SM - Sadism & Masochism

SM or sadism and masochism refer to activities for sexual pleasure involving pain and suffering being inflicted on one partner. The origin of the term is the Marquis de Sade a noted French philosopher-writer of sadistic novels.

Both sadistic and masochistic sexual urges find release in SM. SM essentially involves pain being taken to erotic proportions. To an onlooker the situation may appear to involve pain, often a great deal of it, but to the participant, the pain is the means to achieving pleasure and sexual arousal for the SM.

Both sadistic and masochistic sexual urges find release in SM. SM essentially involves pain being taken to erotic proportions. To an onlooker the situation may appear to involve pain, often a great deal of it, but to the participant, the pain is the means to achieving pleasure and sexual arousal for the SM.

Scenes are usually scripted in SM sexual encounters and the roles assumed by the partners can range from mistress and sale, employer and maidservant, teacher and student to master and dog or horse and even parent and child. Black leather and rubber attire is extensively preferred in SM. Another variation of SM is leather sex where gay males and heterosexuals sport key chains and colored handkerchiefs to represent the role each one is enacting. Keys worn on the left side suggests that the person is a sadist while the one playing the masochist role wears them on the right side.

In SM there is also an alternation of the two roles of the sadist and masochist. In its more subdued form, the pain and suffering is relatively mild and may be characteristic of many relationships. It may also be restricted to fantasy life.

It is equally possible that the power play demonstrated in SM situations needn’t be by the book. On the surface it appears that the sadist or the top that controls the pain being inflicted is the one in-charge of the situation. However it may be more accurate to realize that the power lies with the masochist or the bottom instead, who is usually the initiator and defines the parameters that the S&M partners engage in.