By Parker Rose
Picture a mansion cloaked in the black of night. The scene transitions to the entrance hall. Aristocrats wear elegant ballroom attire. Move further down the hallway. Each room you pass is a scene of depravity. Naked and masked individuals are tied up and stone-faced dominants crack whips at the backs of bound women. People are captive in cages, crying and begging to be freed. There is no joy. Only pain. Only punishment. THIS is what BDSM is!… Or not. Well, maybe there is the occasional kinky masquerade party.
There is a lot of anecdotal information readily available about BDSM. Stories of experiences in the kink community, what kind of people make up the community. These can explain why people practice kink in the first place to a degree. Some of these anecdotes are based in reality and on the actual experiences of current and former community members. Some are based in the fear-addled tales perpetuated by mainstream media depictions of BDSM. To help dispel some of these urban myths and to corroborate the reality of what kind of people are into kink, let’s take a look at BDSM by the numbers.
Intro To The Data – BDSM By The Numbers
As is the case with a lot of demographics that don’t fall into the category of cis, heteronormative, and monogamous, data on how many people practice BDSM is somewhat disparate. Studies are scattered across different years, geographic locations, and sample sizes. A 2019 article in Sexual Medicine pooled together different sources indicating the prevalence of BDSM.
The results varied, with one study indicating that approximately 2% of Australians engaged in BDSM in the past year while another study suggested that 7.6% of the general population actively engages in BDSM. The same study indicates that 46.8% of the general population engaged in BDSM activities at least once in their lives. Other research shows that somewhere between 31% and 72% of people fantasize about BDSM related activities. Many don’t necessarily carry out the fantasy, however. While helpful in providing a synthesis of research on the prevalence of BDSM, the 2019 article serves as a stark example of how limited the pool of BDSM research is at this point in time.
Why People Practice BDSM
Why look at BDSM by the numbers? It’s helpful to know how many people participate in BDSM. An equally interesting question is WHY people practice BDSM. While disapproving individuals might say that people participate in BDSM because they are twisted and perverse, one of the more common reasons is that people find it to be a great source of stress relief.
Allegories are abound of people who participate in kink because it provides psychological benefits. For some people, kink is a means of personal exploration or empowerment. For others, kink is a way to reduce stress and relax. These stories have promoted the idea that, contrary to the archaic notion that BDSM is a form of psychopathy, BDSM is more within the realm of leisure activities. A 2016 article in the Journal of Sexual Medicine states that, from a sample of 935 BDSM participants, 89.7% indicated that they associated their kink activities with a sense of personal freedom. The study also showed that 91.4% of respondents use kink to de-stress and relax.
Another Analysis
A spin off analysis from the same study suggested that there is a statistically significant difference in the amount of stress relief felt by men versus women. Participants were asked on a scale from “not at all” to “nearly always/always” whether BDSM helped them relax or destress. 70.8% of women responded “nearly always/always” compared to 55.4% of men. Cisgender and transgender participant responses were also compared, but there was no significant difference. The study author hypothesizes that the difference might be due woman the autonomy to exchange power in a BDSM context, something that isn’t always possible in an often patriarchal and misogynous society.
BDSM By The Numbers – An Earlier Study
Another earlier study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine supports the idea that BDSM is a form of leisure and not the result of psychopathy. A sample of 19,000 Australians were interviewed by telephone asked about their sexual habits as well as their satisfaction with their sexual experience. One of the highlights of the study showed that, of the 1.8% of respondents that indicated being involved in BDSM in the previous year, they tended to be less psychologically distressed. The conclusion was that BDSM is not something practiced by people with sexual difficulty or psychological problems, but rather just another leisurely form of sex.
Final Notes
Overall, while it’s hard to know exactly how many people practice BDSM, studies show that many people pursue kink activities because it’s a great stress buster and a great space for exploration and play. If you hear someone making disparaging comments about why people practice kink, now you can roll up your sleeves and drop some research-backed facts to dispel those urban myths.
Other Notes From Parker:
There are tons of people across the planet that are into kink and BDSM. Opening Gateways is a kink group that provides Ann Arbor kink classes, kink events in Ann Arbor, and other Michigan BDSM events as well. Partnering up with a newer website, Ann Arbor Sex Toys, and hosting a new Twitter chat called OGchat, there are a lot of fun options. You can also get information about Royal Oak BDSM events, Detroit kink events, and more. There is a lot fun to offer, so check out the Michigan kink events page, as well as the Opening Gateways event page here. See you soon!
