University of Toronto

Sadomasochism focus offers new approach to performance studies

By Michelle MacArthur

While drama students are used to putting on costumes and role-playing, one course at U of T is drawing on these theatrical devices to challenge traditional understandings of power -- on stage and off.

Sexual Performance: Case Studies in Sadomasochism (S/M), originally designed for undergraduate students in sexual diversity studies, is being offered again this year as a graduate course, cross-listed between SDS and the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama. Professor Leslie Katz said the course uses performance as ameans to research the eroticization of power, especially with respect to control and submission.

"S/M relationships appear frequently in drama, not surprisingly because the sexual practices grouped under S/M draw heavily on theatrical tools, such as fantasy, role-play and symbolically laden props," the course description reads. "In the course, we approach relevant plays, including Miss Julie by Strindberg, Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and Phaedra's Love by Sarah Kane, but the larger purpose is to test theoretical assumptions against the background of concrete practice."

Katz became interested in developing the course several years ago after watching her acting students performa domination scenario. Her discomfort with their perception of S/Mas theatrical -- that one could "put on" an erotic sensibility just as an actor puts on a costume to get into character -- led her to explore the underlying assumptions and anxieties about how sadomasochism is represented on stage.

"I think that the first step towards a better understanding of S/M is to grant it the status of reality and to recognize in its practices an active dissatisfaction with things that remain only at the level of fantasy, that prevent players from believing in the solidity of their erotic selves or experiencing the actuality of their pleasure," Katz said.

According to Katz, because it eroticizes power, sadomasochism is often misrepresented as eroticizing violence. As a result, people worry about whether, in S/M practice, the participants are doing things for real or just pretending. That, Katz said, is the wrong question. "What matters is consent."

Katz feels strongly that what goes on in S/M, while it includes theatrical elements, hasmuch to do with the responsibility of wielding and surrendering actual personal power. "If there is one thing that I would like my students to leave the class with, it is the conviction that theatre is not only about simulation andmake-believe; the stakes of performance are real."

In addition to scene work, the class, which involves students from programs outside of drama and does not require acting experience, features visiting lecturers who address the technical aspects of S/M-related activities. The combination of both intellectual and practical engagement makes for a unique learning experience.

"Sometimes I find myself giggling like a Grade 10 in health class. But it's fun. While we certainly discuss power and BDSM [bondage, dominance, sadism, masochism] gear as academics, we also talk about whatmakes a play, story or costume piece 'hot.' It's a very visceral experience," said Julie Gouin, a master's student.

Gouin said the course has given her a new language and framework with which to approach issues of power and has challenged her opinions on dominance and submission. She cites tolerance as the most valuable thing she has learned from the course.

"As a feminist, I have always disapproved of any differences in power. Not that I don't still regard them with suspicion but I have learned that women [and men] choose to play the submissive and are quite happy doing so."