ABOUT THIS BOOK

Lynn Chancer advances the provocative thesis that sadomasochism is far more prevalent in contemporary societies like the United States than we realize. According to Chancer, sexual sadomasochism is only the best-known manifestation of what is actually a much more broadly based social phenomenon. Moving from personal relationships to school, the workplace, and other interactions, Chancer uses a variety of examples that are linked by a recurrent pattern of behavior. She goes beyond the predominantly individualistic and psychological explanations generally associated with sadomasochism (including those popularized in the "how to" literature of the recent Women Who Love Too Much genre) toward a more sociological interpretation. Chancer suggests that the structure of societies organized along male-dominated and capitalistic lines reflects and perpetuates a sadomasochistic social psychology, creating a culture steeped in everyday experiences of dominance and subordination.

In the first part of the book, Chancer discusses the prevalence of sadomasochistic cultural imagery in contemporary America and examines sadomasochism through several perspectives. She develops a set of definitional traits both through existential analysis of an instance of S/M sex and by incorporating a number of Hegelian and psychoanalytic concepts. In the second part of the book, she places sadomasochism in a broader context by exploring whether and how it appears in the workplace and how it relates to gender and race.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

LYNN S. CHANCER is an assistant professor of sociology at Barnard College.

REVIEWS

"An important contribution to that most pressing of cultural projects -- uncovering the psychic roots of authoritarianism."

—

"A brilliant, highly original analysis of contemporary U.S. society. Chancer illuminates fundamental issues in American culture, in the workplace, in gender relationships, and the minefield of race."

— Ruth Sidel, Hunter College, and author of On Her Own: Growing Up in the Shadow of the American Dream

Ruth Sidel, Hunter College, and author of On Her Own: Growing Up in the Shadow of the American Dream:

"A brilliant, highly orginal analysis of contemporary U.S. society. Chancer illuminates fundamental issues in American culture, in the workplace, in gender relationships, and the minefield of race."

—

"A brilliant, highly original analysis of contemporary U.S. society. Chancer illuminates fundamental issues in American culture, in the workplace, in gender relationships, and the minefield of race."

— Ruth Sidel, Hunter College, and author of On Her Own: Growing Up in the Shadow of the American Dream

Ruth Sidel, Hunter College, and author of On Her Own: Growing Up in the Shadow of the American Dream:

"A brilliant, highly orginal analysis of contemporary U.S. society. Chancer illuminates fundamental issues in American culture, in the workplace, in gender relationships, and the minefield of race."

— Ruth Sidel

"An important contribution to that most pressing of cultural projects -- uncovering the psychic roots of authoritarianism."

— Ellen Willis, journalist and critic, author of No More Nice Girls and Daring to Be Bad.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction Reflecting on a Set of Personal and Political Criteria
Part One Expanding the Scope of Sadomasochism
Chapter 1 Exploring Sadomasochism in the American Context
Chapter 2 Defining a Basic Dynamic: Paradoxes at the Heart of Sadomasochism
Chapter 3 Combining the Insights of Existentialism and Psychoanalysis: Why Sadomasochism?
Part Two Sadomasochism in Its Social Settings
Chapter 4 Employing Chains of Command: Sadomasochism and the Workplace
Chapter 5 Engendering Sadomasochism: Dominance, Subordination, and the Contaminated World of Patriarchy
Chapter 6 Creating Enemies in Everyday Life: Following the Example of Others
Chapter 7 A Theoretical Finale
Epilogue
Notes
Index