Research Study

[researchstudent]

Hi Everyone,

I am a college student, and I am conducting a study on BDSM practitioners and non-BDSM practitioners. I need to collect 300 online survey responses by August 31st in order to conduct data analysis for my Senior Capstone. I am trying to collect a variety of responses from all types of people, and I am in need of your help. Below is a link to my survey. If you could please take 10-15 minutes, it would be greatly appreciated. The survey is completely anonymous and confidential, and no names are ever collected. I would like to make it clear that my survey is student-conducted research at an accredited university, and I am in no way paid for doing this.

https://mcdaniel.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e4irJE9xgvTMRwx

*Admin, I apologize if this is not allowed. Please email me if that is the case.

 

[LWulf]

Oh, look! Crickets!!

 

[DeliaJade]

Hi Everyone,

I am a college student, and I am conducting a study on BDSM practitioners and non-BDSM practitioners. I need to collect 300 online survey responses by August 31st in order to conduct data analysis for my Senior Capstone. I am trying to collect a variety of responses from all types of people, and I am in need of your help. Below is a link to my survey. If you could please take 10-15 minutes, it would be greatly appreciated. The survey is completely anonymous and confidential, and no names are ever collected. I would like to make it clear that my survey is student-conducted research at an accredited university, and I am in no way paid for doing this.

https://mcdaniel.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e4irJE9xgvTMRwx

*Admin, I apologize if this is not allowed. Please email me if that is the case.

Done! I feel that this is a very worthy cause, and am willing to answer any more questions you may have. PM me.

 

[Crazy_Christine]

in trying to complete your survey computer froze after "nightmare" item

 

[Crazy_Christine]

computer finally moved on and was able to finish survey

 

[darlingmara]

.......

 

[Bramblethorn]

Oh yay, somebody actually got IRB approval and stuff before coming here to survey us. Good to see!

Unfortunately, the question design could've been better:

Sadomasochism: sexual practices that involve dominance and submission (the appearance that one person has control over the other), sometimes involve role-playing (such as Master–slave or Teacher–student), are always consensual (all partners participate willingly and voluntarily).

S&M doesn't necessarily involve D&S. Some people enjoy S&M for physical sensation without wanting to dominate or be dominated.

Sadomasochist: someone who deliberately uses physical stimulation (possibly pain) and=or psychological stimulation and control to produce sexual arousal and to achieve sexual pleasure.

I think technically that covers just about everybody who's sexually active.

I have participated in risky sexual behavior (e.g. sex without birth control, unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners at one time, etc.).

Ugh. No. If you're researching sexuality, please check your assumptions about this sort of stuff.

Fucking two people at once is no more "risky" than serial monogamy. If done with partners who've been tested for STIs, and who don't sleep with people outside the group, it's pretty damn safe. If done with appropriate barriers used properly, it's also pretty damn safe.

And there are a whole lot of people for whom birth control is irrelevant, for one reason or another.

My sexual behaviors and practices cause me physical harm.

Define "harm".

Some BDSMers draw a distinction between "hurt" and "harm": "harm" is stuff that does long-lasting damage, "hurt" is short-term pain without lasting effects. I'm not clear which one you mean.

 

[thelaughingcat]

Everything Bramblethorn said! I brought up the same points to my OH on the train while I was going through it. While attempting not to shout lolol.

Though a Sadomasochist is someone I would define as a switch - someone who enjoys both inflicting and receiving pain for sexual gratification. This is only because a sadist enjoys inflicting pain and a masochist enjoys receiving pain so a sadomasochist must be a bit of both, no? A Dominant/Domme enjoys using mental and physical control methods over a willing submissive partner to achieve sexual and personal gratification.

I know 50 Shades did us all a huge disservice by making poor, broken, messed up Christian Grey into the poster child for the modern Alternative lifestyle, but seriously, do people really think that way of us? That we all need child or domestic abuse helplines to get better? This isn't me taking a potshot at the author of this survey at all, though I wish she had actually spoken to members of the BDSM community to get her definitions straight first, I'm genuinely shocked at the thought that people could view us this way.

In England, while I have come across a lack of comprehension of the lifestyle, I haven't been made to feel inferior, broken or otherwise abused for my sexual choices and I come from pure, middle England, Anglican, rural roots. It's a titillating subject to most religious prudes I have come across, something to smirk about while raising an eyebrow and mentioning the type of grass the Smiths just laid down

 

[seela]

Ok, a question about the very first question.

