emmanuel reynaud holy virility the social construction of masculinity

is controlled and chosen. A prostitute gives this description of
male masochism:
«My masochist clients are rather special. They are usually
men who are educated, who've got money and have some
pretty unbelievable vices. They want us to beat them, or
crush cigarettes out on their nipples, stick pins in their
penises, drag them round the room by a string tied round
the tip of their tongue, defecate over their mouths, insult
them. And they reply: 'yes mistress', 'all right mistress'... I
am often dressed in black. I never smile. I even wear black
glasses, sometimes. I must wear high-heels. It's very
important. At home I have all the paraphernalia: whips,
chains, dildos, handcuffs . . . Slaps, insults, strokes of the
cat o'nine tails or the whip cost a hundred quid. The whole
show, sodomy, etc., costs double. That's a hell of a lot of
money. The longest it lasts is half an hour, sometimes a
little more, up to an hour. In that case, the bloke leaves
completely knackered, it'll take him a month to get over his
injuries. The punters are really hurt, they have to heal
afterwards. We can't pretend to hurt them, it has to be real.
Especially when we stick pins into their penises, they bleed
a lot because when they come all the blood rises, and when
you take out the pins, it all gushes out. For this operation
you have to pull the skin taut with elastic hands so as not
catch any skin, stretch it well. and then stick the pins in.
While you're doing this they don't cry out, they moan.
they're getting a kick out of it.»
[Man and sexuality / 47]
(Claude Jaget, Une Vie de putain. Paris, Les Presses
d'aujourd'hui, 1975)
Man tends to experience the intensity of his pleasure more often
through his own violence. When he gives in to his desires he
generally feels the urge to rape or be brutal. He satisfies these
wishes on a large scale during war. Not content with killing each
other, soldiers are prepared to do anything for amusement
including pillage and rape. Susan Brownmiller cites the most
atrocious example of brutality during the last few years:
Bangladesh, where, in 1971, Pakistani soldiers raped between
two and four hundred thousand women during their ninemonth
campaign. [4]
However, man does not confine himself to the opportunities
provided by war. He sometimes expresses his pleasure in rape
and violence in his daily life. And even if he does not always
commit rape, it is nonetheless frequently on his mind: he
fantasises about it, and goes to see it portrayed at the cinema. It
represents something beyond the commodity relationship
codified by marriage or prostitution: it is the appropriation of a
woman without having to give her anything in return. It enables
him to satisfy his desires without giving up his power. It is the
very expression of that power.