Pleasure and the pain cave: sport, kink, and jouissance

Abstract This paper explores the complex relationship between pleasure and pain in both sport and BDSM, challenging the common perception that seeking pain is irrational or pathological. Drawing on psychoanalytic theories, the authors argue that the pursuit of ‘pleasurable pain’ in these contexts reflects a deeper psychic drive, specifically Lacan’s concept of the ‘death drive’. The paper critiques dominant narratives that rationalize pain in sports as a means to an end while stigmatizing the desire for pain in BDSM as deviant. By analyzing athletes’ and BDSM practitioners’ experiences, the authors suggest that both groups engage with pain as a form of jouissance- the pursuit of an intense, potentially overwhelming experience that goes beyond what is pleasurable. This interdisciplinary discussion aims to demystify the enjoyment of pain, proposing that the pain experienced in sport can be understood through the same lens as the pain in BDSM, thus revealing potential for mutual understanding.