“Comforting, reassuring, and…hot”: A qualitative exploration of engaging in BDSM and Kink from the perspective of autistic adults.

Authors

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of research on autistic intimacy, however a small body of research suggests that BDSM (bondage, domination, discipline, submission, sadism, and (sado)masochism)/kink may be appealing to autistic people. We aimed to explore how engagement in BDSM/kink related to autistic identity, using a phenomenological approach. Method: We recruited 6 autistic adults through purposive sampling on social media. All participants took part in a one-to-one spoken interview about their engagement in BDSM/kink and how it related to their sense of identity. Results: We used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse the data and found 3 key themes. Theme 1, ‘Practicing safe ‘sex’’ highlighted how the clear communication and explicit focus on consent present in BDSM/kink facilitated a feeling of safety. Theme 2, ‘So many ways to touch and be touched’ was focussed on the sensory draw of BDSM/kink, and how it provided exciting ways to explore sensory joy (and sometimes revulsion). Theme 3 ‘Subverting (neuro)normativity’ showed how autistic people can find pleasure in intimate practices which transgress normative expectations. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of exploring the perceptions of autistic adults in relation to their own intimate practices. Autistic intimacy is an emerging area of research, with very little focus on lived experience. Whilst engagement in BDSM/kink may appear niche, our findings suggest that there are aspects which are inherently appealing to autistic people. These findings can be used to destigmatise both autistic intimacy, and engagement in alternative intimate practices more broadly.

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