Against Sadomasochism

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Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis
Against Sadomasochism- A Radical Feminist Analysis.jpg
Cover of the first edition
Editors
LanguageEnglish
Subject Sadomasochism
PublisherFrog in the Well
Publication date
1982
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages212
ISBN 0-9603628-3-5
OCLC 7877113

Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis is a 1982 radical feminist anthology edited by Robin Ruth Linden, Darlene R. Pagano, Diana E. H. Russell, and Susan Leigh Star. The authors critique sadomasochism and BDSM, with most identifying sadomasochism as rooted in "patriarchal sexual ideology". [1]

Contents

Summary

The compilation includes essays by a variety of radical feminists such as Alice Walker, Robin Morgan, Kathleen Barry, Diana E. H. Russell, Susan Leigh Star, Ti-Grace Atkinson, John Stoltenberg, Sarah Lucia Hoagland, Darlene Pagano, Susan Griffin, Cheri Lesh, and Judith Butler. Butler, credited as "Judy Butler", criticizes Samois in her essay "Lesbian S&M: The Politics of Dis-Illusion". [2] Several other essays in the anthology also criticize it. The anthology also includes an interview between Audre Lorde and Susan Leigh Star. The essays express opposition to sadomasochism from a number of different viewpoints. Three pieces, a letter by Alice Walker, the interview with Audre Lorde, and a conversation between Karen Sims, Darlene Pagano, and Rose Mason, criticize the movement as insensitive to the experiences of black women, particularly criticizing "master/slave" relationships. [3] [4] Susan Leigh Star criticizes the use of swastikas and other Nazi imagery by some BDSM practitioners as anti-Semitic and racist. [5] Marissa Jonel and Elizabeth Harris's articles are accounts of personal experiences with sadomasochism, and Paula Tiklicorect and Melissa Bay Mathis use satire in their pieces. Susan Griffin's article, reprinted from her book Pornography and Silence with an introduction, criticizes Story of O , the book from which Samois took their name. Griffin argues that Story of O shows "how a pornographic society turns a woman's heart against herself". [6]

Reception

In a review for lesbian feminist magazine Off Our Backs , Carol Anne Douglas highly recommended the book, praising its arguments as convincing and calling parts of the book "moving". [7] Charles Moser wrote a negative review for The Journal of Sex Research , admitting that the essays are "well-written" but nonetheless calling the book "infuriating". Moser compares the feminist arguments against sadomasochism in the book to religious arguments against homosexuality, saying both of these cause unnecessary guilt. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Story of O</i> 1954 novel by Pauline Réage

Story of O is an erotic novel written by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, with the original French text published in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Pauvert.

Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults, whether they are initiated by the government, other feminists, opponents of feminism, or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups, endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, producers of pornography and erotica, among others. Sex-positive feminists believe that prostitution can be a positive experience if workers are treated with respect, and agree that sex work should not be criminalized.

John Stoltenberg is an American author, activist, magazine editor, college lecturer, playwright, and theater reviewer who identifies his political perspective as radical feminist. For several years he has worked for DC Metro Theater Arts and as of 2019 is its executive editor. He has written three books, two collections of his essays and a novel. He was the life partner of Andrea Dworkin for 30 years and has lived with his husband, Joe Hamilton, for over 15 years.

Susan Griffin is a radical feminist philosopher, essayist and playwright particularly known for her innovative, hybrid-form ecofeminist works.

Samois was a lesbian feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983. It was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States. It took its name from Samois-sur-Seine, the location of the fictional estate of Anne-Marie, a lesbian dominatrix character in Pauline Réage's erotic novel Story of O, who pierces and brands O. The co-founders were writer Pat Califia, who identified as a lesbian at the time, Gayle Rubin, and sixteen others.

Patrick Califia, formerly also known as Pat Califia and by the last name Califia-Rice, is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transitioning, Califia identified as a lesbian and wrote for many years a sex advice column for the gay men's leather magazine Drummer. His writings explore sexuality and gender identity, and have included lesbian erotica and works about BDSM subculture. Califia is a member of the third-wave feminism movement.

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Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism. Lesbian feminism was most influential in the 1970s and early 1980s, primarily in North America and Western Europe, but began in the late 1960s and arose out of dissatisfaction with the New Left, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, sexism within the gay liberation movement, and homophobia within popular women's movements at the time. Many of the supporters of Lesbianism were actually women involved in gay liberation who were tired of the sexism and centering of gay men within the community and lesbian women in the mainstream women's movement who were tired of the homophobia involved in it.

<i>Coming to Power</i> 1981 anthology of lesbian S/M writings

Coming to Power: Writings and Graphics on Lesbian S/M is a 1981 book edited by members of the lesbian feminist S/M organisation Samois. It is an anthology of lesbian S/M writings. It was a founding work of the lesbian BDSM movement.

