ROBIN BAUER Lecturer in Gender and Science Studies and Queer Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
ANDREA BECKMANN Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Lincoln, UK
ROBERT V BIENVENU II Team Leader of the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities and Chair of the CARAS Research Advisory Committee, USA
ERIC CHALINE a PhD candidate, London South Bank University, UK
GRANT DENKINSON calls himself male, bisexual and polyamorous
LISA DOWNING is Chair of French Discourses of Sexuality and Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Study of Sexuality and Gender in Europe (CISSGE), University of Exeter, UK
DOSSIE EASTON one of the most prolific writers on the subject of SM
CAMELIA GUPTA is a mental health worker, independent researcher and journalist
WILLIAM HENKIN is a licensed psychotherapist and a board certified sex therapist
ALESSANDRA IANTAFFI is an active researcher and lecturer in the fields of diversity, inclusion, identities and research theories and methodologies
PEGGY J. KLEINPLATZ Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical Professor of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Canada
CHARLES MOSER is Chair, Department of Sexual Medicine, Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, San Francisco, USA
KATHY SISSON, MA is an independent scholar in California, USA
SOPHIA is polyamorous, bisexual and identifies as a switch
RICHARD A SPROTT Executive Director of the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities, and Lecturer, Department of Human Development, California State University, USA
MATTHEW WEAIT Senior Lecturer in Law and Legal Studies, Faculty of Continuing Education, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK

This book provides cutting edge research on sadomasochism from across the social sciences by academics, practitioners and activists

SECTION I: INTRODUCING SADOMASOCHISM Situating Sadomasochism; D.Langdridge & M.Barker The Cultural Formation of S/M: History and Analysis; K.Sisson Themes of SM Expression; C.Moser & P.J.Kleinplatz Is SM Pathological?; P.J.Kleinplatz & C.Moser Sado-masochism and the Law; M.Weait SECTION II: THEORISING PAIN AND INJURY Speaking the Unspeakable: S/M and the Eroticisation of Pain; D.Langdridge The 'Bodily Practices' of Consensual 'SM', Spirituality and 'Transcendence'; A.Beckmann Beyond Safety: Erotic Asphyxiation and the Limits of SM Discourse; L.Downing SECTION III: EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Sexual Fantasies of S/M Practitioners: The Impact of Gender and S/M Role on Fantasy Content; M.R.Yost On Becoming a Gay SMer; A Sexual Scripting Perspective; E.Chaline Playgrounds and New Territories: the Potentaial of BDSM Practices to Queer Genders; R.Bauer SECTION IV: THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVES The Power of Play: The Potentials and Pitfalls in Healing Narratives of BDSM M.Barker , C.Gupta & A.Iantaffi Shadowplay: S/M Journeys to Ourselves; D. Easton Some Beneficial Aspects of Exploring Personas and Role Play in the BDSM Context; W.A.Henkin SECTION V: BRIDGING THE ACADEMIC/ACTIVIST DIVIDE CARAS: An Initiative to Link Alternative Sexual Communities and Academic Researchers; R.A.Sprott & R.Bienvenu Turning the World Upside Down: Developing a Tool for Training about SM; M.Barker Who's in Charge in an SM Scene; Sophia SM and Sexual Freedom: A Life History; G.Denkinson Experiences of a Pro-Domme; M.Alize Total Power Exchange in a Modern Family: A Personal Persepctive; R.Green