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Rethinking Sadomasochism: Feminism, Interpretation, and Simulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2020

Patrick D. Hopkins
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Abstract

In reexamining the “sex war” debates between radical feminists and lesbian feminist sadomasochists, I find that the actual practice of sadomasochism provides the basis for a philosophically more complex position than has been articulated. In response to the anti-SM radical perspective, I develop a distinction between simulation and replication of patriarchal dominant/submissive activities. In light of this important epistemological and ethical distinction, I claim that the radical feminist opposition to SM needs reassessment.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Hypatia , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , Winter 1994, pp. 116 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 by Hypatia, Inc.

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