Dziś prawdziwych masochistów już nie ma
No real masochists left

Summary/Abstract: This text deals with the figure of a male masochist in the first historical description of masochism as a pathology of erotic life, and with a particular strategy employed by masochists during the XXth century to free themselves from the stigma of sexual deviance. By drawing parallels between the figure of a masochist and a far more acceptable one of a jester or a picaresque folk hero such as Till Eulenspiegel, the author attempts to show how masochism as an identity and a mode of life is capable of tapping into the rich traditions of carnival culture and “world turned upside down”, as epitomized by camp-influenced practices of SM street-fairs.

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