BDSM Practitioners Research Articles

Building a social identity theory of stigmatized sexual practice: Exploring BDSM practitioner identity formation within interviews from an Israeli sample

ABSTRACT Despite growing interest in the psychologies and social lives of those involved in BDSM, we know too little regarding BDSM identity formation. To address this, we integrate theories of group psychology and social interaction to explore BDSM identity formation and negotiation. Thematic analysis of 16 in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of Israeli BDSM practitioners, suggests three important aspects of BDSM personal and group identity development, including disclosure management, community discovery and involvement, and negotiating evolving personal identities within the group. Practitioners describe negotiating identity disclosure; successful, failed, or declined integration into BDSM communities; and negotiating shifting identities. BDSM practitioners must navigate whether and how personal identities fit with sexual norms within a larger societal context (e.g., Israel) and within BDSM communities, risking stigma when violating these standards. Yet, we find that, while groups constrain, they also provide support for those who challenge social constraints.

Assessing The Agonistic Continuum Scale as a measure of sexual sadism in a sample of community members and BDSM practitioners

Sexual sadism refers to a sexual preference for fantasies and behaviours involving the infliction of humiliation, degradation, and suffering onto others. The conceptualization of sexual sadism remains a contentious issue in the literature, with some believing sexual sadism is qualitatively distinct from other deviant sexual preferences, while others suggest it lies on a continuum of sexually aggressive behaviours. This second approach, known as the Agonistic Continuum, is a relatively novel conceptualization of sexual sadism. Its companion scale, The Agonistic Continuum Scale (TACS), was created to measure sexual sadism as a dimensional construct in both forensic and community samples. Despite several validation studies being conducted, the factor structure of the TACS has yet to be independently assessed. As such, the current study sought to assess the factorial validity and measurement invariance of the TACS in a community sample made up of primarily BDSM practitioners using a series of confirmatory factor analyses and latent profile analyses. 248 Canadian adults (65.3% females, 75.6% BDSM practitioners) completed a survey containing a demographic questionnaire and several measures of paraphilic interest including the TACS. Results of the factor analyses suggested a four-factor model provided the best fit to the data. However, incorporating sex as a multigroup analysis factor rendered this model a significantly worse fit. Further, latent profile analysis results supported the ability of the TACS to identify groups differing in sexual sadism severity but returned significantly different fit statistics across sex groups. Taken together, while the results of past studies were partially replicated, our findings call into question the appropriateness of the TACS in mixed-sex and non-community samples.

BDSM Safety in Pornography: Its Perceived Accuracy and Impact on Practitioners' Safe Word Practices.

As some BDSM activities can carry risk of temporary or permanent marks/injury, and even death, safety is a foundational principle to BDSM participation. Given the connection between BDSM and sex for some practitioners, pornography is a likely domain for learning about BDSM safety, given its easy accessibility online. However, it is unclear whether practitioners view BDSM safety depicted in pornography as accurate and whether it influences their own practices. Therefore, the current study surveyed self-identified BDSM practitioners' perceptions of pornography's accurate representation of communication, consent, safe words, negotiation, general safety, and how these perceptions relate to their use of safe words and safety training in their own activities. Results showed that (1) demographics nor BDSM-related attributes predicted perceived accuracy of BDSM safety depictions in pornography; (2) perceived accuracy of pornography's depiction of BDSM general safety and safe words did not predict practitioners' negotiation or use of safe words; however, years of BDSM experience did predict safe word usage; (3) submissive-related BDSM roles were more likely to use safe words than dominant-related BDSM roles; (4) those who participated in BDSM only in private were less likely to have CPR and/or first-aid training and more likely to have no other safety training; (5) those who believed pornography depicted BDSM safety mostly/very accurately were more likely to have no safety training; and (6) years of BDSM experience did not predict safety training. The impact of these findings on how we understand the influence of pornography on real-world BDSM practices are discussed.

