Dr. Ummni Khan
Speak Pleasure to Power
Vicarious Kinks: S/M in the Socio-Legal Imaginary (2014)
Who decides where “normal” stops and “perverse” begins? In Vicarious Kinks, Ummni Khan looks at the mass of claims that film, feminism, the human sciences, and law make about sadomasochism and its practitioners, and the way those claims become the basis for the legal regulation of sadomasochist pornography and practice. Khan’s audacious proposal is that for film, feminism, law, and science, the constant focus on taboo sexuality is a form of “vicarious kink” itself.
Rather than attempt to establish the “truth” about sadomasochism, Vicarious Kinks asks who decides that sadomasochism is perverse, examining how various fields present their claims to truth when it comes to sadomasochism. The first monograph by a new scholar working at the juncture of law and sexuality, Vicarious Kinks challenges the myth of law as an objective adjudicator of sexual truth.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Who’s Your Daddy? S/M’s Founding Fathers
Chapter 2: Feminists Divided: The Battle over S/M in the Sex Wars
Chapter 3: S/M in Show Biz
Chapter 4: The Legal Fondling of S/M Pornography
Chapter 5: The Legal Fondling of S/M Practice
Conclusion: Epistemic Violence, Epistemic Pleasures
‘To write a book in support of sadomasochism (s/m) is a risky undertaking for a legal academic…. Canadian law and sexuality scholar Ummni Khan rises brilliantly to the challenge…. Khan skillfully weaves together her analysis of each discursive framework to paint a picture of the stories we tell about s/m.’
(Dana Phillips McGill Law Journal, vol 61:01:2015)
‘Bold, original, and unafraid to take risks… Khan’s book skillfully analyzes the regulation of s/m from original vantage points, pushing its readers to the boundaries of law and culture.’
(Kyle Kirkup Osgoode Hall Law Journal – vol 53:01:2015)
“Vicarious Kinks is an exceptionally interesting and important book that addresses an issue that has received inadequate scholarly attention. Solidly theorized and characterized by sophisticated conceptual engagement, the book unpacks the socio-legal context of s/m in a clear and concise manner with the periodic ironic quip which draws the reader in.”
(Christine Bruckert, Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa)
“Vicarious Kinks is a piece of critical socio-legal scholarship with cross-disciplinary appeal. It does not assume too much specialist knowledge of any particular field, yet its analysis is original and complex enough to appeal to specialists. Khan should be congratulated for conveying her analysis in such an accessible way.”