An Inside Look at S&MRoy F. Baumeister explores the taboo lifestyles of sadomasochism. The main theme and purpose of the piece is to find out who masochists are and what they subject themselves to in the name of pleasure. “Across the country, from sophisticated cities to submissive suburbs, men and women act out fantasies of sexual domination and submission.” (Psychology Today 47) I believe Baumeister paints a very accurate portrayal of who a specific group of masochists are and what they do for pleasure, however, I believe he fails to recognize the younger generation of masochists. I also believe that Baumeister does not delve deeply enough into the symbolic issue of sex change. Baumeister's findings show that the majority of those who engage in sadomasochistic behavior come from the upper classes. He claims they come from high-powered jobs. They are people who make decisions every day that affect the lives of many of their workers. Baumeister believes that the characters' occupations are the reason for their submissive behavior. He says: "Masochists appear to come largely from the privileged classes; they are above average in terms of education and income; society's real victims do not seek out masochistic sex. Rather they are often the rich, powerful and successful, the people with the heaviest burdens of individuality, who need to escape masochism.” (Psychology Today 47) What does Baumeister mean by “.burdens of individuality.” he is convinced that “the self” is a very demanding entity. “It requires constant upkeep and upkeep.” (Psychology Today 47) It requires one to be in constant control of oneself and one's surroundings. Those individuals who are so consumed with bearing all the pressure or being the one everyone is counting on, that sometimes they need an escape. And for many of these people, escape is masochism. It's a situation that requires their submission; it's a total role reversal. These people need this activity to remind them that they're just normal human beings, it's almost a grounding process for them. The masochist wants to contradict his own identity with these fantasies. There are a wide variety of practices that a masochist might enjoy, such as loss of control, pain, and humiliation. But whatever activity they participate in, it will always be consistent with one person being the dominator and...... middle of paper ......ychology Today 47) WHY??? Why does he say this and not explain why this happens? I think he could have explored this topic a lot more. He could have cited the character of Buffalo Bill, from Tom Harris' novel "The Silence of the Lambs". In the book, Bill is a man who dresses in women's clothes and poses as himself in front of a mirror. Or Baumeister could have shown some statistics on actual sex changes, to show that perhaps more men transform into women than vice versa. But he shows no support for his claim. He also claims that women fantasize about being submissive more than men, but men are more likely to act out those fantasies, but he never explains why. He could have said that men act on their impulses more than women because they are the most adventurous of the species, or show some statistics or examples to better support his claims. All in all, I found "An Inside Look at S&M," very informative from a subjective point of view. Yet there were these points: If Baumeister had delved more deeply, the essay would have been much stronger. However, it stayed true to the theme of finding out who sadomasochists are and what they do for fun.