Abstract
Our perception of individuals who engage in sadistic sexual practices has long been influenced by media coverage of highly severe sexual offenses, typically sadistic sexual homicides. Indeed, most people associate sexual sadism with the names of serial sexual murderers such as Ted Bundy or Guy Georges. However, the psychological profile and behaviors of these individuals are in no way representative of the profile of individuals in the general population who practice sadistic sexual activities in a consensual context. In addition from what seems to be a growing number of individuals engaging in consensual sadistic sexual activities, scientific findings (e.g.: population surveys) and certain popular culture successes (e.g.: books) reflect that what have been stigmatized and “deviant” in the past may have been unjustifiably labeled as such. The tremendous success of E. L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy of erotic novels, which showcases initiation into sexual practices involving several declinations of sadism, bondage and sexual submission, supports this argument. With over 125 million print and electronic copies sold worldwide in 2015, it is in itself an interesting marker of an interest towards sexual sadism within the general population. In this interview with Jean-Pierre Bouchard, Jonathan James, Alexandre Gauthier, Étienne Garant, Ingrid Ménard and Tamsin Higgs present the current state of knowledge on sexual sadism, both in terms of consensual sadistic sexual practices as well as the engagement in coercive and illegal sadistic sexual behaviors.
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