Masochism as Punishment and Reward

Some try to relate the masochistic experience to punishment and reward, but that concept does not nearly or clearly express the sublimity and complexity of the masochistic experience. Reward and punishment, to me, are more closely associated with the slave or submissive, who needs to be punished for infractions of the rules and alternatively, rewarded for good behavior. After what we have just discussed, this concept does not actually apply to masochism, does it? In masochism, the embracing of pain or suffering is part of the reward, if it can even be called a "reward." but it is not a forerunner of it To some, masochism could be an exciting combination of turning pain into pleasure, and punishment into reward. What does this mean in terms of his sexual gratification? It means it is not limited to the moment of orgasm, or even motivated by it, but it is deeply dependent on the excitement of his mind first, and then the arousal of his body. The masochist savors the anticipation of the “pain” or punishment as well as the actual pain in and of itself. His fantasies and his eager, trembling anticipation prime him for the pain he is about to receive, and give him the ability to turn it into pleasure and sexual gratification. He is gratified and given pleasure by the acceptance of pain—and the pleasurable humiliation associated with it. It is a time when he does not turn away from his pain but seeks to embrace it and turn it into an erotic event.

Masochism is very complex; the body submits and turns the pain into pleasure at the direction and desire of the mind. Masochism begins in the mind; in his mind, he has been fantasizing about this; in his mind he has been eroticizing it long before he entered the presence of the Cruel Woman and felt the first lick of the lash, real or imaginary, caress his flesh. Although masochism begins in the mind, the body is of great significance because it is the vessel of enlightenment. the carrier of the pain-translormed-into-pleasure. The pain unites the imagined with the reality in a profound flesh-and-mind experience. Instead of the body being relegated to an inferior position, in masochism, body and soul occur at the same time and the experience is a revelation. In pain, a masochist can find moments of exquisite pleasure and burning passion. Pain can be an excuse to release emotions that are too strong or too scary to be let loose in any other context. Releasing these pent-up feelings through pain is part of the relief and joy found in masochism.