Exploring sadomasochist literature

Black leather whip in hand, recent Penn alumnus Rudy Ramirez (College '02) gave his attentive listeners "safety instructions" and warned that "by staying, you give me your consent to do whatever I want."

Speaking to a largely student audience of 20 at the ARCH Wednesday night, Ramirez explored self-determination in sadomasochistic literature and practice, arguing that transgressing sexual norms takes courage and brings on love, honesty and liberation.

"When you're a sadomasochist, you have to defy convention, you have to lead the way to find your own sexual space," he said.

Shunning a conventional speech, Ramirez gave what he termed a "performative lecture," involving role-play and audience interaction. Ramirez entertained the audience by playing a character from a Marquis de Sade novel: "I come to you now without the need for foreplay... from this suffering, great pleasure for us will be born," he said, alluding to the pain-inflicting sexual domination techniques which are named for the French nobleman.

The character's admonishment that there were two choices, to "enjoy sex, or be raped," seemed too much for one audience member who left abruptly.

Yet, Ramirez's objective was not just to titilate, but to rehabilitate and humanize the practice of S&M.; Asking a volunteer to bind his wrists with the whip, Ramirez engaged first her and then the audience in dialogue, asking, "What do you want out of love?"

He argued that de Sade, who advocated equal education and work opportunities for women, was "one of the first active, male feminist writers." His writing, Ramirez said, "shows us that pain is the ultimate test of love."

Ramirez commented on how sadomasochists "go through their own limits, their own fears," showing affection and building trust through giving and experiencing pain.

"Desire is a communal experience [that] requires a relinquishing of control. We love, and we play, in order to survive letting go," he said. At the same time, Ramirez stressed how the S&M; community used "safe words" to indicate when one wished one's partner to stop.

Ramirez, who said that he himself does not practice S&M;, argued that the sexual transgressions of sadomasochism ultimately bring freedom and self-realization.

"My envy of the sadomasochists comes from their ability to be unself-conscious... to say what they need to say without pleasing," he said.

Reacting to the talk, College senior Piper Silverman said, "I understand [sadomasochism] better now, though quite honestly, I'm afraid of pain. It's not going to work for me. This is not necessarily the way to go about it, but do you have that type of trust in your relationship that they have?"

The session was organized by the Center for Undergraduate Research Fellowships and the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program as part of a series of research presentations by past and present honors students.

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