Whips and Chains? Fact or Fiction? Content Analysis of Sadomasochism in Internet Personal Advertisements

In order to study the sexual attitudes, identities, and behaviours of individuals involved in sadomasochism (S & M) it is necessary to understand the role of culture which heavily influences sexual behaviour. Historically, psychologists have viewed sexual behaviour as a biological or psychological phenomenon that reflects the drives, motives, and needs of an individual (Freud, 1962; Krafft-Ebing, 1886/1965). Horney (1967) believed that masochism in women was a result of the cultural constraints they faced with regards to social status, the sexual, and roles in society that kept women in a place of submissiveness. Sexuality has traditionally been explained by three paradigms – instinct, drive, and energy and unfortunately has assumed that sexuality equals heterosexuality, making heterosexuality the norm (Fergunson, 1989). Popular sexologists, such as, Ellis (1903/1926), Kinsey (1953), and Masters, Johnson, and Kolodny (1986) have constructed models of sexuality that reflect and reproduce male supremacy, which then becomes viewed as natural and universal, giving the impression that ‘normal’ male sexuality has control over female sexuality and that female sexuality should be passive and dependent (Coveney, Jackson, Jeffreys, Kay, & Mahony, 1984).

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