Sadism

The obtaining of sexual pleasure from acts of cruelty was the original meaning of sadism (taken from the Marquis de Sade). In current usage it encompasses: acts of cruelty but not appreciated in a sexual way, such as certain sports, arson and lynching; cruel acts accompanied by some sexual satisfaction but not erection or ejaculation; and outrages accompanied by full sexual satisfaction with erection and ejaculation, including necrophilia and rape. The sadist uses hate as the emotional currency where a normal man uses love. In the case of sadistic murder, which is often repeatedly committed by the same person in some periodic sequence, the habitual normal demeanour of the sadist between murders makes it difficult to identify and therefore to arrest him. Although sadism originally applied to men and still applies largely to them, women may also show sadistic tendencies.