Academic Studies of Leather/BDSM
Relatively little academic work has been done on the history, ethnology, and sociology of the various fetishistic, sadomasochistic, Leather, and BDSM subcultures. I have listed all of the dissertations and theses on these subjects that I have been able to find (please let me know if you are aware of others). It can often be difficult to get copies of them, but fortunately there is a resource that makes the process much easier - UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations. Remember to check with the Reference Librarian at your local library, too, since it is sometimes possible to get copies via Interlibrary Loan.
Dissertations and Theses
If you only read one academic work on these topics, Robert Bienvenu's excellent dissertation
The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States
is the one I would recommend. It is the best introduction to the subject(s) that I have found, and makes for fascinating reading. In addition, Mr. Bienvenu has been kind enough to put the entire dissertation online as a free download for all to enjoy!
Papers
An interesting new paper by Shaowen and Jeffrey Bardzell from Indiana University examines BDSM in the online game/social space Second Life. Click on Sex-Interface-Aesthetics: The Docile Avatars and Embodied Pixels of Second Life BDSM to read the PDF version.
Archive and Library Finding Aids to Collections with Sadomasochistic Content
Collection: George Cecil Ives: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Location: Univeristy of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Notable item(s): The library catalog for the British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology is organized alphabetically, first by title and then by author. The works represented in this catalog are in various languages and include topics such as homosexuality, flagellation, slavery, transvestism, prostitution, pornography, eunuchism, circumcision, and obscene literature.
Collection: Guide to the George Fisher Papers,1951-1990
Collection: Guide to the Heterosexual popular fiction collection,
1944-1992
Collection: Guide to the Kramer Initiative Radical Sex and Leather Collection
Manuscript Group 1849
Collection: Guide to the Miscellaneous popular fiction collection
1955-1992
Collection: Guide to the National Socialist League Printed Miscellany,
[ca. 1974-1984]
Collection: Guide to the Wendell Ricketts Papers,
ca. 1980-1999
Collection: Guide to the Willie Walker Erotica Collection, 1924-2003
Collection: International Gay Information Center Archives, Audio-Visual Materials, 1956-1989
Collection: Inventory of the Copy Berg Papers, 1890s-1998
Collection: Jonathan Katz Papers
Collection: Lawrence Mass Papers, 1966-1995
Collection:
Off Our Backs' Coverage of the Barnard Conference on Sexuality
Collection: Plant (Richard) Papers, 1916-1998
Collection:
Stambolian (George) Papers, 1955-1992
Location: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections,
Cornell University Library
Location: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Location: Yale University Library
Location: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Location: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections,
Cornell University Library
Location: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Location: The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society, San Francisco, California
Notable item(s):
Numerous photos, illustrations, and other graphics related to leather sexuality.
Location: Humanities and Social Science Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library
Notable item(s):
anonymous taped interview, Sadomasochism in the 1950s
taped Sadomasochism broadcast on radio station KPFA in Berkeley, interviews with members of the Janus Society
taped Intergay report that includes information on a "planned workshop on sadomasochism in Italy"
Location: Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Location: Humanities and Social Science Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library
Location: New York Public Library
Location: Cornell University Library
Location: New York Public Library
Location: New York Public Library
Notable item(s):
The Politics of Sadomasochism. EEGO (East End Gay Organization).