Definition of masochism

The term "masochism" derives its name from the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, known for his erotic stories featuring submissive female characters and sexually dominant men. In his novel "Venus in Furs" (1870), Sacher-Masoch introduced the character Severin, who experienced pleasure from being humiliated and subjugated by a woman named Wanda. This concept of finding pleasure in pain and submission, now known as masochism, was coined by the Austrian psychoanalyst Richard von Krafft-Ebing in 1886, who referenced Sacher-Masoch's works in his study of sexual psychopathology. The term has since been recognized as a clinical disorder, falling under the larger umbrella of paraphilias as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).