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This work is intended to explain and demystify the world of sadomasochism (SM). It is neither a political statement nor scientific research. It is a discussion of SM, what it means to its practitioners, how it is practised, and the structure of its subculture in contemporary American society. Like all sexual behaviour, SM is more than it seems, encompassing a spectrum of physiological and psychological mechanisms. By its reliance only on observed behaviour, the outsider's view has consistently led to misconceptions and false interpretations of SM behaviour. This book moves beyond the superficial and the misleading, focusing on the actual SM experience by fully integrating the external view of the academic with the internal view of the practitioner.