ABSTRACT
BDSM is a subject of fierce debate among BDSM practitioners and their opponents, as well as scholars interested in sexuality, power, and freedom, because it forces us to confront the intersection of two cherished values: sexual freedom and freedom from harm. Some feminists oppose BDSM because it exaggerates the patriarchal assumption of male domination and female subordination already embedded in heterosexual sexuality. Thus, the BDSM feminist debate hinges on ethical questions concerning inflicting pain and eroticizing dominance, and championing sexual freedom and personal transformation. According to Rubin, stigmatizing BDSM as perverse, and BDSM devotees as perverts, cannot be consistent with feminist politics. BDSM practitioners claim that it does more than simply bring fantasies of domination and submission to life: it allows us to question and explore our relationships to authority. For many people practicing BDSM, there is not a set of political questions to be actively explored, but rather a situation of power sadism or masochism to be simply enjoyed.
