Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-1991 The Debate on Lesbian Sadomasochism: A Discourse Analysis Gudbjorg Ottosdottir Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons Recommended Citation Ottosdottir, Gudbjorg, "The Debate on Lesbian Sadomasochism: A Discourse Analysis" (1991). Master's Theses. 977. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/977 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE DEBATE ON LESBIAN SADOMASOCHISM: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS by Gudbjorg Ottosdottir A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1991 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE DEBATE ON LESBIAN SADOMASOCHISM: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Gudbjorg Ottosdottir, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1991 This study examines an issue debated within the U.S. lesbian community since the mid-1970s, lesbian sadomasochism. The issue has been whether sadomasochism is consistent with lesbian feminism, a political ideology which has much shaped lesbian identity and community. The claims and counter-claims made about lesbian sadomasochism are analyzed, as are the underlying ideologies and their relationship to general lesbian political and cultural history. It is argued that the debate is the result of a limited subject position offered by lesbian feminism.