ore often than not it is not a dominating aspect of his personality.When we combine sadism and masochism together, we arrive with the term sadomasochism (more commonly called S&M). S&M is a mutually gratifying sexual interaction between consenting sex partners, in which sexual arousal is associated with the inflicting and receiving of pain or humiliation (Rathus, Nevid, &Fichner-Rathus, p546). Most participants in sadomasochism usually participate on both sides of the spectrum. They often switch roles at different times during certain rituals. Usually, the person who is in a submissive role will play in that role for the remainder of the ritual. Then for the next ritual, he or she might play the dominant role (Queen, p68). Within the S&M community, the terms “slave” and “mistress/master” are used to refer to the participants on both sides of the act. The term “slave” most commonly refers to the submissive or sadist role, and “mistress” or “master” is used to refer to the dominant or masochist role. The words “play” and “scene” are also used in the context of the S&M community. “Play” refers to any sort of erotic exchanges that both partners have agreed to engage in prior to the sadomasochistic practices. “Scene” refers to a single episode of the play in which these practices take place (Queen p68).Because of sadomasochists’ growing acceptance in our culture, S&M communities were formed throughout different countries of the world. Within the United States, a notable S&M subculture has been around since the 1940’s. Since the 1970’s, heterosexual, gays, and lesbians have been able to form a community where people with interests in S&M are able to interact with others who possess similar or mutually beneficial interests. That decade saw the birth of a handful of S&M societies in both New York and San Fra...
