The contributors to this revised classic incorporate autobiographical and firsthand accounts to emphasize the complexity and symbolic nature of this "velvet underground" of human sexuality.A variety of subworlds and identities are explored: the professional dominatrix; prostitution and S&M; heterosexual, gay, and lesbian S&M; the role of pain and fantasy; and organized S&M groups. Recent trends such as nonmainstream body modification are discussed, along with the increasing integration of S&M themes in areas of popular culture such as the arts, literature, mass media, and fashion.