

Dr Romana Byrne Photo by RP Byrne
Dr Romana Byrne examines the cultural history of sadomasochism and how the Marquis de Sade, Krafft-Ebing and Freud earned us such infamy
The term “sadism”, as you probably know, is drawn from the name of the Marquis de Sade (1740 – 1814), a French aristocrat who spent thirty-two of his seventy-four adventurous years imprisoned for indecent behaviour and for his blasphemous, pornographic and often brutal writing. While de Sade may appear to be the logical “father of sadism”, this linkage should be deeply problematic to anyone who identifies with any aspect of BDSM. Kinky he may have been, but in fact de Sade has nothing to do with what we understand today to be sadism, dominance or topping. [Read more...]
















