Sadomasochism in Sickness and in Health: Competing Claims from Science, Social Science, and Culture

The Psychology of Puppy Play: A Phenomenological Investigation

“…This ranges from clinical case study work on people learning more about themselves, and particularly their sexuality, through BDSM (Easton, 2013; Kleinplatz & Moser, 2006) to studies discussing the use of BDSM specifically as therapy (Lindeman, 2011), including by women seeking to explore and attend to experiences of early sexual trauma (Hammers, 2014). The overwhelming message from this published work is that BDSM is—in Khan’s (2015) words—“not just benign but healing.” The explanations for how BDSM acts in a psychologically beneficial manner vary considerably across these studies and are largely dependent on the individual author’s own therapeutic orientation. There remains considerable scope for further exploration of this topic, in terms of better understanding the process by which BDSM practices may be experienced as psychologically beneficial, especially given the growth of a wider therapy culture (Ferudi, 2004), in the West at least, in which we see experiences that used to be cast in the language of spirituality now spoken of in the language of psychotherapy and/or personal growth (cf.…”

“…Beyond this limited material on pup play, there is also an extensive body of work on BDSM, which we draw on to inform and theoretically frame the present study given the origins of—and current location of much—puppy play behavior within the BDSM/leather community (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019; St. Clair, 2015). Of particular relevance to the present study is extant work on the reasons/motivation for people engaging in BDSM (see Khan, 2015). A primary motivation for people to engage in BDSM activity is sexual (Wiseman, 1996), but beyond this are a range of other non-sexual motivations ranging from BDSM as therapy (e.g., Barker, Gupta, & Iantaffi, 2013; Easton, 2013; Hammers, 2014; Henkin, 2013; Kleinplatz & Moser, 2006; Turley, King, & Butt, 2011); escaping the self (Baumeister, 1988, 1991); as a form of “serious” or “recreational leisure” (Newmahr, 2010; Williams, Prior, Alvarado, Thomas, & Christensen, 2016; see also Wignall & McCormack, 2017 on this); and community building (Graham, Butler, McGraw, Cannes, & Smith, 2016; Newmahr, 2010; Weiss, 2011).…”

“…While there has been a long history of treating BDSM as pathology in need of treatment and cure (Langdridge & Barker, 2013), something that is now on the wane (Moser, 2016, 2018), there has also been a parallel perspective in which BDSM has been deemed healthy and indeed even of psychotherapeutic benefit for participants (Barker et al, 2013; Khan, 2015). This ranges from clinical case study work on people learning more about themselves, and particularly their sexuality, through BDSM (Easton, 2013; Kleinplatz & Moser, 2006) to studies discussing the use of BDSM specifically as therapy (Lindeman, 2011), including by women seeking to explore and attend to experiences of early sexual trauma (Hammers, 2014).…”

BDSM as trauma play: An autoethnographic investigation

“…Although a personal interest in BDSM has long been pathologized (Beckmann, 2001; Kleinplatz and Moser, 2005; Pitagora, 2013; Taylor, 1997) and often presumed to be the result of childhood trauma or abuse (Nordling et al., 2000; Taylor and Ussher, 2001; Weille, 2002), empirical studies have repeatedly found that BDSM practitioners have non-remarkable psychological profiles (Connolly, 2006; Cross and Matheson, 2006; Hébert and Weaver, 2014; Weinberg, 2006) and are no more likely than the general population to have experienced trauma or abuse (Powls and Davies, 2012; Richters et al., 2008; Sandnabba et al., 2002). Additionally, some research suggests that BDSM practitioners may actually experience lower levels of psychological distress (Richters et al., 2008) and may be “healthier than the general population in a number of personality measures” (Khan, 2015: 53; Wismeijer and Van Assen, 2013). Corresponding to this, recent scholarship has highlighted a variety of positive outcomes associated with BDSM participation, including developing skills related to communication and trust, negotiation and risk calculation, and self-care and resiliency (Khan, 2015; Williams et al., 2017).…”

A Fine Line Between Pleasure and Pain: Would Decriminalising BDSM Permit Nonconsensual Abuse?

“…21 Rubin (2007: 151). 22 Andrieu, Lahuerta and Luy (2019), Khan (2015), Lin (2017), Moser (2019). 23 Simula and Sumerau (2019: 454).…”