Sadomasochism: Descent into Darkness By Robert Peters,1 June 2015 Table of Contents: Introductory Comments – 1 ‘Consensual’ S&M Gone Awry – 6 1. Adult Victims – 6 2. Child Victims – 19 Impact on Marriages – 20 Impact on Careers – 25 Bondage, Rape, Torture & Murder – 30 1. In General – 30 2. Adult Victims – 32 3. Child Victims – 71 `; Sex Trafficking – 98 1. Adult Victims – 98 2. Child Victims – 103 APPENDIX (Mainstreaming of S&M) – 107 Introductory Comments 1. A warning about the content of this paper There is nothing in this paper that is pornographic or “erotic.” There is nothing in this paper (other than my Introductory Comments) that hasn’t already been published in a mainstream news publication, court opinion or other document published by a government agency. Nevertheless, reading factual (and often graphic) descriptions of sadistic sexual behavior can be a temptation. Furthermore, the reader will be confronted repeatedly with graphic reports of horrific S&M sexual abuse. There are times, however, when people should be horrified and grieved too. I realize that there will always be a tension between the need to fully inform the public and the need to withhold information for law enforcement purposes and to protect public sensibilities and privacy. I also realize that the press has been known to “sensationalize” sex crimes. This leads to desensitization. But there are also occasions when the public needs to know the whole truth, however unpleasant, but is kept (partly) in the dark. This leads to a lack of resolve. 2. The intended audience for this paper 1 Robert Peters served as President of Morality in Media from 1992–2011 and as Assistant Director of MIM’s National Obscenity Law Center from 1987–1992. Mr. Peters is now President Emeritus of MIM [Morality in Media,1100 G Street NW, #1030, Wash., DC 20005 (202) 393-7245 www.pornharms.com]. 1 The paper is intended primarily to be a resource for those who are opposed to the mainstreaming of sadomasochism and of the hardcore pornography that provides a blueprint for sadistic sexual behavior and that fuels that behavior. It is my hope that this paper will also open more than a few (partly) blind eyes to the destructive nature of sadomasochism and pornography. 3. Why I wrote this paper What prompted me to write this paper was the release of the film, Fifty Shades of Grey, which from what I have read portrays sadomasochism much in the same that Pretty Woman portrayed prostitution.2 This paper is about the dark underbelly of sadomasochism. Sadomasochism and pornography have much in common, however, and as I worked on this paper, I realized that it could also serve as a complement to a paper I wrote more than a decade ago. The earlier paper, “Link between Pornography & Violent Sex Crimes,” is published at https://www.academia.edu/10232415/Link_Between_Pornography_and_Violent_Sex_Crimes. I hasten to add that unlike the earlier paper, this paper is not about violent sex crimes as such. The primary focus of this paper is crimes related to the pursuit of sadistic sexual pleasure. 4. Be careful what you open the door of your life to If I were to speak to those contemplating sadomasochism as a means to “spice up” their sex lives, I would say, “Be careful what you open the door of your life to because you don’t know what S&M will lead you or a partner into sooner or later. In his article, “S/M and the Myth of Mutual Consent,” NY Native, 8/11/85, Craig Johnson described the problem (in part) this way: Sadomasochism is indulged in…People like it. This is precisely one of the great dangers…A person tries it and finds it really gives him far out kicks. He may achieve orgasms like he’s never achieved before. It happens. Then he may come back to it, again and again…S/M works. (So does LSD). But…he may forget (or never learn) that there are other, more deeply satisfying means to sexual fulfillment. S/M is very like using drugs to achieve sensation…He can become a ‘pain junkie.’ He may need more and more pain (or, if he is a sadist…to inflict more and more). Similarly, if were to speak to those contemplating pornography to “spice up” their sex lives, I would say, “Be careful what you open the door of your life to because you don’t know what pornography will lead you or a partner into sooner or later. In his monograph “Pornography’s Effects on Adults & Children,”3 Dr. Victor B. Cline described the problem (in part) this way: The second phase was an escalation-effect. With the passage of time, the addicted person required rougher, more explicit, more deviant, and “kinky” kinds of sexual material to get their “highs” and “sexual turn-ons.”…If their wives or girlfriends were involved with them, they eventually pushed their partners into doing increasingly bizarre and deviant 2 See, e.g., Donna M. Hughes, “‘Pretty Woman’: 25 years of lies about prostitution.” Providence Journal, 4/3/15, at https://www.academia.edu/12035916/Pretty_Woman_25_Years_of_Lies_about_Prostitution. 