BDSM. A search for the container-contained experience: An object-relations approach to the problem of masochism

Freud took two decades to fit pleasure in pain (masochism) into his instinct theory. In his endeavours to do so, he developed several models of masochism that were dependent on instinct vicissitudes and their governing principles. Freud took a marked turn towards a quasi-object-relating theory when he recognised the existence of unconscious beating phantasies, and the existence of an intrapsychic agency with punitive characteristics. Despite his move towards an object-relations theory, Freud always returned to the same place - the economic properties of the instincts - even when these directly concerned the Oedipus complex. An empirical investigation into the practices and experiences of consensual Bondage Domination and Sado-Masochism (BDSM) suggests that an object relating model offers a viable alternative for explaining pleasure in pain. From a preliminary investigation into the views and impressions of ‘the Leather Family’- two female dominants and their shared submissive wife, a number of speculative themes emerged. One theme suggested that the submissive role in BDSM is an enactment of a primitive form of containment as described by Bion’s model of maternal-infant communication. To investigate the hypothesis that the masochism of BDSM could be better described in object relations terms, a research study was designed. Bion’s container-contained model was operationalised to create an assessment tool. BDSM-derived data was collected, and the assessment tool applied as an analytic device. The characteristics of the Dominant-submissive interaction show a correlative relationship with the characteristic features of the container-contained relationship. The masochism of BDSM can be seen to provide a transition from Freud