Against Sadomasochism is a book featuring many different pieces from different authors from the feminist and women’s movement. As clearly stated by the title of the work, all of the pieces have something that finds issue with, or disagrees with the political leaning of sadomasochism. Some of the criticism surrounding this issue is that it is degressive to women’s rights and the feminist movement. As the introduction of the anthology states, “it really doesn’t matter how many women practice sadomasochism; as long as sexuality and intimacy are expressed through the paradigms of domination and humiliation, then sadomasochism will affect each of our lives” (3). This outlines the argument that as long as women are playing out roles of dominance and submission, they are contributing to a form of women’s submission to the patriarchy. Other criticism calls into question whether or not consent is realistic in sadomasochism, based on societal factors already in place. In addition, there is also a focus of the criticism based on the fact that the topic is highlighted as part of the lesbian community. Most of the authors reject the idea that it is only an issue within the lesbian community.
I particularly liked Audre Lorde’s dissection of this debate. Lorde states that the humiliation and domination is “not about sex, but about how we use power” (70). Even though I like and understand this point made by Lorde, I remain confused about this topic in general. I think of myself as a sex positive person, and I don’t want to shame people for being interested in certain sexual acts, for the most part. However, I do think it’s important to analyze the roots of these desires. In relation to this, I think Lorde’s question is important in analyzing sexual desires: “How does our sexuality enrich us and empower our actions?” (71).
Lastly, while I do remain unconvinced of either side of this debate, I particularly liked the piece of this anthology that discussed sadomasochism in relation to race. When thinking about the sex wars, I have sometimes felt like it has been a white feminist issue. Not that this debate doesn’t affect all women, but that the conversation has felt exclusionary to women of color, who may have very different experiences of sex and power. Overall, I found it helpful to read this side of the debate on sadomasochism, and look forward to discussing it more in depth.