Not Twisted, Just Kinky: Replication and Structural Invariance of Attachment, Personality, and Well-Being Among BDSM Practitioners

ABSTRACT BDSM is a range of diverse sexual practices. Stigma regarding BDSM is associated with dysfunctional personalities, insecure attachment styles, or damaged well-being. Previous studies have shown contrary evidence to these views. However, the replicability of these findings remains understudied. This study conducts a close replication to examine personality, attachment, rejection sensitivity, and well-being differences between BDSM practitioners and non-practitioners. To address previous limitations, this study provides a highly powered sample of a new population (Spanish, N = 1,907), assessing effect sizes and the impact of LGTBIQA+ individuals and employing an alternative BDSM role classification. Additionally, we examined attachment styles, personality, and well-being differences among BDSM practitioners. As predicted, BDSM practitioners showed higher levels of secure attachment, conscientiousness, openness, and well-being while also lower levels of insecure attachments, rejection sensitivity, neuroticism, and agreeableness, countering the stigma. Gender, sexual orientations, and experience with BDSM showed explanatory potential. The associations between attachment, personality, and well-being were consistent across both BDSM practitioners and non-practitioners, as well as across various BDSM roles. BDSM practitioners share the same psychological structure as non-practitioners but also show more functional profiles. Thus, de-stigmatizing BDSM populations is reinforced and recommended. Limitations and implications for applied and research audiences are discussed.

Directness of Communication Mediates Sexual Satisfaction: What We Can Learn from a Positive View of BDSM Practice

BDSM practitioners typically report higher sexual satisfaction than the general population (Botta et al., 2019; Joyal & Carpentier, 2017; Strizzi et al., 2022). One possible reason for this is that the BDSM community prioritizes open communication and challenges traditional sexual scripts. In a sample of 376 individuals, we found a positive association between BDSM participation and sexual satisfaction which was fully mediated by direct communication about sex. These results build upon previous literature that emphasizes the vital role of communication in sexual satisfaction, broadening this result to a more sexually diverse population. In addition, the frameworks used by BDSM communities could inspire the use of similar strategies to improve communication and sexual satisfaction in non-BDSM populations.

A roomful of leopards: differentiating intimate partner violence from consensual kink

This article offers a comprehensive exploration of the complexities of BDSM rela-tionships and their differentiation from intimate partner violence (IPV), highlighting the historical and cultural stigmatisation of BDSM practitioners, the impact this has on kinky survivors, and the challenges faced by clinicians in understanding and sup-porting this community. The author critiques the diagnostic and cultural competency limitations that become barriers to care for kinky survivors, offers specific sugges-tions for differentiating consensual kink from IPV, provides risk assessment guidance, and introduces the “Four P’s Framework” to help clients assess their relationship to power within BDSM dynamics.

The Psychology of Kink: A Cross‐Sectional Survey Investigating the Association Between Adult Attachment Style and BDSM-Related Identity Choice in China

BDSM is a type of sexual preference that includes bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. Research has identified three specific power exchange roles in the practice of BDSM: dominance, submission, and switch. It has also been suggested that attachment style potentially influences BDSM interests. This study investigated the potential roles of attachment style in driving BDSM identity. A questionnaire was completed by a cross-sectional Chinese sample (n = 3310, age range 18–30 years), including 1856 BDSM practitioners (436 men, 1420 women). To assess attachment style, the questionnaire included a Chinese translation of the Adult Attachment Scale as well as items surveying BDSM interests. Compared to non-BDSM practitioners, attachment styles were not significantly different from BDSM practitioners. However, practitioners with different BDSM identities showed a significant difference in their attachment styles. Secure and avoidant attachment styles were associated with dominance, whereas submissiveness recorded high average scores of separation anxiety in both males and females. BDSM identities based on gender revealed that 60.5% of female practitioners assumed the role of submissiveness and this group recorded the highest average scores of separation anxiety among all groups. These results show that BDSM identity is related to attachment style. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that attachment styles potentially drive BDSM identities. Further research is needed to explore other psychological processes that drive BDSM identities in order to provide guidance for BDSM practitioners in choosing suitable identities, thereby helping practitioners to choose suitable identity partners and avoid negative experiences during BDSM participation.

A Preliminary Exploratory Factor Analysis of the BDSM Counselor Competency Scale.

