BDSM in History and Practice

Because I (Sub) am fascinated in not just the what, but the why, where, who, and how, I have a soft spot for historical research. (This is perhaps what led me to develop such huge crushes on my history, sociology, and religion professors...) Hence, I thought it was fitting that my first solo blog be about the many, many historical and scientific studies that have been done on sadomasochism. A complete unstyled bibliography will be available at the end, since of course plagiarism is very, very wrong, and I'd hate for my Dom to have to punish me for it later... :)

First, the history of sadomasochism, or BDSM as it is now commonly called.



History of BDSM

From all accounts, BDSM has been around for thousands of years; it can be seen in the artwork and paintings from ancient times. In fact, the Karma Sutra, the ancient Indian text known for being a sacred treatise on sexuality, even mentions different types of hitting and spanking that adventuresome lovers can try. Pictures on the Tombe della Fustigazione, a tombstone dated around the 6th century BC, show two men spanking and whipping a woman for sexual enjoyment.




The Marquis de Sade, one of the most famous BDSM cases of all time, spent the 1700s raping, whipping, beating, and humiliating his unfortunate victims, who were usually prostitutes or servants. During Victorian times, husbands began to use figging (the insertion of ginger root into the anus) on their disobedient wives: they would leave the root in until it began to burn, then paddle or whip them. Ouch!



BDSM Today

Until 1994, sadomasochism was listed as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders still used by psychiatrists today. In 1994 it was changed, so now only people who harm unwilling victims or are unhappy with their sexual desires are considered to have a mental disorder.



Scientists researching the BDSM lifestyle have found of all the sexually deviant behavior, S&M is one of the ONLY ones that has lots of women participants, too. For most other sexual disorders and deviant behaviors, it is just men. Also, this one is practiced by people of all sexual orientations.

Interestingly, they've also found people who engage in S&M are actually better educated and better communicators than the general public. They also haven't found any links to psychotic behavior; all the articles mentioned that most S&M practicioners will only be interested in S&M if the partner consents and if they have a "safe word."




They have found indications of S&M going back to marriages in ancient times. And a large percent of the population is into it. They said over half of the people in the United States have done mild S&M (specifically biting). But still 5% of the population has done more serious S&M, such as spanking, hitting, and bondage. So there are more people who enjoy beating and choking their partners than there are redheads in the U.S. Sweet!

In fact, BDSM is common enough that asphyxiation results in the accidental death of 1-2 million people per year! Can you believe that?! How many more people must be choking each other if that many people die from it?! They also were talking about asphyxiation as being from plastic bags and tying ropes around each other's necks, as well as more hardcore ideas like a whole-body vacuum. Still, even chocking your partner lightly with your hands can lead to accidental death or unconsciousness, so be very careful! A quick Google search alone will bring up a slew of court cases where a would-be S is pleading innocent to the murder of their poor, deceased M; a word to the wise!

I also thought it was very interesting the breakdown of what the people liked. For example, it wasn't split 50/50, half liking M and half liking S, as you would think. One study found that BOTH men and women enjoyed being SUBMISSIVE better. (This is definitely not true in my relationship!) So what ended up happening was that BDSM would just switch back and forth, taking turns being the submissive. So guys, don't feel bad if you secretly dream of being strapped to the bed by a hot female Dom who walks all over you in her high-heeled leather boots. You're normal!

Although both sexes enjoyed being dominated more, they actually found that women were more versatile with what they liked. Women in general preferred to be dominated most or all the time. Men and women were about even with enjoying both roles and liking to switch. And then women also preferred to be dominating all the time. Men were just generally more in the middle. This is a great statistic since most people assume that in BDSM, men want the "traditional male" role of Dom and women want to be dominated by a strong, domineering man wielding a loincloth and club. Not true!

Another thing I thought was funny: A study said the most common safe word is "red." I thought that was funny.... who would just up and say, "RED!" in the middle of sex?!?! (My own "safe phrase" is a simple, "I can't..." because I think that anything so overtly non-sexual like RED would just ruin the mood!)

They also talked a lot about how S&M communities are really big on "safety first!" I think this is obvious, but I will reiterate it: Communicate communicate communicate! Make sure everything is consensual, always have safe words, and talk out your desires beforehand. If your Sub is not 100% okay with something, don't do it. If you are going to use a gag, you need to have the M person tell you any allergies, heart problems, or health issues before hand. Any time you tie someone up, you can never leave her alone. You must always be within arm's reach, and if you gag or blindfold them as well, you must always be touching them with at least one hand, AND you must make sure you have a nonverbal signal for the safeword since your Sub can't talk!

The nosy psychiatrists also talked a lot about common practices for S&M couples. I love it when people study me and put me in a box! It's so fun to read about! :)

Not surprisingly, the least painful and dangerous are the most often used. For example, a lot more people engage in some light bondage or spanking, and relatively few people engage in beating and mutilation. The more pain and danger involved, the fewer people do it regularly. This is one reason my Dom and I started this site; all the sites were either "Try spanking her lightly" (borrrring!) or "Pierce her back, tie her up, suspend her from the ceiling, and whip her til her skin bleeds!" (too much!).

All three studies I found said that the most common type of S&M used, by both gay and heterosexual couples, was spanking. (I thought that was weird, because although I am an avowed Sub, I detest spanking...) The second most common was always bondage of different types. They also talked a lot about role playing. All the studies mentioned a role playing game called "Master/slave" or "Mistress/slave." And then any other games, like teacher/student, cop/criminal, etc. were just sort of derivatives off the first "game." I did think it was interesting that while both gay and straight couples used spanking and bondage and games the most, slightly more straight couples used the spanking and bondage, and slightly more gay couples used dressing up in like, full-blown leather to play their role-playing games. I wonder why that difference is??

The articles also talked about the danger of using S&M. Like obviously, people can die or get hurt. But also they said that the ONLY difference between S&M and real sexual abuse and rape, is the "intent of the participants." Which is very true, and something like "intent" is so hard to judge and so subjective. So it can be dangerous to engage in something SO close to sexual abuse when it is only in your mind that it is different. Which is why you should ONLY engage in these fun, sexy pleasures with someone you know, love, and trust 100% before you try it.

The studies also found that most S&Mers started between the age of 20 and 25, discovering they liked this stuff. I must be an early bloomer, because I discovered it around the age of 19, but had fantasies about it from 15 or so.... and, hats off to my Dom because he didn't even discover the joys of BDSM til he was 27 and he is already way ahead of the curve!

Then they also talked about what I would consider more "hard core" stuff and why people do it... like actual hurting like whips and sticks. And they said the M person usually doesn't feel how much they are being hurt til later, so be careful! And also more permanent stuff, like tattoes and piercings. The study said that some people said the more hardcore stuff, like tattoes and piercings and wearing a collar was good because the people said it was an expression of their devotion and love for their partner. Oh yeah!, and also they mentioned people liking genital torture. I am not really clear on what that is and my server keeps blocking it (darn!) when I try to look it up... anyone tried it and willing to vouch for it?

There is tons of other great stuff out there on the internet, so have fun sexsearching!



Bibliography

(click the links below to see where I got my information)

TV Documentary on the Marquis de Sade
Psychiatric Site for DSM-IV Mental Disorders
Fascinating clinical study on S&M behaviors.
Scholarly Article on Masochism
I couldn't resist. Here is the Wiki article on BDSM, however unreliable it may be.