Sadomasochism in Art and Politics

Dr Estela V. Welldon contests the view that sadomasochism is an isolated 'perversion'. Using numerous examples from literature, film, opera and other media, she undertakes an exploration of the psychodynamic aspects of sadomasochism that carries us from the writings of de Sade and von Sacher-Masoch to the contemporary underground S & M club scene. Challenging our expectations that S & M is concerned only with 'bizarre' activities, Dr Welldon illuminates the dynamics of power and control in everyday family life and sexual relationships. Her investigation deepens to include the downward spiral of domestic violence and child abuse, and the 'malignant bonding' between couples in cases such as Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, and Fred and Rosemary West. Is sadomasochism invariably present in the victim-perpetrator cycle? Is it learned or innate? Are sadism and masochism complete opposites or do they complement one another? Are they specifically related to the genders? Dr Welldon asks these questions and many more in a fluent, thought provoking essay.

Author: Estela V. Welldon
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 10/31/2016
Pages: 112
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.26lbs
Size: 7.80h x 5.08w x 0.23d
ISBN13: 9781537734231
ISBN10: 1537734237
BISAC Categories:
- Psychology | Human Sexuality (see also Social Science | Human Sexuality)

About the Author
Dr Estela V. Welldon, MD, HonDSc, FRCPsych, Hon.Memb. APsaA, is an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy at Tavistock and Portman NHS Clinics. She is the founder and Honorary Life President of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy, and has an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Oxford Brookes University. She is a Member of the British Association for Psychotherapy, the British Psychoanalytic Council, the Institute of Group Analysis, the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and the International Association for Group Psychotherapy, and is an Honorary member of the Society of Couple Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists, Tavistock Clinic. She works privately as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and lectures worldwide. She is the author of Mother, Madonna, Whore: The Idealization and Denigration of Motherhood (1988), Ideas in Psychoanalysis: Sadomasochism (2002), Playing with Dynamite: A Personal Approach to the Psychoanalytic Understanding of Perversions, Violence, and Criminality (2011), and is the main editor of A Practical Guide to Forensic Psychotherapy (1997).

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