Krafft-Ebing, Psychopathia Sexualis and the creation of the medical notion of sadism

Abstract

Richard Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis, written in the second half of the 19th century, can be considered part of the historical and cultural movement that brought in the medical gaze and authority as necessary references for determining the legitimacy of the various human sexual behaviors. Psychopathia Sexualis eventually became an authoritative reference in the forensic sphere. The book consists of a synthesis and extension of the studies on sexology of its time and introduced a delimitation of the field of sexual perversions through the use of a nomenclature that includes terms which eventually became widely established, such as sadism, masochism and fetishism. Its precision of classification became a central reference for all later studies in the field, including for Freud's work. © Associação Universitária de Pesquisa em Psicopatologia Fundamental.