BDSM practitioners represent a large sexual minority group often overlooked, misunderstood, and unnecessarily pathologized by mental health clinicians. Although developing cultural competence for diverse and marginalized populations is widely understood to be a core component of delivering efficacious therapeutic services that can counteract these stigmatizing mental healthcare experiences, no measures currently exist that assess clinicians' self-reported competence to work with BDSM practitioners. Previous measurement work has been done to establish self-report competency scales for clinicians working with other sexual and gender minority groups, but no such scales exist for working with BDSM practitioners. In the current study, we adapted a version of the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS) to measure clinicians' self-reported competence to work with BDSM practitioners and did a preliminary exploratory factor analysis of the new scale (n = 124). After an initial 24-item administration, principal axis factoring of our final 17-item solution revealed two latent factors (attitudes and skills/knowledge) consistent with the 2013 SOCCS and the theoretical constructs of cultural competency. The BDSM Counselor Competency Scale (BDSM-CCS) can help clinicians, practices, agencies, and training programs track self-reported cultural competence with the BDSM population. Future research directions for scale development and clinical and training applications are discussed.

An International Survey of BDSM Practitioner Demographics: The Evolution of Purpose for, Participation in, and Engagement with, Kink Activities

ABSTRACT While general proclivities for BDSM participation have been investigated in various countries, few large-scale studies have been conducted specifically with BDSM practitioners, which would allow for more in-depth analyses of participation. Through an online survey of 810 BDSM practitioners, the predictability of demographics and BDSM-related traits on the who, what, when, where, why, and how of BDSM participation were examined. Descriptive and regression analyses led to six findings. First, BDSM is practiced globally by a heterogeneous group. Second, learning about to participating in BDSM is a stepwise progression occurring over years. Third, pathways into BDSM vary with self-introduction, often as a form of sexual exploration, more common for adolescents, and friends/partners, and as a form of self-growth, more common for those introduced later in life. Fourth, historically viewed as sex-driven, few demographics predicted purpose for BDSM participation, while enjoyment/fun was the most common motivation. Fifth, practitioners participate in BDSM with multiple others beyond intimate partners, suggesting a communal element. Sixth, as a person gains more BDSM experience, their purpose/motivation evolves and the frequency and “risk” (i.e. edge-play) of activities participated in increases. Implications for further research into BDSM sub-culture are discussed, relating to the role of BDSM in sexual practice, sexual orientation, and leisure (hobby) activity identity formation, the impact of geographic, racial, and generational differences on participation, differing experiences of sexual and gender minorities (e.g. transgender, pansexual), and the importance of BDSM-specific measures, such as years of experience and occupying multiple BDSM-related roles, in analyses.

Sexual Fluidity, BDSM and Gender: An Exploratory Study on Portuguese BDSM Practitioners

BDSM constitutes a stigmatized form of sexuality in which sexual fluidity may arise. Noting the scarcity of research on these themes in Portugal, we sought to explore and understand sexual fluidity in people who identified themselves as BDSM practitioners, both in the context of so-called ‘vanilla’ sex and BDSM practice. Using a qualitative methodology, we prepared an online questionnaire disseminated on platforms used by BDSM practitioners, having obtained 54 participants. The data were subjected to content analysis and simple statistical analysis. Three themes emerged from the analysis: the importance of gender in both forms of sexuality, the perception and knowledge about sexual fluidity, and the experience of sexual fluidity. It was found that BDSM practitioners are relatively sexually fluid and demonstrate various sexual behaviors discordant with their romantic and sexual attractions. In addition to this, there were multiple justifications regarding the importance of gender when it comes to their attractions. It was also found that men, regardless of sexual identity, are more sexually fluid than women. This study contributes to the knowledge about BDSM and the deconstruction of categories related to gender and sexual identity, and finally, to the normalization of non-normative sexual practices.

