Psychology of sex - Total No. of Records in System :: 2032

atavistic exaggerationSEXUAL DEVIATIONof normal manifestations of courtship.They are, especially in organically feeble organisms,the manifestation of an instinctive attempt to re-inforcethe sexual impulse. The incidental emotions of courtship,viz.; anger and fear, are themselves stimulants to sexualactivity.It thus becomes possible to invoke angeror fearartificially in order to strengthen a failing sexual impulse.the actionThe most convenient method of doing this is byof pain: if the painisinflicted we are in the presence ofsadism, if suffered in the presence of masochism, if simplywitnessed we are in an intermediate stage which may betinged with either sadism or masochism according to thedirection of the sympathies of the algolagnic spectator.From this point of view the sadist and the masochist alikemerely use pain as a method of drawing on a great reservoirof primitive emotion, which imparts energy to afeeble sexual impulse.When we understand the foundations on which algolagnicdeviations rest, we see that they have only an accidentaland not an essential association with cruelty. It isnot the desire to be cruel which impels the sadist, howevercruel he may be in actual fact. He wishes to arouse hisown flagging emotions, and in order to do so he in manycases arouses the emotions of his victim; the most potentmethod of doing so he knows of is to give her pain. But hefrequently desires that she shall feel this pain as pleasure.Even in the sphere of normal love a man will often inflictsmall pains or hardships on the woman he loves, and allthe time be anxious that she should likethem, or evenexperience pleasure in them. The sadist merely goes a stepfurther, and (as in one recorded case) sticks pins into thegirl while insistingthat she shall all the time wear a smilingface; it is not his wish to be cruel, he would prefer togive pleasure, though he is content with the mere appear-