A masochist without the sexual baggage

Question

The word masochist is used for someone who enjoys what others consider unpleasant:

1.1 (In general use) a person who enjoys an activity that appears to be painful or tedious:

It also has song sexual connotations:

1.0 A person who derives sexual gratification from their own pain or
  humiliation:

Is there a word that describes this condition without the sexual baggage?

Citations from ODO

WhatRoughBeast · Accepted Answer

I believe that you have overestimated the problem. "Masochism" was indeed coined to describe sexual gratification through pain, specifically in the case of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.

However, the word has gained such wide currency without the sexual baggage that unless you specify the sexual version, it is unlikely you will offend anyone's sense of propriety.

For instance the n-gram of "masochism" vs "sexual masochism"
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=masochism%2C+sexual+masochism&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cmasochism%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Csexual%20masochism%3B%2Cc0

shows the comparative usage pretty well.

chasly - supports Monica · Answer

deviant

/ˈdiːvɪənt/
  
  adjective

departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behaviour. "deviant behaviour"

noun

a deviant person or thing. "killers, deviants, and those whose actions
  are beyond most human comprehension"  [my emphasis]

synonyms: nonconformist, eccentric, maverick, individualist,
  exception, outsider, misfit, fish out of water, square peg in a round
  hole, round peg in a square hole; More

Also pervert

Jim · Answer

Some might call them a glutton for punishment

Someone who habitually takes on burdensome or unpleasant tasks or unreasonable amounts of work. For example, Rose agreed to organize the church fair for the third year in a row-she's a glutton for punishment . This expression originated as a glutton for work in the late 1800s, punishment being substituted about a century later. 1

1The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. S.v. "glutton for punishment." Retrieved July 20 2015 from http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/glutton+for+punishment

SpyderCanopus · Answer

Sadomasochist helps differentiate from what you describe.  Plain “masochist” enjoys pain without sex.  “Sado” implies sexual.

Aly · Answer

Emotional masochism – the tendency to find some strange or subtle pleasure (familiarity, self-justification, delicious self-victimization) – may be the culprit. An alternative way to view this is to call chronic yet avoidable emotional pain a psychological attachment.
Reference:
blogs.psychcentral.com

A masochist without the sexual baggage

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