变异的性行为

长期以来，施虐癖曾经被人简单地与残忍画上了等号，被人定义为“得自施加痛苦的快乐”。相反地，受虐癖被人定义为“得自感到痛苦的快乐”，因此，精神病的旧术语“受虐狂（algolagnia，希腊语algos：痛苦；lagneia：渴望）”的意思是享受痛苦。这种看法是鼠目寸光的，不过，肯定是能够被人理解的。数个世纪以来，鞭挞惩罚一直是教育的常规特征，在家里和教室里都是这样。许多成人曾经记得他们的这种经历，也记得那些鞭挞他们的人的残忍的乐趣。似乎只有合乎逻辑地假定，致人痛苦者已经从伤害他们的小学生中得到了某种颓废的快乐。因而，（这个）新兴术语“施虐癖”似乎完全合适他们的行为。另一方面，同样是数个世纪以来，人们已经见识了一些虔诚的个人和团体的宗教狂热，他们为了精神救赎而残害自己的肉体。他们似乎喜欢自虐，因而（这个）新兴术语“受虐癖”似乎也适用于他们这种情况。最后，受过良好教育的男女们开始意识到了打屁股和性兴奋之间的直接联系。让-雅各布·卢梭的自传体小说《忏悔录》（Confessions）出版于其逝世后，已经揭露了他个人的兴趣秘密：在他8岁时，由于他经常被他的30岁的女监护人打屁股，就从被打屁股中得到了性快乐，而且打那儿以后，在他的余生中，他一直保持着对这种惩罚的渴望。术语“受虐癖”似乎太适合于描述他的这种爱好了。

不过，正如我们会明白的那样，痛楚只是施虐受虐癖的一种可能的条件，但决不是本质性的条件。

教育和宗教里的鞭挞惩罚  (左) 打屁股。数个世纪以来，鞭挞惩罚儿童在西方国家里曾经被认为是一种主要的教育方式。父母和教师用扁木(竹)质条、藤条、白桦条、鞭子、皮带或索带等工具管教青年一代。俗话说“棍棒里面出孝子！(Spare the rod and spoil the child!)”高度地概括了这种教育哲学理念。只有到了18世纪，“启蒙运动的”教育家们才开始质疑这种习俗的有效性。这很大程度上要归功于卢梭的作品影响。另外，卢梭的个人生活事例也证明了一个令人警醒的道理，在儿童时期被打屁股具有负面效应。(文艺复兴时期的绘画)  (右) 自我鞭挞。鞭挞惩罚自己作为忏悔的方式在许多宗教里有着悠久的传统。在基督教国家里，中世纪达到了高峰，那时，大批所谓的苦行者从一地到另一地修行，在公众场合鞭挞自己直到鲜血淋漓，以显示对宗教的挚爱。可能至少对某些修行者来说，这种行为具有性的内涵(木刻，纽伦堡编年史。)

Two Examples: 2. Sadomasochism

Historical Background 2: Educational and Religious Traditions

For a long time, sadism was simply equated with cruelty and defined as “pleasure derived from inflicting pain”. Conversely, masochism was defined as “pleasure derived from feeling pain”, hence the old psychiatric term “algolagnia”: enjoyment of pain (gr. algos: pain and lagneia: lust). This view was shortsighted, but it was certainly understandable. For centuries, beatings had been a regular feature of education, both in the home and in the classroom. Many adults remembered these beatings and the cruel joy of their tormentors. It seemed only logical to assume that they had derived some depraved pleasure from hurting their helpless pupils. Thus, the new term “sadism” seemed to fit their behavior perfectly. On the other hand, also for centuries, people had observed the religious ecstasy of certain devout individuals and groups who castigated their bodies for the sake of their souls. They seemed to enjoy their self-inflicted pain, and thus the new term “masochism” seemed to fit their case as well. Finally, well-educated women and men became aware of a direct connection between beatings and sexual excitement. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s autobiographical Confessions, published after his death, had revealed an interesting personal secret: At the age of 8, he had derived erotic pleasure from being spanked by his 30-year old female guardian, and from that moment on, he kept craving this kind of punishment for the rest of his life. The term “masochism” seemed only too apt for this predilection.
However, as we will see, pain is only one possible aspect of sadomasochism, and it is by no means an essential one.