變異的性行為

兩個同時代的人：一個是殘忍者，另一個是虐待狂 這兩個歷史人物可以用來舉例說明殘忍和虐待之間的區別。兩個男人都以他們自己的方式表現出了兇暴和反常。前者用公開殘暴在國內外散佈恐懼氣氛；後者用秘密虐待達到他個人的性滿足。 （左） 弗拉德三世穿心魔 （Vlad III the Impaler[1]，1431-1476），原名德古拉，他並不是吸血鬼，而是瓦拉幾亞[2]的大公。他因其殘忍和大屠殺而臭名昭著，他將他的實際的敵人和潛在的敵人集體釘死在銳木樁上。不過，迄今為止我們知道他並不是施虐癖者。 （右）“吉爾斯·德·萊斯”（“Gilles de Rais”，1404-1440）， 全名叫吉爾斯·德·萊斯·蒙特默倫西-拉瓦勒（Gilles de Montmorency-Laval），又名德·萊斯男爵（Baron de Rais），曾經是聖女貞德（Joan of Arc）的戰友，而且是歷史上最大的大屠殺者之一。他誘拐了數十名男孩，這些男孩大部被擄虐到他的城堡，受盡了折磨並被殺害。最終，他被俘虜[3]、審判和絞死。他的犯罪顯然是虐待本性所致，而事實上，他也是薩德一些作品中的原型素材。德·萊斯也是傳說中的青須公（bluebeard）的原型人物，即指結婚後不久將妻子一個接一個謀殺的冷酷殺手。

歷史提供了許多殘忍和嗜血成性的統治者的案例，從羅馬皇帝卡利古拉（Caligula）到俄國沙皇惡魔伊凡（Ivan the Terrible）和瓦拉幾亞的弗拉德·德古拉（Vlad Dracula），也稱為拉德三世穿心魔。但是，他們的殘忍與此處討論的施虐受虐癖無關，也與過去的官方嚴刑拷打無關，官方試圖從被指控者那裏挖出口供，因為他們只是以折磨為主基調的法律體系的代理人。甚至在納粹滅絕集中營裏的看守按照納粹的規章“做了他們該幹的事”，也並沒有從中得到性快樂。在所有這些案例的這些做法裏，殘忍是顯而易見的，但是虐待卻十分令人拿捏不准。

殘忍和性施虐癖不是同一回事兒。一種施虐行為只有當產生或增強性興奮的時候，才算得上是性施虐。性施虐癖可能與殘忍和暴力有關，但多數時候與之無關。所謂的性取樂謀殺者（lust murderer）任何時候都是罕見的。有時，像吉爾斯·德·萊斯（Gilles de Rais）這樣的場面浩大的性施虐案使公眾感到心驚肉跳，並使公眾形成了對性施虐行為的總體印象，但是這兩種結果都是易讓人誤解的。大多數性施虐癖追尋的是一個樂意臣服的性伴侶。這可能包括施加痛苦，但更典型的往往牽涉到口頭責駡，角色扮演和身體固定（“捆綁”）。在達成一致的這樣的施虐受虐接觸比從前所認為的那樣更為普遍。的確，最近數十年來，在西方國家，施虐受虐癖越來越多地進入公眾的視線，而且現在互聯網使全世界容易對它有所瞭解。

Two Examples: 2. Sadomasochism

Historical Background: Cruelty and Sadism

Two Contemporaries: One cruel, the other sadistic These two historical figures can illustrate the difference between cruelty and sadism. Both men were monstrous and atypical in their own way. The first one used his public cruelty to spread fear at home and abroad; the second used his private sadism for his personal sexual gratification. (Left) Vlad III the Impaler (1431-1476), the original Dracula, was not a vampire, but a ruler of Wallachia (today part of Romania). He was infamous for his cruelty and for the mass executions of his real or perceived enemies by impaling them on sharpened wooden poles. However, as far as we know, he was not a sadist. (Right) “Gilles de Rais” (1404-1440), Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais, was a comrade-in-arms of Joan of Arc and one the greatest mass murderers in history. He abducted dozens of children - mostly boys – to his castle where he tortured and murdered them. Eventually he was arrested, tried and hanged. His crimes were obviously of a sadistic nature and served, in fact, as models in some of the writings of de Sade. De Rais was also the model for the legend of Bluebeard, a knight who killed each of his many wives soon after the wedding.

History offers many examples of cruel and bloodthirsty rulers, from the Roman emperor Caligula to the Russian czar Ivan the Terrible and the Wallachian Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler. However, their cruelty had nothing to do with the sadomasochism under discussion here. The same is true for the official torturers of the past, who tried to extract confessions from an accused person. They were simply agents of of a legal system of which torture was an integral part. Even the guards in Nazi extermination camps “did their job” according to regulations and derived no erotic pleasure from it. In all of these of these examples, the cruelty is obvious, but the sadism is very much in doubt.
Cruelty and sadism are not the same thing. A behavior is sadistic only if it produces or reinforces sexual excitement. Sadism can be associated with cruelty and violence, but most often it is not. The so-called lust murderers have always been very rare. From time to time, some spectacular cases like that of Gilles de Rais frighten the public and shape the general perception of sadistic behavior, but they are misleading. Most sadists seek to dominate a willing, submissive sexual partner. This can include the infliction of pain, but more typically involves verbal denigration, role playing, and physical immobilization (“tying up”). Such sadomasochistic contact between consenting sexual partners is more common than was formerly believed. Indeed, in the last few decades it has more and more come into the open in many Western countries, and the internet now makes it better known all over the world.