Level of awareness of BDSM on attitudes towards BDSM practitioners among a Malaysian population

Level of awareness of BDSM on attitudes towards BDSM practitioners among a Malaysian population

BDSM in North America, Europe, and Oceania: A Large-Scale International Survey Gauging BDSM Interests and Activities

ABSTRACT BDSM bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism is a widespread and highly prevalent yet stigmatized practice of intimacy and sexuality. In recent years, international interest in BDSM research has grown, mainly resulting in prevalence studies in various countries. To date, however, no research has investigated international and intercontinental differences in the nature of BDSM interests and fantasies, BDSM roles and practicing contexts among BDSM practitioners. In order to explore international discrepancies in BDSM identity, fantasies, and activities among self-identified BDSM practitioners, a group of FetLife (a social network website for BDSM and kink interested individuals) members (N = 1,112) originating from North America (n = 458), Europe (n = 566), Oceania (n = 46), and Other (n = 42) completed the survey. Europeans reported an earlier age of onset of fantasizing about BDSM than did North Americans. More North Americans indicated practicing BDSM in a public context than did Europeans and Oceanians. These differences could in part be explained by different cultural backgrounds, higher levels of religiosity, and current stigmas toward non-traditional sexual interests. Future research should focus on clarifying whether cultural mechanisms underlie these dissimilarities.

Queer & kinky: what do queer BDSM practitioners need from psychosexual therapy to ensure their experience is relevant and inclusive?

This paper explores the perspectives and experiences of 4 queer BDSM practitioners based in England, UK, to discover what they would require from psychosexual therapy, as well as their psychosexual therapist, for psychosexual therapy to feel relevant and inclusive of their needs and identities. By conducting semi-structured interviews to explore the realities of each participant, several themes were drawn from the data using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings highlighted how participants wanted a psychosexual therapy experience that was free from stigma; considerate of language; preferably with a queer and kinky psychosexual therapist and lastly, a psychosexual therapy experience free from the shackles of normative assumptions. Implications for contemporary practice have been underlined with recommendations given to support psychosexual therapists in their work with this specific client group.

Between submission and pain. Shades of BDSM practices.

Many people are interested in BDSM practices. Some people practice and others fantasize about participating in these practices. Several elements are related to BDSM practices that are usually unaccepted in a close relationship, such as a strong dependence of one partner on the other or inflicting pain. BDSM practitioners create various relationships, and in a broader context, their communities. From a clinical perspective, an important issue is whether BDSM relation is consensual and serves the personal and relationship development or it can be a premise for the diagnosis of a paraphilic disorder, or recognizing abuse or mechanism of trauma repetition Adequate understanding of the behaviors that may be described by a patient practicing BDSM requires, however, getting to know the specifics of such relationships. The mental and sexual health professional would be able then to evaluate them adequately, without referring to a subjective norm or bias on stereotype or prejudice.

Exploring the prevalence and characteristics of self-labelled identity, coping, and mental health among BDSM-practicing adults in the United States

ABSTRACT This paper aimed to explore BDSM involvement and its effects on mental health. The study had four objectives: (1) quantify frequencies of BDSM self-labels, (2) describe patterns of BDSM involvement subtypes (i.e. fantasy, behaviour, and identity), (3) compare BDSM-related involvement among two samples: members of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) and a non-NCSF sample of adults interested in or practicing BDSM, and (4) understand whether BDSM identity specialty interest group membership is associated with enhanced health (i.e. coping). Data were drawn from archival survey data on sexuality and health. Participants (N = 1036) completed BDSM identity and behaviour measures. The most common BDSM identities were ‘dominant’ and ‘submissive’. NCSF members adopted BDSM identity labels more frequently compared to general adult BDSM practitioners. Dominant and submissive fantasy and behaviour varied by gender, sexual orientation, and relationship status. For example, cisgender men reported elevated patterns of dominant and lowered submissive BDSM involvement. Compared to non-NCSF members, NCSF members reported higher dominant and submissive fantasies and behaviours, and better mental health and emotion regulation. Finally, submissive fantasy involvement displayed statistically significant, but weak, positive associations with psychological health. Potential implications for public health practice, theory development, and future research are discussed.

Evaluation of Sexual Behavior and Sexual Functions of BDSM Practitioners: A Controlled Study.

