On the prevalence and roles of females in the sadomasochistic subculture: report of an empirical study.

The existence of females in the sadomasochistic subculture has generally been denied in the theoretical, clinical, and empirical literature. The assumption that females do not exist in the subculture, or exist in such small numbers as to make analysis impossible, was tested. Questionnaires were placed in two publications that cater to sadomasochists, and additional questionnaires were mailed to advertisers whose ads appeared in a sadomasochistic contact magazine. Of 182 individuals who responded, 130 were males, and 52 were females, indicating a meaningful female presence in the subculture. An analysis of the replies revealed similarities and differences between the male and female respondents.