Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Address correspondence to Tanya Bezreh. E-mail: tanya tanyabezreh. We examined risk factors involved with disclosure to posit how sex education might diffuse stigma and warn of risks. Semi-structured interviews asked 20 adults reporting an interest in BDSM about their disclosure experiences. Most respondents reported their BDSM interests starting before age 15, sometimes creating a phase of anxiety and shame in the absence of reassuring information.
As adults, respondents often considered BDSM central to their sexuality, thus disclosure was integral to dating. Disclosure decisions in nondating situations were often complex considerations balancing desire for appropriateness with a desire for connection and honesty.
Some respondents wondered whether their interests being found out would jeopardize their jobs. Experiences with stigma varied widely. Keywords: Disclosure, coming out, stigma, sexual minority resources, sexuality education, BDSM, sadism, masochism, sadomasochism. Rather, we are inspired by the myriad resources available for helping lesbian, gay, and bisexual LGB individuals navigate disclosure, stigma, and shame. This project did exploratory research into the disclosure experiences of people interested in BDSM to identify potential areas of support that can be integrated into sex education.
The first empirical research on a large sample of SM-identified subjects was conducted in , and the sociological and social-psychological research which followed was primarily descriptive of behaviors and did not focus on the psychosocial factors, etiology, or acquisition of SM identity or interest Weinberg, Whether this process is analogous to people identifying with BDSM is not known.
There is little research about the ways stigma affects SM-identified individuals, but there is much evidence that SM is stigmatized. Wright documented cases of discrimination against individuals, parents, private parties, and organized SM community events, demonstrating that SM-identified individuals may suffer discrimination, become targets of violence, and lose security clearances, inheritances, jobs, and custody of children. Goffman noted that stigmatized groups are imbued with a wide range of negative traits, leading to discomfort in the interactions between stigmatized and nonstigmatized individuals.
