Sadomasochism Is The Norm And Pathology. Everything You Wanted To Know, But Hesitated To Ask

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Sadism, masochism and their intertwining in the form of the concept of sadomasochism have almost always been the heroes of various classifications of sexual disorders. In ICD 10 there is a paraphilia called sadomasochism, in DSM 5 there is a division into sadism and masochism. In the next revision of the ICD, sadomasochism will disappear, its place will be taken by "Forced sadism", because neither sadism by itself, nor masochism - can meet modern criteria for disorder, since they do not necessarily entail harm to themselves and others.

Each classification, or any everyday look at the norm and pathology, of a specialist, or an ordinary person is a reflection of their worldview values. In the 19th century, the natural / unnatural opposition was the scientific criterion separating norm and pathology, everything that leads to the fertilization of a woman was considered natural, therefore sadism, masochism, masturbation, homosexuality and oral sex were considered perversions. A certain train of these views stretched across various classifications in the 20th century. The prevailing philosophy today is that everything is natural, nothing can be unnatural, since there is nothing outside of nature, the main criterion of norm and pathology is determined by the philosophy of utilitarianism, which can be simplified as: “ good is what leads to people's happiness, and bad is what brings suffering and unhappiness ».

Psychoanalysis defines norm and pathology in a completely different way, although a significant part of the schools of modern psychoanalysis have joined medical ethics, but there is a tradition that determines that the magnum opus of psychoanalysis is a blurring of the concepts of norm and pathology. In this light sadism and masochism can mean completely different things from different people, these can be symptoms of a neurotic plan at a level with obsessive thoughts and actions, and can be part of a kind of lifestyle - a perverse structure, in this regard, sadism and masochism are nothing more than possible epiphenomena of this way to exist and love. The problem is that in such a sexual act the other is objectified as a subject, the sexual act is hetero-dystonic, it does not give pleasure to the partner. At the same time, such a person himself is strong strapped to their own way of getting pleasure, which is associated with a kind of double knowledge. In the case of sadism, the knowledge that is necessary for enjoyment is that the victim is guilty, and hidden knowledge is the understanding that the victim is innocent. In the case of masochism, the knowledge that is needed for enjoyment is that the torturer is furious with me, and the secret knowledge is that the torturer is only my accomplice.

In a perverse sexual act, more than in others, the desire is manifested take control of something that used to be traumatic, transform old passive suffering into new active pleasure. Even a masochist is active, because he is the real director of his theatrical sexual act, even if he suffers pain and humiliation.

If sadism and masochism are the optimal pleasure, then working with it is pointless. But sometimes a monotonous sexual scenario, or a partner's dissatisfaction, leads such people to therapy. What can psychoanalysis offer to such clients? Sometimes, as a result of the analysis, clients abandon their perverse way of obtaining pleasure, sometimes sexual pleasure becomes more varied than before. Each time the client creates his own invention, how to better resolve his internal conflicts and gets additional opportunities to choose his own.