Motivations, Benefits, and Experiences of those who Engage in BDSM

Mainstream society holds deep-seated preconceptions about non-normative sexuality. Bondage, discipline, domination/submission, and sadomasochism (BDSM) represent a voluntary lifestyle built around consensual violence, restraint, roleplay, and power exchange. Historically, the explicit and implicit criminalization of BDSM drove the culture underground, fueling widespread public misconceptions. Today, practitioners continue to face heavy stigma from social control agents, most notably law enforcement and the medical community, who frequently pathologize these behaviors and label participants as mentally ill.

To address these misconceptions and understand the lived experiences of practitioners, this multi-phase study investigates the BDSM community’s internal dynamics, safety protocols, and psychological well-being:

Phase 1: Explored community standards and public perceptions through semi-structured virtual interviews with BDSM leaders and sex educators. Key topics included practitioner roles, entry into the community, ongoing education, risk management, the influence of pornography, and strategies for public outreach.
Phase 2: Builds upon the foundational interviews conducted in Phase 1 by administering a broad, quantitative and qualitative online survey of self-identified BDSM practitioners across diverse international contexts. This phase directly confronts the historic pathologization of kink by evaluating participants’ true motivations, interpersonal experiences, and overall psychological health. To capture a comprehensive picture of the community, the survey examined how participation intersects with diverse demographics, including race, gender identity, socio-economic status, and geographic location, while assessing key lifecycle and environmental factors such as upbringing, parenting responsibilities, history of trauma, mental health outcomes, and engagement with sex work or adult media.
Phase 3: Expands on earlier findings through semi-structured, one-on-one virtual interviews with self-selected participants from the Phase 2 survey cohort. This final qualitative phase facilitates a more nuanced exploration of core themes, such as role dynamics, identity development, and community safety, while providing deeper, individualized context surrounding participants’ lived experiences, coping mechanisms, and interactions with societal and institutional stigma.

Ultimately, this research seeks to clarify community norms, challenge institutional stigma, and highlight how BDSM participation can foster emotional and social enrichment while supporting practitioner safety and well-being.

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Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

Olson, I., & Westlake, B. (2026). Holes in kinky education: The role of pornography in learning about BDSM sexualities. Sex Education, 26(2), 263-278. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2025.2461301 [PDF]

Forer, R., & Westlake, B. (2025). Pain for pain: The benefits and challenges of BDSM participation for people with chronic pain – An exploratory study. Psychology and Sexuality, 16(4), 1210-1226. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2025.2507699 [PDF]

Westlake, B., Kusz, J., & Afana, E. (2025). A double-edged sword: The role of pornography in learning about BDSM. Sex Education, 25(1), 23-37. http://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2023.2266808 [PDF]

Ratcliff, S., Westlake, B., & O’Neill, A. (2025). Only as a last resort: Perceptions of police among gender, sexual, and relationally diverse (GSRD) BDSM / kink participants. Policing and Society, 35(6), 849-866. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2024.2435405 [PDF]

Westlake, B., & Mahan, I. (2025). An international survey of BDSM practitioner demographics: The evolution of purpose for, participation in, and engagement with, kink activities. The Journal of Sex Research, 62(3), 341-359. http://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2273266 [PDF]

Westlake, B. (2024). BDSM safety in pornography: Its perceived accuracy and impact on practitioners’ safe word practices. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 53(9), 3475-3484. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02967-6 [PDF]

Conference Presentations

O’Neill, A., & Westlake, B. (2024, November 14). Perceptions of law enforcement’s ability to respond to and protect sexually marginalized BDSM practitioners [Oral]. 79^th American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Westlake, B., & Mahan, I. (2022, November 26). Surveying the motivations, benefits, and experiences of those who engage in BDSM/kink [Lecture]. CARAS Conference: Leather-Kink Research and Clinical Knowledge (C2C) – West, Los Angeles, CA, United States. https://www.carasresearch.org/c2c-west

Westlake, B. G. (2022, November 26). What research on leather and kink is needed today? [Panellist]. CARAS Conference: Leather-Kink Research and Clinical Knowledge (C2C) – West, Los Angeles, California. https://www.carasresearch.org/c2c-west

Afana, E (2021). Perception correction: Addressing social stigmatization around BDSM and mental health [Master’s thesis, San Jose State University]. SJSU Scholar Works https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/5194/.

Afana, E. (2021, April 29). Perception correction: Addressing social stigma around BDSM and mental health [Poster Presentation]. 2021 College of Social Science Dean’s Student Colloquium, San Jose, CA, United States.

Westlake, B. G., & Alder, L. (2019, April 27). Could sex in VR be exploitative? What is the potential for queering virtual bodies? [Oral Presentation]. CFP: Gender, Bodies, & Technology 5^th Transdisciplinary Conference, for Playing with Our Selves: Examining Life through Virtual Media Part II, Roanoke, VA.

Westlake, B. G. (2010, June). Normalizing polyamory in a mono-centric society [Oral]. Work in Progress Conference, Burnaby, BC.

Grants

2022: Analyzing the motivations, benefits, and experiences of BDSM participants. 2022-2023 San Jose State University RSCA Seed Grant Program

Content Control and Personal Boundaries Among Online Sex-Related Content Producers

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of sex works operating online. As this industry continues to grow, it is important that content producer’s copyright is enforced and the safety and security of performers are protected. This research includes an international team of scholars surveying and interviewing online adult sex workers to advocate for better intellectual property protections on behalf of erotic and sexual content producers and the process of maintaining healthy boundaries with clients.

Content Control Survey: This research aims is to develop a comprehensive understanding of how those who participate in online sex-related content production manage their work identity in relation to their “real-life” identity and deal with the implications of the stigma associated with sex work. We seek to understand the experiences with content creation, piracy of materials by third parties, interactions with the larger sex-related community, and how the internet impacts their experiences with the sex market. The end goal is to combat the negative stigmatization of participants and identify the positive outcomes that people have from engaging in healthy, online sex-related content.

For more information see: https://sites.google.com/view/content-piracy-survey/home

RESEARCH PARTNERS

Associate Professor James Popham, Wilfrid Laurier University
Professor Stacey Hannem, Wilfrid Laurier University