochism go too far? How can a professional access this?

 The main thing a professional should remember when dealing with an individual that has sadomasochistic tendencies is to put aside their own moral values of sadomasochism (William, 2006). The values of a therapist or clinician can be widely different from the client, which makes it an unreliable and unfair tool to access normalcy. It also should be kept in mind that the characteristics, expectations, and values of one member of the sadomasochistic community are not reflective of other members. Dignity and respect should also obviously be given to form a strong therapeutic relationship between the professional and client (William, 2006). 

Some questions a professional should consider include: 

Have the sadomasochistic activities of this individual interfered with the rest of their responsibilities and life? 

Are these activities practiced in ways that are both safe and ethical? 

Has the client’s personality and behavior outside of a sexual context changed?

 (William, 2006).