Talk:Sadism/Masochism

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Sadism is pleasure derived from inflicting cruelty on another person. Richard von Krafft-Ebing coined the term in reference to the writings of the Marquis de Sade. In "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality" (1905d) Sigmund Freud described sadism as the active form in a pair of opposites, masochism being the passive form of the same sexual perversion. Two pregenital libidinal phases are described, the oral-sadistic (or cannibalistic) stage, and the anal-sadistic stage, which remains active during later libidinal development....

Sadism and masochism represent contrasting forms of pleasure derived from sexual excitation linked to cruelty and the infliction of pain. While both currents are present in any given individual, they also represent pregenital links in an intersubjective context in which one partner is the sadist and the other the masochist. Sadomasochism may have an oral component but takes on characteristic form during the anal sadistic stage. In Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905d), Freud pointed out that sadism and masochism,...