The Creation of Sadomasochism as Psychopathology

Therapist, sex researcher, political theorist, and leather community activist Pat Califia will examine the history of current models for understanding one human sexual variation, sadomasochism. The medical, forensic, and moralistic bias of these models has created the assumption, enshrined in the DSM-IV, that sadomasochism is pathological. Special emphasis will be placed on the work of Robert Stoller and John Money, as having been especially influential in bolstering this view. What are the implications of the "disease model" for public policy? How does the notion of perversity or paraphilias impact upon members of the leather/SM/fetish community? Do mental-health professionals and sexologists need to repeat the debacle that ended with removing homosexuality as a diagnostic category? An alternative model for understanding sexual minorities, based on valuing diversity, will be presented.