“If Their Face Starts Turning Purple, You Are Probably Doing Something Wrong”: Young Men’s Experiences with Choking During Sex

Herbenick, Debby; Guerra‐Reyes, Lucia; Patterson, Callie; Gonzalez, Yael R Rosenstock; Wagner, Caroline S.; Zounlome, Nelson O. O.

doi:10.1080/0092623x.2021.2009607

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Even though sexual choking is now prevalent, little is known about how people engage in choking in terms of frequency, intensity, and method (e.g., use of hands, ligature) apart from qualitative interviews and one prior campus-representative survey of randomly sampled undergraduate students (Herbenick et al, 2021c(Herbenick et al, , 2022b(Herbenick et al, , 2022c. Understanding how sexual choking is enacted is important as choking/strangulation method and frequency have been predictive of health sequelae, at least as part of IPV and sexual assault (Messing et al, 2018;Smith et al, 2001).…”

Section: Choking Frequency and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sexual choking also differs from IPV and sexual assault in that sexual choking does not usually co-occur with violence, although it may occur in combination with so-called rough sex behaviors such as slapping or punching. Also, some people report being choked harder than felt safe or comfortable, or do not want to be choked and resist it (Herbenick et al, 2022b).…”

Section: Physical Responses Of Choking/strangulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and shown a list of possible responses which they could indicate had occurred never, rarely, sometimes, or often. The list was based on the scientific and clinical literature related to nonfatal strangulation in other contexts as well as interviews with people who have been choked during sex (Herbenick et al, 2022b;Joshi et al, 2012;Sturgeon, 2015). The list included: difficulty swallowing; watery eyes/eyes teared up; could not speak; felt like I couldn't breathe; felt a head rush; felt pleasurable sensations/euphoria; gasped for air; neck hurt/neck pain; felt scared; vision got blurry; lost vision/couldn't see; felt dizzy or lightheaded, like I might pass out; lost consciousness/passed out; coughed; neck swelled up during or shortly after being choked; peed/urine leaked out without meaning to; and other physical responses, with a textbox to describe.…”

Section: Responses To Having Been Chokedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany demonstrates that sexual choking/strangulation has become prevalent among young adults, disproportionately affects women, often begins in adolescence, and is frequently first learned about through pornography, social media, partners, and friends (Herbenick et al, 2020(Herbenick et al, , 2021c(Herbenick et al, , 2022bSavanta Com Res, 2019;Sun et al, 2017;Wright et al, 2015). In a random sample survey of 4,989 U.S. college students, 58% of women had ever been choked during sex, and one quarter of women were first choked by age 17 (Herbenick et al, 2021c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The term choking refers to people using one or both hands, limbs (e.g., forearms), and/or ligatures (e.g., belt, tie) to press against or squeeze the neck (Herbenick et al, 2022b), making it a form of strangulation (Sauvageau & Boghossian, 2010). As people commonly call this behavior "choking" (Doucette, 2014;Gilmour, 2017;Joshi et al, 2012;Sauvageau, 2010;Savage, 2020), we use that term here except where the literature specifically refers to it as breath play or "strangulation," the latter most often found in forensic, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence (IPV) literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Frequency, Method, Intensity, and Health Sequelae of Sexual Choking Among U.S. Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Herbenick

