Masochist

A masochist is someone who derives pleasure, often erotic or emotional, from receiving pain, humiliation, restraint, or submission. Masochism is a recognized part of BDSM and kink culture, practiced between consenting adults inside negotiated boundaries. The word comes from the Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose nineteenth-century fiction featured themes of erotic submission. In consensual kink, masochism is separated from genuine harm by the core principles of informed consent, ongoing communication, safewords, and aftercare. It is often paired with sadism, its counterpart, in the shorthand "S&M." Many masochists also identify as submissive, though the two are not the same: masochism is about sensation, while submission is about power. Enjoying either does not indicate a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.