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'.

Introduction
Deconstructing 'Normalizing' Concepts
The 'Field': 'Lived Experiences' of Consensual 'SM' and 'Subjugated Knowledges'
'Sadomasochism' - A Social Construction and its Use
Challenging Claims of a Non-violent Modernity
Consensual 'SM' as a Spiritual Practice and the Experience of 'Transcendence'
Alternative Readings of Consensual 'SM'
Bibliography

ANDREA BECKMANN is Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Lincoln, UK. Her research interests include sociology of the body, 'sexualities' and critical criminology.