Sensational Flesh: Race, Power, and Masochism

This "lively and enlightening contribution to queer studies" investigates power, race, and gender through the lens of masochism (Darieck Scott, author of Extravagant Abjection).

In everyday language, masochism is usually understood as the desire to abdicate control in exchange for sensation—pleasure, pain, or a combination thereof. Yet at its core, masochism is a site where power, bodies, and society come together. Drawing on rich and varied sources—from nineteenth century sexology, psychoa...