BDSM, Interaction Rituals and Open Bodies

Abstract

In this article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism (BDSM) communities in Sweden, I explore the ritual aspects of BDSM. Drawing on Douglas and Collins' theories of interaction rituals, I analyse the creation of emotional energy during humiliation practice through connection and intimacy between the participants. The article examines how the ritual aspect of BDSM sessions can be understood as an enabler of expressions and emotional energy. BDSM becomes a free zone in which bodies are allowed to be open in a Bakhtinian sense, that is, transgressive and beyond control.

La Petite Mort: Techniques of Orgasm in Electronic Dance Music

“…51 As with dance music, the collective intimacy and vulnerability at the heart of the BDSM practice forms an emotional narrative from individual "desire, anticipation and excitement" to "shared group-dynamic feelings… of joining, love, affection [and] fellowship". 52 The common focus and a supportive group dynamic of both scenarios instils a deep and long-lasting sense of belonging in participants, which facilitates community-building and motivates them to repeat the ritual.…”

Birthing Consciousness as a Case of Adaptive Altered State of Consciousness Associated With Transient Hypofrontality

“…30–39; Odent, 2001). Carlström (2018) noted that in Western society, the widely accepted view is that the functional body ought to be clean and hygienic; contact with body fluids is, in many situations, surrounded by taboos. However, body fluids are integral to natural birth, a process steeped in blood, urine, and feces.…”

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“…Additionally, BDSM experience is shaped by one's culture, social positioning, and specific identity attributes, including gender (Simula, 2019;Simula & Sumerau, 2018). Many individuals who engage in diverse erotic behaviors are psychologically well-adjusted individuals and may be members of alternative sexuality communities (Carlström, 2018). A recent review of the literature found that BDSM may function as legitimate leisure experience-typically associated with a sense of freedom, sense of adventure, decreased stress, and positive emotions-for large numbers of participants, while also being a particular sexual identity for some (Sprott & Williams, 2019).…”