Sarah Weinman

As Paretsky detailed in her short memoir Writing in an Age of Silence (2007), early optimism buoyed by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and early 1970s has, in her view, all but crumbled in the face of a bombardment of sadism and misogyny, the withholding of civil liberties, and the nation's move from proud speech into near-deafening silence.

American Journalist

Adam Johnson

The reader feels as if he is in Chongjin, where starving people ate the bark off trees; or atop Mount Taesong with the elite of Pyongyang, whose existence is a mix of sadism and whimsy; or with the masses who are bombarded day and night with the propaganda of North Korea's alternate reality.

American Writer

Kangana Ranaut

Imagine: in the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind has been affected by witchcraft. But there is significant factual history of how brutality and sadism of mankind have been displayed in the most obscene manner in the name of witch-hunt.

Indian Actress

Alice Miller

Sadism is not an infectious disease that strikes a person all of a sudden. It has a long prehistory in childhood and always originates in the desperate fantasies of a child who is searching for a way out of a hopeless situation.

Swiss Psychologist

Naomi Wolf

When I was a baby feminist, leading feminist thinkers were insisting that if women ran the world, there would be no sadism or war.

American Author

Andrea Pirlo

Sometimes a pinch of sadism is the ingredient that makes victory taste that little bit sweeter.

Italian Athlete

Sigmund Freud

Sadism is all right in its place, but it should be directed to proper ends.

Austrian Psychologist

Emil Cioran

Skepticism is the sadism of embittered souls.

Romanian Philosopher

Sadism involves enjoying causing pain, reflecting a disturbing mindset, often disapproved of in society.

Negative Emotion

Sadism can also refer to inflicting emotional distress, not just physical harm.

Not Physical Only

Sadism is sometimes used metaphorically for harsh but necessary actions not actually enjoyed.

Metaphoric Use

In some consenting adult relationships, sexual sadism can be explored safely and is not always harmful.

Not Always Negative

Understanding sexual sadism requires recognizing it comes from complex psychological factors.

Psychological Understanding

'Sadism' in a sexual context often appears in discussions about psychology or consensual BDSM.

Specific Context

 Respectable people kept slaves. For all our flaws, we have abandoned these barbaric practices. So, do you think it's human nature that's changed? Not exactly. I think we still harbor instincts that can erupt in violence, like greed, tribalism, revenge, dominance, sadism.