Most Masochists are Male
» Gender Follies
The source of this purported research isn’t cited:
If your wife is truly masochistic, she is relatively unusual in one respect. Research has shown that 95 per cent of sexual masochists are men and that only 5 per cent of women derive sexual pleasure through pain. Even this minority isnt always entirely masochistic; one in three of them is occasionally sadistic, often biting and scratching more vigorously than is usual.
I spank my wife for her pleasure, not mine
You have an opinion?


Comments
I’d say about 3/4 of the masochists in my local scene are female.
Posted by: roo-roo | February 3, 2008 10:49 AM
As a straight sadistic domme, I’d be delighted to be able to believe this stat… But as far as I can tell, it’s a much more even split than this quote would imply.
Posted by: Sadiste | February 3, 2008 1:52 PM
I don’t beleive it. My real time experience with females other than me is zilch, but most online communities show a healthy number of female masochists.
I refuse to believe I’m singular.
Posted by: Switch | February 3, 2008 9:38 PM
It would be very strange if there was truly a gender split like this. It might be that it is politically incorrect for modern women to admit that they are submissive. I certainly am very careful who I admit this to as I still have to maintain my position in society as a strong woman.
Posted by: doll | February 4, 2008 1:44 AM
These “statistics” don’t even make sense:
Research has shown that 95 per cent of sexual masochists are men and that only 5 per cent of women derive sexual pleasure through pain.
If 5% of women derive sexual pleasure through pain (which seems like a pretty high number, actually), and yet they only make up 5% of masochists, then basically almost all men must derive pleasure from pain. That doesn’t seem to be the case at all.
I haven’t seen any evidence (research or in my own experience) to suggest that fewer women are masochists than men are.
Posted by: Dev | February 4, 2008 12:13 PM
Krafft-Ebing defined masochism as primarily a male malady, or rather, the problem of female behavior in men. Women were supposed to be masochistic, though K-E did include 4 cases of female masochists.
In personal experience, I see a roughly equal split of male and female masochists in the local scene. I’d hazard such estimates as the above are based on those who patronize pro-dommes.
Posted by: Peter Tupper | February 4, 2008 1:41 PM
Oh yes, I have an opinion. It’s not just those bizarre figures. The whole reply is very strange indeed. For instance it’s suggested that men become sadists because they are obsessively dominant, and women become sadists because of difficult childhoods and low self-esteem. And we probably become kinky because of feeling pleasure when watching punishment as children (so which is it? Low self-esteem, or childhood arousal? And why does it affect men more than women?). To top it all, the reply isn’t even relevant to the reader’s question, apart from a couple of sentences near the end.
Posted by: Lorelin | February 8, 2008 6:27 AM
(I did comment but can’t see my comment here, so apologies if this a duplicate).
I found the whole reply very odd. It’s not just those strange statistics. The doctor seemed to believe that male sadists are obsessively dominant, while female sadists (like masochists) have difficult backgrounds and low self-esteem. Very little of the answer had anything to do with the question the reader was asking.
Posted by: Lorelin | February 8, 2008 9:24 AM