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A worldwide subculture that influences everything from fashion to advertising, sadomasochism has a long and lively history. A Lover's Pinch tells the story of consensual sadomasochism, from a controversial religious practice to a secretive sexuality branded a perversion. The origins of kink and fetish culture have been shrouded in secrecy and myths, until now. Here, Peter Tupper reveals the true story of sadism and masochism, dominance and submission.
From the ancient Christian flagellants to the Fifty Shades trilogy, the history of consensual sadomasochism is a story of fascinating individuals, unlikely connections and strange twists and turns. Meet Arthur Munby, the Victorian gentleman who secretly married Hannah Cullwick, his maid of all work, and called her his slave; and Jack McGeorge, the UN weapons inspector who was outed as a BDSM club leader just before the Iraq war. Explore the links between Robinson Crusoe, Uncle Tom's Cabin and modern BDSM pornography, and between fetish fashion and anti-Catholic propaganda. Learn how the 19th century middle-class household nurtured dominant-submissive sexuality. Discover the secret history of a hidden world.
Winner, 2019 Geoff Mains Non-Fiction Book Award, NLA-International
List of contents
Chapter 1. Saints and Shamans
Chapter 2. The Pornography of the Puritan
Chapter 3. Virtue in Distress
Chapter 4. Orientalism
Chapter 5. The Peculiar Institution
Chapter 6. Romance of the Rod
Chapter 7. Class and Classification
Chapter 8. Every Woman Adores a Fascist
Chapter 9. The Velvet Underground
Chapter 10. Unknown Pleasures
Chapter 11. alt.sex
Chapter 12. Sex and Power
About the author
By Peter Tupper
Summary
A Lover's Pinch offers a lively history of consensual sadomasochism, from a controversial religious practice, to a secretive sexuality branded a perversion, to a worldwide subculture that influences everything from fashion to advertising. This book reveals the true story of sadism and masochism, dominance and submission.
