Sadomasochistically oriented behavior: diversity in practice and meaning

L Alison, Pekka Santtila, Kenneth Sandnabba, N Nordling

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

84 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

One hundred and eighty-four subjects (22 women and 162 men) who were members of two sadomasochistically oriented clubs answered a semistructured questionnaire containing items relating to a variety of sexual behaviors. Using a multivariate statistical analysis that geometrically represents the co-occurrence of individual actions as a visual array (Guttman (1954). In Lazarfeld, P. E. (ed.), Mathematical Thinking in the Social Sciences, Free Press, Glencoe, IL.) four qualitatively different sexual scripts emerged: hypermasculinity; administration and receiving of pain; physical restriction; and psychological humiliation. Although similar themes have been suggested before, this study demonstrated their empirical base. Humiliation was significantly associated more with females and with heterosexual orientation in men, while hypermasculinity was associated with males and with homosexual orientation in men.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Pages (from-to)1–12
JournalArchives of Sexual Behavior
Volume30
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2001
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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