CARAS Webinar: Disentangling the Axes of BDSM; Sunday, August 18, 2024
Disentangling the Axes of BDSM
Presenter: Brad Sagarin, Ph.D.
Sunday, August 18, 2024, 10am-noon (US Pacific) / 11am-1:00pm (US Mountain) / noon-2:00pm (US Central) / 1-3:00 pm (US Eastern) / 6-8:00pm (London) / 7-9:00pm (CEST - Prague, Berlin, Stockholm); 2 hours.
Please use 1:00pm/1300 (Eastern), New York City, as a reference to confirm your local start time.
To register for the webinar, please visit: https://forms.gle/DKT2FzMJHZ8QwHnc6
Attendees may earn 2 Continuing Education (CE) credits
Cost: Attendance is free for all CARAS subscribers.
Attendance with CE credit is free for CARAS Professional and Student subscribers, and $40 for others.
Attendance without CE credit for non-subscribers is $25
Pre-registration is required. Registration will close at 3pm (Pacific)/6pm (Eastern) on Saturday, August 17, 2024 Please register early!
Abstract
BDSM is an umbrella term that encompasses multiple axes including the role a person occupies in a BDSM scene (Top/Bottom /Switch), a person’s positive relationship to pain (Sadist/Masochist), and a person’s personality traits, psychological state, or relationship role (Dominant/Submissive). Although the BDSM axes are likely correlated, they are not synonymous. Thus, a Top in an BDSM scene might have a higher than chance probability of being a Sadist, but the probability is almost certainly below 1.
The goal of this presentation is to disentangle the axes of BDSM. Conflation of these axes has led to confusion among researchers and research participants, to imprecise measures, to the misclassification of participants in statistical analyses, and to weakened validity of the conclusions of our research.
I begin by defining the BDSM axes. I continue with a review of two past studies (one from our lab) in which conflation of these axes increased error in the statistical results and ambiguity in the conclusions. I then present data from a new study that examines the relationships among these axes demonstrating that, although the axes tend to correlate in expected ways, the correlations are far from perfect. Additional results suggest that one axis, sadism/masochism, isn’t actually an axis at all, with sadism and masochism typically showing almost no correlation with each other.
Finally, results demonstrate that both Leaders and followers in Authority Transfer relationships show great diversity in their placement on the axes of BDSM, with a substantial number of followers reporting high levels of dominance, high levels of sadism, and a tendency to top in BDSM scenes, at least some of the time.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
Define the axes of BDSM and explain how these axes are typically assumed to be related to each other.
Explain two of the interpretational problems that can arise when researchers assume the axes of BDSM are synonymous.
Identify which axes of BDSM differ between Leaders and followers in Authority Transfer relationships and what the distributions of scores on the axes look like within each group.
Presentation Content Level: Introductory - Intermediate. This webinar will provide an introduction to the topic but also provide an opportunity for discussion at a more advanced level that presupposes basic knowledge of alternative sexualities communities.
About the Presenter
Dr. Brad Sagarin is a professor of social and evolutionary psychology at Northern Illinois University and the head of the Science of BDSM Research Team (www.scienceofbdsm.com). Brad studies social influence, resistance to persuasion, deception, jealousy, infidelity, human sexuality, and statistics. Brad has been published in a variety of scholarly journals, has given radio, television, and podcast interviews, has consulted for radio and television programs, and has delivered invited lectures to academic and non-academic organizations. His research has been cited in newspapers and magazines, including The Economist and New Scientist. He holds Doctorate and Master's degrees in Social Psychology from Arizona State University, and a Baccalaureate degree in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Disclosures: There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this presentation.
References
Cutler, B., Lee, E. M., Cutler, N., & Sagarin, B. J. (2020). Partner Selection, Power Dynamics, and Mutual Care Giving in Long-Term Self-Defined BDSM Couples. Journal of Positive Sexuality, 6(2), 86-114. https://journalofpositivesexuality.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Partner-selection-power-dynamics-and-mutual-care-giving-in-long-term-self-defined-BDSM-couples-Cutler-Lee-Cutler-Sagarin.pdf
Dancer, P. L., Kleinplatz, P. J., & Moser, C. (2006). 24/7 SM slavery. Journal of Homosexuality, 50(2–3), 81–101. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v50n02_05
De Neef, N., Coppens, V., Huys, W., & Morrens, M. (2019). Bondage-Discipline, Dominance-Submission and Sadomasochism (BDSM) from an integrative biopsychosocial perspective: A systematic review. Sexual Medicine, 7(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esxm.2019.02.002
Erickson, J. M., & Sagarin, B. J. (2021). The Prosocial Sadist? A Comparison of BDSM Sadism and Everyday Sadism. Personality and Individual Differences, 176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110723
Rogak, H. M. E., & Connor, J. J. (2018). Practice of consensual BDSM and relationship satisfaction. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 33(4), 454–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2017.1419560
About the CARAS Education Program
CARAS is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CARAS maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
For more information about the CARAS Education Program, including CE policies and procedures, please visit https://caras-researchlink.org/education