--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sadomasochism is an institutionalized…" description: "\"Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/subordinate relationships. And, it prepares us either to accept subordination or to enfor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/audre-lorde-758_accepting_sadomasochism-is-an-institutionalized-ce_374131.jpg" --- # Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of… ![“Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/subordinate relationships. And, it prepares us either to accept subordination or to enforce dominance. Even in play, to affirm that the exertion of power over powerlessness is erotic, is empowering, is to set the emotional and social…” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/audre-lorde-758_accepting_sadomasochism-is-an-institutionalized-ce_374131.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/audre-lorde-758_accepting_sadomasochism-is-an-institutionalized-ce_374131.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/audre-lorde-758_accepting_sadomasochism-is-an-institutionalized-ce_374131.jpg) > “Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/subordinate relationships. And, it prepares us either to accept subordination or to enforce dominance. Even in play, to affirm that the exertion of power over powerlessness is erotic, is empowering, is to set the emotional and social stage for the continuation of that relationship, politically, socially, and economically.” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The erotic frames a power dynamic that normalizes dominance and subordination, reinforcing societal hierarchies. **In simple terms:** Erotic can reinforce power and. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge eroticized power structures. Themes power gender sexuality social hierarchy economics Mood critical thoughtful analytical Type theoretical political social When to use this quote - media analysis - workplace dynamics - personal relationships - activism Key Concepts feminist theory critical theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does erotic power affect everyday interactions? - Can erotic expression be reclaimed positively? A Different Perspective It may overlook consensual, empowering aspects of erotic play. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Celebration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebration/) [Continuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuation/) [Dominance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominance/) [Dominance Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominance-play-3407085/) [Dominant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominant/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Empowering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowering/) [Erotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erotic/) [Exertion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exertion/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Powerlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerlessness/) [Powerlessness Erotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerlessness-erotic-3407084/) [Sadomasochism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadomasochism/) [Sadomasochism Institutionalized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadomasochism-institutionalized-3407083/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Subordinates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subordinates/) [Subordination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subordination/) ## Related quotes > [Recent literature on transsexualism in the lesbian community draws connections with the practices of sadomasochism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/recent-literature-on-transsexualism-in-the-lesbian-community-draws/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [“In this sense, we can render the false meaning of catharsis which occurs in pornography with a different meaning than the catharsis we associate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/in-this-sense-we-can-render-the-false-meaning-of-catharsis-which/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“So he likes being mean to you," she said. "And you like that he likes being mean to you." "And I like being mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-walker/so-he-likes-being-mean-to-you-she-said-and-you-like-that-he-likes/) [Kristin Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-walker/) > [“Master, I love how you make me feel. I love how you hurt me." She gasped again at a hard tug. "I'm here for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verity-ant/master-i-love-how-you-make-me-feel-i-love-how-you-hurt-me-she-gasped/) [Verity Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verity-ant/) > [SM is an abbreviation of both stock market and sadomasochism-- and there are those who think they are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/sm-is-an-abbreviation-of-both-stock-market-and-sadomasochism-and/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [“You really want to go out to dinner?" Gabriel shot Rase a skeptical look out of the corner of his eye. "As opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anah-crow/you-really-want-to-go-out-to-dinner-gabriel-shot-rase-a-skeptical/) [Anah Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anah-crow/) > [“Frequently, and not only in the popular usage, sadomasochism is confounded with love. Masochistic phenomena, especially, are looked upon as expressions of love. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/frequently-and-not-only-in-the-popular-usage-sadomasochism-is/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Millions of couples out there practiced the art of sadomasochism every day, without even realizing it. They went to work, came back, complained about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/millions-of-couples-out-there-practiced-the-art-of-sadomasochism/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“He drank in her misery like fine wine, savoring every drop, letting it soothe his mind, his tension flowing out the fingertips that held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verity-ant/he-drank-in-her-misery-like-fine-wine-savoring-every-drop-letting-it/) [Verity Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verity-ant/) > [“She set her hands neatly in her lap. “But you just said he liked you.” “No, I said he enjoys my company. That is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-walker/she-set-her-hands-neatly-in-her-lap-but-you-just-said-he-liked-you-no/) [Kristin Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-walker/) > [“Basic Carpentry in the afternoon, and Sadomasochism 101 in the evening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tymber-dalton/basic-carpentry-in-the-afternoon-and-sadomasochism-101-in-the-evening/) [Tymber Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tymber-dalton/) > [Guilt is not a response to anger; it is a response to one’s own actions or lack of action. If it leads to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/guilt-is-not-a-response-to-anger-it-is-a-response-to-one-s-own-2/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The ultimate binding element in the medieval order was subordination to the divine will and its earthly representatives, notably the pope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-babbitt/the-ultimate-binding-element-in-the-medieval-order-was-subordination/) [Irving Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-babbitt/) > [The idea of freedom can never be disassociated from real Prussia. The real Prussian spirit means a synthesis between restraint and freedom, between voluntary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-von-tresckow/the-idea-of-freedom-can-never-be-disassociated-from-real-prussia-the/) [Henning von Tresckow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-von-tresckow/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/subordinate relationships. And, it prepares us either to accept subordination or to enforce dominance. 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