Diana E. H. Russell was a feminist writer and activist. Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, she moved to England in 1957, and then to the United States in 1961. For the past 45 years she was engaged in research on sexual violence against women and girls. She wrote numerous books and articles on rape, including marital rape, femicide, incest, misogynist murders of women, and pornography. For The Secret Trauma, she was co-recipient of the 1986 C. Wright Mills Award. She was also the recipient of the 2001 Humanist Heroine Award from the American Humanist Association. She was also an organizer of the First International Tribunal on Crimes against Women, in Brussels in March 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayle Rubin</span> American cultural anthropologist, activist, and feminist

Gayle S. Rubin is an American cultural anthropologist, theorist and activist, best known for her pioneering work in feminist theory and queer studies.

Grace Atkinson, better known as Ti-Grace Atkinson, is an American radical feminist activist, writer and philosopher. She was an early member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and presided over the New York chapter in from 1967-68, though she quickly grew disillusioned with the group. She left to form The Feminists, which she left a few years later due to internal disputes. Atkinson was a member of the Daughters of Bilitis and an advocate for political lesbianism. Atkinson has been largely inactive since the 1970s, but resurfaced in 2013 to co-author an open statement expressing radical feminists' concerns about what they perceived as the silencing of discussion around "the currently fashionable concept of gender."

Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) was a feminist anti-pornography activist group based in San Francisco and an influential force in the larger feminist anti-pornography movement of the late 1970s and 1980s.

The feminist sex wars, also known as the lesbian sex wars, sex wars or porn wars, are collective debates amongst feminists regarding a number of issues broadly relating to sexuality and sexual activity. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement, particularly leading feminist thinkers, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and continue to influence debate amongst feminists to this day.

Sarah Lucia Hoagland is the Bernard Brommel Distinguished Research Professor and Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Women's Studies at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BDSM in culture and media</span> Stories, books and media about bondage

BDSM is a frequent theme in culture and media, including in books, films, television, music, magazines, public performances and online media.

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Feminist views on BDSM vary widely from acceptance to rejection. BDSM refers to bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and Sado-Masochism. In order to evaluate its perception, two polarizing frameworks are compared. Some feminists, such as Gayle Rubin and Patrick Califia, perceive BDSM as a valid form of expression of female sexuality, while other feminists, such as Andrea Dworkin and Susan Griffin, have stated that they regard BDSM as a form of woman-hating violence. Some lesbian feminists practice BDSM and regard it as part of their sexual identity.

Kathleen Barry is an American sociologist and feminist. After researching and publishing books on international human sex trafficking, she cofounded the United Nations NGO, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). In 1985 she received the Wonder Woman Foundation Award for her strides towards the empowerment of women. She has taught at Brandeis University and Penn State University.

Feminist views on sexuality widely vary. Many feminists, particularly radical feminists, are highly critical of what they see as sexual objectification and sexual exploitation in the media and society. Radical feminists are often opposed to the sex industry, including opposition to prostitution and pornography. Other feminists define themselves as sex-positive feminists and believe that a wide variety of expressions of female sexuality can be empowering to women when they are freely chosen. Some feminists support efforts to reform the sex industry to become less sexist, such as the feminist pornography movement.

Darlene Pagano is a feminist activist, radio producer, and editor. She is most famous for her conversational piece "Racism and Sadomasochism: A Conversation with Two Black Lesbians" published in collaboration with Karen Sims and Rose Mason in a radical feminist anthology entitled Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis, for which she is also credited as co-editor.

References

  1. Murphy, Timothy F., ed. (2012). Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p.  467. ISBN   978-1-57958-142-8 . Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  2. Gleeson, Jules (June 19, 2019). "Judith Butler: The Early Years". JSTOR Daily.
  3. Rich, B. Ruby (1998). Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p.  368. ISBN   0-8223-2121-1 . Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  4. Sims, Karen; Mason, Rose; Pagano, Darlene (1982). "Racism and Sadomasochism: A Conversation with Two Black Lesbians". In Linden, Robin Ruth; Pagano, Darlene R.; Russell, Diana E. H.; et al. (eds.). Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis. San Francisco: Frog in the Well. pp. 99–105.
  5. Star, Susan Leigh (1982). "Swastikas: The Street and the University". In Linden, Robin Ruth; Pagano, Darlene P.; Russell, Diana E. H.; et al. (eds.). Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis. San Francisco: Frog in the Well. pp. 131–6.
  6. Griffin, Susan (1982). "Sadomasochism and the Erosion of Self: A Critical Reading of Story of O". In Linden, Robin Ruth; Pagano, Darlene R.; Russell, Diana E. H.; et al. (eds.). Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis. San Francisco: Frog in the Well. pp. 184–201.
  7. douglas, carol anne (February 1984). "against sadomasochism: a radical feminist analysis". Off Our Backs. 14 (2): 25. JSTOR   25794279.
  8. Moser, Charles (November 1984). "Book Review". The Journal of Sex Research. 20 (4): 417–9. doi:10.1080/00224498409551239. JSTOR   3812200.