Abstract
Sadism is a concept that is applied to rape–torture and rape–murder as well as the pleasures of consensual sadomasochism. From the 1890s, forensic psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing was responsible for popularising the term. This article explores Krafft-Ebing’s understanding of the “degenerative” sadist and looks at how popular and psychiatric ideas changed over the past century. Why did it quickly become a common term in society? Why was sadism regarded as a “perversion” of “normal” male sexuality? In forensic terms, one interesting thing about the invention of sadism is why it needed to be coined in the first place. What was it about the sexual that necessitated a different category?
Highlights
Sadism is a concept that is applied to rape–torture and rape–murder as well as the pleasures of consensual sadomasochism
From the 1890s, forensic psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing was responsible for popularising the term
In Philosophy in the Bedroom (1795), the Marquis de Sade reflected on a sexual perversion that was later named after him: sadism
Summary
In Philosophy in the Bedroom (1795), the Marquis de Sade reflected on a sexual perversion that was later named after him: sadism. Sadism: a history of non-consensual sexual cruelty* From the 1890s, forensic psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing was responsible for popularising the term.
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