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.