Coming to Power: Writings and Graphics on Lesbian S/M is a 1981 book edited by members of the lesbian feminist S/M organisation Samois. It is an anthology of lesbian S/M writings.[1] It was a founding work of the lesbian BDSM movement.

Coming to Power
Cover of the first edition
LanguageEnglish
SubjectSadomasochism
PublisherSamois
Publication date
1981
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages287
ISBN0-932870-28-7

It was quickly out-of-print[2] and reached a worldwide audience the following year when it was reprinted by Alyson Publications.[2] The book alternates short stories with advice on techniques, a model that has been used by various other BDSM books since then.

A sequel The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader was published in 1996, edited by Pat Califia and Robin Sweeney.

Many of the authors in Coming to Power characterise sadomasochism as the epitome of eroticism.[3]

It is described in Coming on Strong: Gay Politics and Culture as containing lesbian erotica.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Moser, Charles; Levitt, Eugene E. (1 August 1987). "An exploratory-descriptive study of a sadomasochistically oriented sample". Journal of Sex Research. 23 (3): 322–337. doi:10.1080/00224498709551370.
  2. ^ a b O'Sullivan, Sue (Spring 1999). "What a Difference a Decade Makes: "Coming to Power" and "The Second Coming"". Feminist Review. 61 (61): 97–126. doi:10.1080/014177899339324. JSTOR 1395576. S2CID 144760928.
  3. ^ France, Marie (Summer 1984). "Sadomasochism and Feminism". Feminist Review. 16 (16): 35–42. doi:10.1057/fr.1984.4. JSTOR 1394956. S2CID 189906233.
  4. ^ Shepherd, Simon; Wallis, Mick, eds. (1989). Coming on Strong: Gay Politics and Culture (1. publ. ed.). London: Unwin Hyman. ISBN 978-0-04-445351-2.