The purpose of this study was to obtain information about the sexual behaviors, sexual functioning of "bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, sadism, masochism" (BDSM) practitioners. The study group (n=141) consisted of 65 women and 76 men who defined themselves as BDSM practitioners included in the study with the snowball technique through websites that are accessible on online BDSM groups. A control group (n=167) who stated that they were not BDSM practitioners was also recruited through websites. Sociodemographic and Sexual Behavior Evaluation Form and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) were used online to gather data. No significant difference was found between BDSM practitioners and controls with regard to ASEX scores. Yet, in women, the mean ASEX score was lower in BDSM practitioners than in the control group whereas in men, the mean ASEX score was higher in the BDSM practitioners. Gender might be an important factor in terms of sexual functioning in cisgender BDSM practitioners. Awareness on problems of this sexual minority should be increased.

Tell Me, Which Role Do You Prefer? Experiences of Discovery and Interactions Between BDSM Practitioners in The City of Córdoba (Argentina)

Resumen Este artículo busca analizar la (re)producción de guiones sexuales e interacciones de roles en eventos donde se permitía la realización de prácticas BDSM. En estos encuentros se daba una primera división entre sus participantes mediante membretes adhesivos con bordes coloreados para diferenciar roles de dominación, roles de sumisión, curiosos/curiosas y switches . Desde allí, busco indagar por los procesos de descubrimiento de la categoría BDSM y la construcción de roles desde las experiencias eróticas, así como analizar las (im)posibilidades de interacción entre las personas de acuerdo a los colores de los membretes.

Dominants, Submissives, and Bottom-up Text Analysis: Exploring BDSM Roles Through Romantic and Erotic Narratives

ABSTRACT Powerplay, or the consensual power exchange between “Dominant” and “submissive” (D/s) role partners, is common practice within BDSM culture. To many BDSM practitioners, their D/s role is an integral part of their sexual identity, informing not only their sexual scripts but also their non-sexual social interactions. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text analysis software was used to process 261 participants’ responses to prompts asking them to write erotic and relationship-themed narratives. Using a data-driven approach to model selection, we regressed participants’ engagement in BDSM and D/s powerplay role identification on standardized language frequencies. Stories from more active BDSM practitioners’ narratives used more perceptual words, suggesting potentially mindful, intimate, and detailed storytelling, whereas non-practitioners used more tentativeness and death in their writings. Moreover, language reflected D/s role attributes, with Dominants exhibiting ownership, responsibility, and other-focus, and submissives referencing power dynamics and self-focus in their responses. Findings are consistent with existing literature on BDSM power relationships and relate to psychosexual well-being.

LGBTQIA + and Heterosexual BDSM Practitioners: Discrimination, Stigma, Tabooness, Support, and Community Involvement

LGBTQIA + and Heterosexual BDSM Practitioners: Discrimination, Stigma, Tabooness, Support, and Community Involvement

BDSM: pathological or healthy expression of intimacy?

IntroductionThough BDSM interest (bondage & discipline, dominance & submission and sadism & masochism) has proven to be quite prevalent (46.8% in recent research), there is still significant stigma surrounding it, both in general society and among mental health practitioners.ObjectivesThis research explores the biological mechanisms associated with a BDSM interaction in the hope to strengthen the argument that it does not belong in the psychiatric field.MethodsThe present study collected data on peripheral hormone levels, pain thresholds and pain cognitions before and after a BDSM interaction and compared these results to a control group.Resultsshow that submissives have increased cortisol and endocannabinoid levels due to the BDSM interaction and that these increases are linked. Dominants showed a significant increase in endocannabinoids associated with power play but not with pain play. BDSM practitioners have a higher pain threshold overall and a BSDM interaction will result in a temporary elevation of pain thresholds for submissives. Additionally, pain thresholds in dominants will be dependent upon their fear of pain and tendency to catastrophize pain and submissives will experience less fear of pain than the control groupConclusionsEven though this is one of the first studies of its kind, several biological processes can be associated with BDSM interactions, strengthening the hypothesis of BDSM as a healthy form of intimacy and promoting its distinction from paraphilias as they are described in the DSM or ICD classifications.DisclosureNo significant relationships.