This book deconstructs the pathologizing category of 'sadomasochism' in order to account for the 'lived realities' of consensual 'SM' play, emphasizing the connection between the corporeal and the political in contemporary consumer cultures. It discusses the homogenization of desire and ownership and use of 'body' and 'sexual ethics'.

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Authors and Affiliations

University of Lincoln, UK

Andrea Beckmann

About the author

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

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: The Social Construction of Sexuality and Perversion
Book Subtitle: Deconstructing Sadomasochism
Authors: Andrea Beckmann
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230244924
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies Collection, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2009
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-230-52210-7Published: 29 September 2009
eBook ISBN: 978-0-230-24492-4Published: 29 September 2009
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 262
Topics: Criminology and Criminal Justice, general, Sociology of the Body, Personality and Social Psychology, Psychopathology, Forensic Psychology, Sexual Behavior

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Front Matter

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’

Back Matter

About this book