Masochism fails on principle because one can never apprehend one’s own objectivity

Evidence

But masochism is and must be itself a failure. In order to cause myself to be fascinated by my self-as-object, I should necessarily have to be able to realize the intuitive apprehension of this object such as it is for the Other, a thing which is on principle impossible. Thus I am far from being able to be fascinated by this alienated Me, which remains on principle inapprehensible. It is useless for the masochist to get down on his knees, to show himself in ridiculous positions, to cause himself to be used as a simple lifeless instrument. It is for the Other that he will be obscene or simply passive, for the Other that he will undergo these postures; for himself he is forever condemned to give them to himself. It is in and through his transcendence that he disposes of himself as a being to be transcended. The more he tries to taste his objectivity, the more he will be submerged by the consciousness of his subjectivity—hence his anguish. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 963

Categorization

• DEFINE: Sartre’s definitional distinction between subjectivity and objectivity as experienced by self vs. Other ground the entire argument about masochism.
• XREF: Directly sets up the systematic backdrop Beauvoir builds on in The Second Sex, especially the man’s objectification of woman and the impossibility of self-objectification. — connects to: One is never identical with any of one’s own attitudes or actions — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 300; Sincerity is an unrealizable ideal because human reality never coincides with identity. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 296; A for-itself can never constitute itself as evil on its own — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 755 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• The for-itself radically excludes all objectivity by its own mode of being #corroborates (0.90) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 694
• Self-perception is impossible because the for-itself is contingency #corroborates (0.75)
• Masochism is an inauthentic escape from erotic conflict, not its resolution #qualifies (0.70)