Few sexual proclivities are as complex or pathologised as BDSM. For a long time, the practice, which stands for bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism, has been seen as the dark and torturous core of the carnal underworld. It’s synonymous with trauma, both physiological and psychological. Say “BDSM” to most people and they’ll instantly picture Christian Grey, the smouldering, sado-obsessed protagonist in EL James’s comically terrible Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, whose interest in the practice is linked to his own childhood abuse.
This isn’t just a limited view. It’s one that perpetuates damaging myths about a community of people that has warped our understanding of what BDSM actually entails, and what it looks like when it’s carried out safely and consensually.
