Despite the whole ’50 Shades of Grey’ thing, phycologists know little about why people engage in BDSM activities. Within those circles, they know even less about those who profess to enjoy the role of the submissive.
A new study published in the Journal of Sex Research gave researches the opportunity to understand the personal origins of how an individual came to be interested in masochism and submission, as well as what they liked the most about the role.
The origins boiled down to people who felt they were ‘born with’ their interests and remember experiencing pleasure at being tied up or spanked from an early age.
Usually, the most common reason for enjoying the practice of Masochism and Sadism was the power exchange. The idea of exchanging power with someone else was the most erotic driver the submissives experienced. Receiving pain was the second most common and a reported altered state of consciousness was the third.
Possibly the most interesting thing about BDSM is how prevalent it is in the mainstream compared with how misunderstood the phenomena remains. However, research is building and hopefully, we will be less judgmental when people are attracted to the notion of submission and want to explore it for themselves.
You can read an article in Psychology today about the article here.
