An Inside Look at S&MRoy F. Baumeister explores the taboo lifestyles of sadomasochism. The main theme and purpose of the play is to find out who the masochists are and what they undergo in the name of pleasure. “Across the country, from sophisticated cities to quiet suburbs, men and women are acting out fantasies of sexual domination and submission.” (Psychology Today 47) I believe Baumeister describes a very accurate portrait of who a specific group of masochists are and what they do for pleasure, however, I feel like he fails to recognize the young generation of masochists. I also think that on the symbolic question of sex change, Baumeister does not develop enough. Baumeister's findings show that the majority of those who participate in sadomasochistic behavior come from the upper class. He claims they come from high-power jobs. These are people who make decisions every day that affect the lives of many of their employees. Baumeister believes that the characters' occupations are the reasons for their submissive behavior. He says: “Masochists seem to come largely from the privileged classes; they are above average in terms of education and income; society's true victims are not looking for masochistic sex. the heaviest burdens of individuality, which need to escape masochism. (Psychology Today 47) What Baumeister means by “…the burdens of individuality.” is that he believes that “the self” is a very demanding entity. “It requires constant upkeep and maintenance.” (Psychology Today 47) This requires one to be in constant control of oneself and one's environment. Those individuals who are so busy taking on all the pressure or being the one everyone relies on, that sometimes they need to escape. And for many of these people, flight is masochism. It is a situation that demands their submission; It’s a total role reversal. These people need this activity to remind them that they are just normal humans, it's almost a grounding process for them. The masochist wants to contradict his own identity with these fantasies. There are a wide variety of practices that a masochist would enjoy, such as loss of control, pain, and humiliation. But whatever activity they participate in, it will always be consistent with one person being the dominator and...... middle of paper ......ychology Today 47) WHY??? Why does he say this without explaining why this is happening? I think he could have explored this subject much more. He could have evoked the character of Buffalo Bill, taken from Tom Harris' novel “The Silence of the Lambs”. In the book, Bill is a man who dresses in women's clothes and poses in front of a mirror. Or Baumeister could have shown statistics on actual sex changes, to show that perhaps more men transform into women than vice versa. But he shows no support for his claim. He also claims that women fantasize more than men about submission, but that men are more likely to act out these fantasies, but he never explains why. He could have said that men are more responsive to their impulses than women because they are the most adventurous of the species, or shown statistics or examples to better support his claims. Overall, I found “An Inside Look at S&M”. ," very informative from a subjective point of view. However, if Baumeister had developed these points further, the essay would have been much stronger. However, it remains true to its theme: finding out who sadomasochists are and what they do..