Eastman-Mueller

et al. 2022

Arch Sex Behav

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Although sexual choking is now prevalent, little is known about how people engage in choking in terms of frequency, intensity, method, or potential health sequelae. In a campus-representative survey of undergraduate and graduate students, we aimed to: (1) describe the prevalence of ever having choked/been choked as part of sex; (2) examine the characteristics of choking one's sexual partners (e.g., age at first experience, number of partners, frequency, intensity, method); (3) examine the characteristics of having been choked during sex; and (4) assess immediate responses of having been choked including the extent to which frequency and method (e.g., hand, ligature, limb) of having been choked predicts the range of responses endorsed by participants. A total of 4254 randomly sampled students (2668 undergraduate, 1576 graduate) completed a confidential online survey during Spring 2021. The mean age of first choking/being choked was about 19, with more undergraduates than graduate students reporting first choking/ being choked in adolescence. Women and transgender/gender non-binary participants were significantly more likely to have been choked than men. Participants more often reported the use of hands compared to limbs or ligature. Common responses to being choked were pleasurable sensations/euphoria (81.7%), a head rush (43.8%), feeling like they could not breathe (43.0%), difficulty swallowing (38.9%), unable to speak (37.6%), and watery eyes (37.2%). About 15% had noticed neck bruising and 3% had lost consciousness from being choked. Greater frequency and intensity of being choked was associated with reports of more physical responses as was use of limb (arm, leg) or ligature.

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Section: Choking Frequency and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physical Responses Of Choking/strangulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Responses To Having Been Chokedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Frequency, Method, Intensity, and Health Sequelae of Sexual Choking Among U.S. Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Herbenick

Eastman-Mueller

et al. 2022

Arch Sex Behav

Self Cite

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#ChokeMeDaddy: A Content Analysis of Memes Related to Choking/Strangulation During Sex

et al. 2022

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Recent research indicates that some young people initially learn about sexual choking through Internet memes. Thus, a qualitative content analysis was performed on 316 visual and textual memes collected from various social media websites and online searches to assess salient categories related to choking during sex. We identified nine main categories: communication, gendered dynamics, choking as dangerous, choking as sexy, sexualization of the nonsexual, shame and worry, romance/rough sex juxtaposition, choking and religious references, instructional/informational. Given that memes, through their humor, can make difficult topics more palatable and minimize potential harm in the phenomenon they depict, more concerted, synergistic effort that integrates media literacy into sexuality education programming on the potential risks that may ensue for those engaging in sexual choking is warranted. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10508-022-02502-5.

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Prevalence of Sexual Strangulation/Choking Among Australian 18–35 Year-Olds

Sharman,

Fitzgerald,

Douglas

2024

Arch Sex Behav

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In Australia, strangulation has been explicitly criminalized in all states and territories. However, it continues to be a “normalized” sexual practice despite its potentially fatal consequences and associated short and long-term sequelae. This research aimed to establish the prevalence of strangulation during sex and examine predictors of positive perceptions toward sexual strangulation in Australia. Confidential, cross-sectional online surveys were conducted with 4702 Australians aged 18–35 years. Participants were 47% cis-men, 48% cis-women, and 4% trans or gender diverse. A total of 57% reported ever being sexually strangled (61% women, 43% men, 79% trans or gender diverse) and 51% reported ever strangling a partner (40% women, 59% men, 74% trans or gender diverse). Differences were found across genders on all variables of sexual strangulation, including frequency of engagement, level of pressure on the neck, consequences, wanting and enjoyment, and how consent was given/received. However, when split by gender, sexual orientation of men and women revealed further differences in behaviors, consequences, and wanting, particularly among straight and bisexual women. After accounting for exposure to strangulation in pornography and previous experience of sexual strangulation, positive perceptions of being strangled (R2 = .51) and strangling a partner (R2 = .53) were predicted by ratings that it could be done safely and social normative factors. These findings suggest strangulation is common during sex among young Australians. Non-stigmatizing education strategies are needed to engage with young people so they have a better understanding of the risks involved and how to negotiate consent and safety regarding sexual strangulation.

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“If Their Face Starts Turning Purple, You Are Probably Doing Something Wrong”: Young Men’s Experiences with Choking During Sex

Cited by 11 publications

References 37 publications

Frequency, Method, Intensity, and Health Sequelae of Sexual Choking Among U.S. Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Frequency, Method, Intensity, and Health Sequelae of Sexual Choking Among U.S. Undergraduate and Graduate Students

#ChokeMeDaddy: A Content Analysis of Memes Related to Choking/Strangulation During Sex

Prevalence of Sexual Strangulation/Choking Among Australian 18–35 Year-Olds

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