to index

A Defence of Masochism

by Anita Phillips

Faber & Faber, London       1998

ISBN:  0-571-19042-1

Anita Phillips' "A Defence of Masochism" is a groundbreaking work that challenges the traditional views of masochism as a perversion. The book presents a nuanced examination of the darker side of sexuality, particularly focusing on sadomasochism, which has been a significant influence on art, fashion, literature, and thought. Phillips argues against the clinical discourses that have dismissed masochism as a sickness, advocating for a more inclusive understanding of human desire and eroticism.

 

The Rear View, A Brief and Elegant History of Bottoms.

by Jean-Luc Hennig

Souvenir Press, London       1995

ISBN:  0-285-63542-2

Red, provocative, and shamelessly enjoyable, The Rear View is a celebration of the behind, ranging from its physical evolution to its history as a source of artistic and literary inspiration and as a barometer of social attitudes.

 

A Taste for Pain

by Maria Marcus

Souvenir Press, London       1981

ISBN:  0-285-62497-0

To feminists, female masochism is a fundamental and disturbing subject. Addressing a conference in Copenhagen in 1972, Germaine Greer said, "We know that women are masochists - that's what it's all about!" Yet masochism, both sexual and emotional, marks a blind spot in feminist literature. Almost no one has dared to explore it. Maria Marcus, a noted Danish feminist, thought about this problem for years before she could bring herself to write this book. A Taste For Pain describes her struggle to understand and come to terms with the various forms of masochism that have seemed to shape her emotional makeup from earliest childhood. Although her approach starts out as personal, her outlook and conclusions are universal. She explores the thought of such eminent psychologists as Freud, Horney, Kinsey, and Reich. She looks at the relationship between pleasure and pain and wonders whether a 'masochist' really needs a 'sadist.' She also examines the works of important feminists such as de Beauvoir, Greer, and Millett, and she looks closely at the classics of sado-masochistic pornography from de Sade to The Story of O. She does all this in her search for the answer to the basic, nagging question: Is masochism, with its elements of passivity and helplessness, part of woman's essential nature, or is it a part of a dangerous process of socialization?

 

The Cruel & The Meek

by Walter Braun

Luxor Press (Senate), London       1967

ISBN:  1-85170-554-6

An attempt at a scholarly review of the literature and history of perversions, especially sadomasochism, shows the author's passion for his subject.

 

Ouch!!   A Literary History of the Smacked Bottom

Over 150 quoted passages from 500 years of disciplinary writing

Alice Kerr-Sutherland Society  1999

ISBN:  1-899861-19-X

(AKSBOOKS@aol.com)

 

Lady Green's

The Compleat Spanker

Greenery Press, San Francisco   1996

ISBN:  0-890159-00-X

(verdant@crl.com)

 

The Essential Guide to the Practice of Corporal Punishment

....or how do I get my partner interested in spanking?

by Lucy Bailey

Miss Marchmont's English Spanking Society, London   2000

ISBN:  Not given

http://www.missmarchmont.com