3 At p.4, Morality in Media (2001), at http://www.scribd.com/doc/20282510/Dr-Victor-Cline- Pornography-s-Effects-on-Adults-and-Children#scribd. 2 sexual activities. In many cases, this resulted in a rupture in the relationship when the woman refused to go further – often leading to much conflict, separation or divorce. I would add that sexual addictions of any kind are difficult to break free from.4 5. The role of pornography in sadistic sex crimes It should come as no surprise that if an individual becomes sexually aroused by binding a person and/or /or by forcing sex on a person, and/or by hurting, injuring or killing a person, he will also be sexually aroused by viewing depictions or reading descriptions of such behavior. It should also come as no surprise, therefore, that many men who commit sadistic sex crimes view pornography that depicts bondage, rape, sexual torture and sexual homicide. But pornography does not have to depict (sadistic) sexual violence to serve as fuel or a trigger for (sadistic) sexual violence. Imagine an attractive young woman walking by two young men who are sitting on a park bench. Both look up and see her walk by. One sees a person he would love to meet and spend time with. The other “sees” a woman he wants to hogtie, rape, torture and strangle. If the latter views non-violent pornography, he can “see” the same things. For more on this general subject, see Dr. Victor Cline, “Pornography’s Effects on Adults & Children,” pp.1-9 (Morality in Media, 2001), at http://www.scribd.com/doc/20282510/Dr- Victor-Cline-Pornography-s-Effects-on-Adults-and-Children#scribd. I would add that just because a news report or court opinion does not state that the (alleged) perpetrator possessed or viewed pornography doesn’t mean he didn’t do so. 6. The link between sadomasochism and sex trafficking (See also, pp.98 et seq.) For almost a decade, I read the detailed investigative reports prepared by two retired law enforcement agents who followed up on citizen complaints about possible violations of federal Internet obscenity laws. The hardcore sexual conduct depicted on some websites was so horrific that it defied the imagination that the women had voluntarily consented to participate. Of course, as Professor Donna Hughes has pointed out in her article, “Sex trafficking of women for the production of pornography,”5 women who “perform” in hardcore pornography for pay often “consent” without (fully) comprehending what they will be subjected to: Women used in the production of commercial pornography in the U.S. are often subjected to violence and coercion during filming. Often they protest and try to stop the filming or back-out before filming begins. Their protests are ignored, or they are pressured by their agent or the director to continue. Their experiences of coercion and trickery often meet the criteria for sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is a federal felony. 4 See, also, Aaron Kheriaty, “Hooked Up and Tied Down: The Neurological Consequences of Sadomasochism,” Witherspoon Institute, 2/1715, at http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/02/14470/. 5 At pp.1-2, Citizens Against Trafficking (2010), available at http://pornharmsresearch.com/wp- content/uploads/Sex_Trafficking_for_Production_of_Pornography.pdf. 3 Regardless of whether the conduct meets the criteria for sex trafficking from start to finish or only after a point in time, the point I would briefly make here is that as S&M becomes appealing to more people and as the pornography they view and the conduct they engage in becomes more extreme, the demand for women trafficked into pornography and prostitution will increase.6 7. Mainstreaming of sadomasochism (See also, APPENDIX, pp.107 et seq.) Fifty Shades of Grey is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to “erotic” (if not pornographic) and/or “nonjudgmental” (if not celebratory) entertainment and news media portrayals of S&M. Advertising/fashion, art, books, films, magazines, newspapers, music/rap videos, theater and videogames have all helped popularize sadomasochism and make it appealing to young and old. The truth of the matter is that sadomasochism is a sexual perversion that has caused incalculable harm and that it isn’t just hardcore pornographers who have blood on their hands. Oh, and one more thing, and I do realize that this is an imperfect analogy; but it occurred to me as I worked on this paper that the marketing of Fifty Shades of Grey could be compared to the marketing of a “new nonprescription drug that can transform your pain into pleasure,” without telling prospective buyers that the new drug is laced with morphine and strychnine.