"I have used chains, whips, and other instruments of domination during sexual intercourse."

Does sexual intercourse here mean sex in general or does it really mean intercourse? As in, penis in vagina or something?

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

What is a non-standard sexual practice? Everything we do is pretty standard for us. Also, is it considered risky behavior to have unprotected sex with your spouse?

 

[Cumference]

And then there is a massive self-selection bias, when a survey is conducted in a forum like this.

Remember to take that into account.

 

[spellslave]

Answered. Oh, and -

"Conclusion. Our findings support the idea that BDSM is simply a sexual interest or subculture attractive to a minority, and for most participants not a pathological symptom of past abuse or difficulty with “normal” sex."

Richters, J., de Visser, R. O., Rissel, C. E., Grulich, A. E., & Smith, A. A. (2008 ). Demographic and psychosocial features of participants in bondage and discipline, 'sadomasochism' or dominance and submission (BDSM): Data from a national survey. Journal Of Sexual Medicine, 5(7), 1660-1668.

"Although psychoanalytic literature suggests that high levels of certain types of psychopathology should be prevalent among BDSM practitioners, this sample failed to produce widespread, high levels of psychopathology on psychometric measures of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsion, psychological sadism, psychological masochism, or PTSD. In fact, on measures of clinical psychopathology and severe personality pathology, this sample appeared to be comparable to both published test norms and to DSMIV-TR estimates for the general population."

Connolly, P. H. (2006). Psychological Functioning of Bondage/Domination/Sado-Masochism (BDSM) Practitioners. Journal Of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 18(1), 79-120.

"Therapists believed that an accepting, nonjudgmental attitude toward BDSM was the most crucial element of cultural competence. Every therapist we interviewed discussed this issue. Some described situations in which clients had been alienated or traumatized by the unaccepting or judgmental attitudes of previous therapists:"

Lawrence, A. A., & Love-Crowell, J. (2008 ). Psychotherapists' experience with clients who engage in consensual sadomasochism: A qualitative study. Journal Of Sex & Marital Therapy, 34(1), 63-81.

“Regarding the major personality dimensions, our findings suggest that BDSM participants as a group are, compared with non-BDSM participants, less neurotic, more extraverted, more open to new experiences, more conscientious, yet less agreeable. BDSM participants also were less rejection sensitive, whereas female BDSM participants had more confidence in their relationships, had a lower need for approval, and were less anxiously attached compared with non-BDSM participants. Finally, the subjective well-being of BDSM participants was higher than that of the control group. Together, these findings suggest that BDSM practitioners are characterized by greater psychological and interpersonal strength and autonomy, rather than by psychological maladaptive characteristics.”

Van Assen, M. Wismeijer, A., (2013). Psychological Characteristics of BDSM Practitioners. Journal of sexual medicine, 10(8 ), 1943-1952.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I know 50 Shades did us all a huge disservice by making poor, broken, messed up Christian Grey into the poster child for the modern Alternative lifestyle, but seriously, do people really think that way of us? That we all need child or domestic abuse helplines to get better? This isn't me taking a potshot at the author of this survey at all, though I wish she had actually spoken to members of the BDSM community to get her definitions straight first, I'm genuinely shocked at the thought that people could view us this way.

Yeah, a lot of people do think that BDSM is inherently a symptom of a fucked-up psyche. I knew one guy who regularly had sex with dogs, but thought consensual BDSM was disgusting and wrong :-/

But FWIW the fact that the OP is asking questions about psychological wellbeing doesn't necessarily mean that they believe that stuff. If you're hoping to prove we're not all fucked-up monsters, you still have to ask questions about mental health etc.

 

[thelaughingcat]

spellslave, that was a fabulous post, I think I just fell in love a little bit And now I have some bedtime reading too!

Bramblethorn, that is disturbing. Not his personal peccadillo, he's perfectly welcome to it though I don't understand it, but the fact that didn't automatically make him the most open and tolerant version of himself that he could be. Jeez.

 

[Bramblethorn]

spellslave, that was a fabulous post, I think I just fell in love a little bit And now I have some bedtime reading too!

Bramblethorn, that is disturbing. Not his personal peccadillo, he's perfectly welcome to it though I don't understand it, but the fact that didn't automatically make him the most open and tolerant version of himself that he could be. Jeez.

Yeah, you'd think. But in my experience, people who are part of a stigmatised outgroup often work extra hard to police "normality" in other areas. I think it can be an acceptance strategy: "maybe if I work really hard to show them I'm on their side, they'll forgive me this one thing." (Not saying that was the reason in this particular case, just thinking generalities.)

