BDSM practitioners’ understandings of their initial attraction to BDSM sexuality: essentialist and constructionist narratives

Yost, Megan R.; Hunter, L. E.

doi:10.1080/19419899.2012.700028

Cited by 44 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Although themes related specifically to identity development are beyond the scope of the current manuscript, we expected that participants would report diverse stories about their identity development as BDSM practitioners. Indeed, participants theorized about intrinsic interests as well as interests gradually shaped later in life (e.g., due to a partner initiating BDSM exploration), similar to the recent results of Yost and Hunter (2012).…”

Section: The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 59%

Perks, problems, and the people who play: A qualitative exploration of dominant and submissive BDSM roles

Hébert

Weaver

2015

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality

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Many bondage-discipline, domination-submission, sadomasochism (BDSM) practitioners identify as primarily dominant or primarily submissive. In the current study, BDSM practitioners with self-identified preferences for dominance or for submission described the traits that they feel make them well suited for their preferred BDSM role, their perceptions of benefits and challenges of BDSM generally, and the benefits and challenges of their preferred role. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 9 dominants and 12 submissives and explored using thematic analysis. Participants described dominants as empathic and nurturing, desiring and able to take control, and attentive and responsible, while submissives were characterized as willing to give up control and having a desire to please. Interviewees described ways in which their BDSM role fit with their overall personality, as well as incongruities between their role in BDSM play and their day-to-day personas. The general benefits of BDSM mentioned by the participants for both roles were pleasure from pleasuring others, physical pleasure and arousal, fun, variety, and going beyond vanilla, personal growth, improved romantic relationships, community, psychological release, freedom from day-to-day roles, and being yourself. Participants also discussed the dominant-specific benefits of control or power, rewards, and confidence, and the submissive-specific benefit of giving up control. In addition to the shared challenges and risks of stigma, relationship problems, and accepting desires reported, dominant-specific issues of more work and responsibility and possessive submissives, and submissive-specific issues of vulnerability, bad dominants, and following orders and accepting decisions were addressed by participants. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Section: The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 59%

Perks, problems, and the people who play: A qualitative exploration of dominant and submissive BDSM roles

Hébert

Weaver

2015

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality

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“…Endorsement of essentialist beliefs has been studied in a variety of contexts including sexual orientation, race, and sex (Haslam & Levy, ; Morton & Postmes, ; Roets & Van Hiel, ; Yost & Hunter, ). While researchers may dispute the biological or socially constructed nature of groups (e.g., Smith et al ., ), the present research focuses on whether beliefs about a group's biological determinism change in response to distinctiveness threats, irrespective of the plausibility of biological determinism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘More than skin‐deep’: Biological essentialism in response to a distinctiveness threat in a stigmatized fan community

Plante

Roberts

Snider

et al. 2014

British J Social Psychol

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We investigated how group distinctiveness threats affect essentialist beliefs about group membership in a stigmatized fan community. An experiment conducted on 817 members of the fan community revealed that highly identified fans who perceived significant stigmatization were the most likely to endorse essentialist beliefs about group membership when exposed to a distinctiveness threat via comparison to a highly similar (vs. dissimilar) outgroup. These results bridge essentialism research and research on distinctiveness threat by demonstrating the mutability of group essentialism beliefs as a defensive response to distinctiveness threats. Implications for future research are discussed.

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“…Much of this literature has focused on the psychological functioning of people who engage in kink, BDSM, or fetish practices, or who engage in CNM, often with an assumption that alternative sexual behaviors and relationships are an expression of mental disorder or the result from childhood sexual abuse (e.g., Connolly, 2006;Hopkins, Brawner, Meyer, Zawilinski, Carnes, & Green, 2016;Nordling, Sandnabba, & Santtila, 2000). Although some studies have found some significant correlations between historical childhood abuse and engagement in adult alternative sexual practices (Hopkins et al, 2016;Nordling et al, 2000;Yost & Hunter, 2012), a nationally representative survey of Australians' sexual practices found no significant correlation between sexual abuse or coercion and BDSM participation. The assumptions that alternative sexuality engagement indicates pathology appear unwarranted given the preponderance of research that finds little or no difference in psychological functioning and attachment styles when comparing those who engage in alternative sexualities with controls (Cannon, 2006(Cannon, , 2009Cross & Matheson, 2006;Richters, de Visser, Rissel, Grulich, & Smith, 2008;Rubel & Bogaert, 2014;Wismeijer & van Assen, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative or Nontraditional Sexualities and Therapy: A Case Report

et al. 2017

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A traditionally marginalized subset of couples engage in consensual nonmonogamy (CNM: open marriage, polyamory, swinging, etc.) or alternative sexualities, such as kink or bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism. Nonmonogamous and sexually diverse individuals often experience discrimination or stigma in various domains of professional services, including mental healthcare. These cases require knowledge, skills, and awareness to provide culturally sensitive care, which is often called "kink aware therapy" or "poly-friendly therapy" within alternative sexuality communities. This article explores one application of a kink-focused and CNM-focused therapeutic framework for working with a couple who is exploring nontraditional sexualities. This case incorporates evidence-based clinical practice and identifies the limitations and significant gaps in the empirical research literature.

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BDSM practitioners’ understandings of their initial attraction to BDSM sexuality: essentialist and constructionist narratives

Cited by 44 publications

References 34 publications

Perks, problems, and the people who play: A qualitative exploration of dominant and submissive BDSM roles

Perks, problems, and the people who play: A qualitative exploration of dominant and submissive BDSM roles

‘More than skin‐deep’: Biological essentialism in response to a distinctiveness threat in a stigmatized fan community

Alternative or Nontraditional Sexualities and Therapy: A Case Report

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