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Vanilla and Kink: Power and Communication in Marriages with a BDSM-Identifying Partner

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Abstract

This phenomenological study explored the marriages of 6 couples in which one partner identified with the BDSM culture and the other partner did not. Participants were individually interviewed regarding: the process of reconstructing their sexual relationship; the impact of the social discourse on the one partner’s practice in BDSM; and the nature of power within the context of the marriage and its influence on the couple’s negotiation process. Discussions are made to help therapists become aware of the power and voice within the marriage and facilitate a productive co-creation of the couple’s shared meaning of sex.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LMFT, Couple and Family Therapy Program, Alliant International University, 2855 Michelle Dr. Suite 300, Irvine, CA, 92606, USA

    Catherine G. Meyer

  2. Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Counseling and Psychology Department, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, 1001 Leadership Place, Killeen, TX, 76549, USA

    Hao-Min Chen

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  1. Catherine G. Meyer
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  2. Hao-Min Chen
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Correspondence to Catherine G. Meyer.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Meyer, C.G., Chen, HM. Vanilla and Kink: Power and Communication in Marriages with a BDSM-Identifying Partner. Sexuality & Culture 23, 774–792 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09590-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09590-x

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