To be fair, I would not have defended his peculiarities either. The morality of human-animal interaction is complex and I don't pretend to have it all figured out, but I have some major reservations about whether a pet animal can freely consent to sex with its owner.

 

[Cumference]

....

To be fair, I would not have defended his peculiarities either. The morality of human-animal interaction is complex and I don't pretend to have it all figured out, but I have some major reservations about whether a pet animal can freely consent to sex with its owner.

But still?

Isn't lifelong captivity, forced breeding and getting killed whenever the owner sees fit, worse that getting fucked once in a while?
(Given that the animal is not experiencing pain or is physically harmed by it)

The animal is hardly in a state of " free consent" to that either.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[lakesailer_mi]

Hi Everyone,

I am a college student, and I am conducting a study on BDSM practitioners and non-BDSM practitioners. I need to collect 300 online survey responses by August 31st in order to conduct data analysis for my Senior Capstone. I am trying to collect a variety of responses from all types of people, and I am in need of your help. Below is a link to my survey. If you could please take 10-15 minutes, it would be greatly appreciated. The survey is completely anonymous and confidential, and no names are ever collected. I would like to make it clear that my survey is student-conducted research at an accredited university, and I am in no way paid for doing this.

https://mcdaniel.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e4irJE9xgvTMRwx

*Admin, I apologize if this is not allowed. Please email me if that is the case.

I answered your survey and I wish you good luck in your research.
A number of people here have provided you with some interesting criticism of your survey. Don't take too harshly, but do take note of it. Some of the suggestions and points are good ones. Designing good surveys is difficult. Designing good sex surveys is probably even more difficult!!!

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[Bramblethorn]

But still?

Isn't lifelong captivity, forced breeding and getting killed whenever the owner sees fit, worse that getting fucked once in a while?
(Given that the animal is not experiencing pain or is physically harmed by it)

The animal is hardly in a state of " free consent" to that either.

Yeah, that's something I'm still trying to work out. I try to buy free-range, etc etc, there are species I won't eat, but at the end of the day I'm still paying somebody to kill an animal to feed me, no matter how well that animal was treated during its life.

I think the difference is that eating is inherently an exploitative relationship and mostly, we don't pretend otherwise. The farmers I know try to make sure their animals have a happy life, but they acknowledge that the end of that animal's life is about what humans want. Until we learn to photosynthesise, we're always going to have some sort of exploitative relationship with other living organisms to fill our bellies.*

Sex is a different matter. We're not obliged to sexually exploit other creatures to live, and I view it as something that ought to be mutually beneficial to all participants, so I get very uncomfortable when people do make it an exploitative relationship without clearly-established consent.

(My standards for "consent" are a bit higher than "well they didn't complain"; power imbalances factor in, and there's a massive power imbalance between a human and their dog, say.)

That probably sounds a bit hand-wavy, and I'm still not sure about it myself, but it's as far as I've got with this issue.

*And if plants seem like a simple option, think again.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I answered your survey and I wish you good luck in your research.
A number of people here have provided you with some interesting criticism of your survey. Don't take too harshly, but do take note of it. Some of the suggestions and points are good ones. Designing good surveys is difficult. Designing good sex surveys is probably even more difficult!!!

One of the morals here - when running a survey of any kind, test your questions. Find some people from the sort of demographics you're trying to survey, ask them to look at your proposed questions and give you feedback.

So much better than collecting a thousand responses and then realising that the questions they're answering are not the questions you thought you were asking...

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I did my grad school research on Cytomegalovirus, something we usta call the kissing disease tho it really has nothing much to do with kissing. Its a health problem associated with sanitation and waste disposal. So my survey had little in it about kissing, I asked about septic tanks, garbage collection, water wells, livestock, and related factors. I impressed my research perfesser, who suggested I consider epidemiology. I made a good case for migrant workers being the most at risk.

 

[Cumference]

I did my grad school research on Cytomegalovirus, something we usta call the kissing disease tho it really has nothing much to do with kissing. Its a health problem associated with sanitation and waste disposal. So my survey had little in it about kissing, I asked about septic tanks, garbage collection, water wells, livestock, and related factors. I impressed my research perfesser, who suggested I consider epidemiology. I made a good case for migrant workers being the most at risk.

Funny how the same name can refer to different things around the world.

Around here, "kissing disease" refers to mononucleosis, caused by herpes 4 and transmitted by saliva.