The Silence After Impact: The Mental Effects Of BDSM, It’s History, And It’s Entanglements In Trans Spaces

The Silence After Impact: The Mental Effects Of BDSM, It’s History, And It’s Entanglements In Trans Spaces 

By: Jude Herndon

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Daily life, monotonous, dull, boring, and never endingly repetitive. The human race has evolved to a certain point where we are no longer fighting for shelter and survival (at least above the poverty line, 1st world countries) and due to that our stories and folklore and religious understanding has evolved. In the dark ages we had stories made to scare younger people because fear is what kept you alive, now people tell stories and analyze the bible not for instructions on how to survive and to find fear but to give us a purpose in the dullness. 

What happens when a culture evolves enough that the people that make it lose complete control of it?  We have set up the bricks of civilization and now it is out of our hands. We the people no longer control the market, the economy, the social expectations; the small handful of people that own everything do, they will sell you on ideas and convince you they are your own. Well what happens is a phenomenon we see across history, they will begin to take control of what they can. This is shown in so many instances, graffiti on school/ university property, dramatic appearance changes, unique ways of doing tasks, morning rituals and mantras, behaving sporadically, promiscuity, and in darker ways self harm, addictions, murder, and unconsentuall and dangerous violent sexual behavior. BDSM comes in here, it's a way to control something when you control nothing. Even when someone takes a submissive roll has control, they can end the scene whenever they want and the scene is structured usually around their safety and comfort. 

Of course control is not the only thing BDSM fulfills for people, it can be a way to shut the brain off and exist outside of daily life, it is also not all about pain. Sadomasochism is what seems to come to a person's mind when it comes to BDSM. Sadomasochism is a combination of the words sadism (enjoyment from inflicting pain) and masochism (enjoyment in pain) and is a big part in BDSM, but it's not all of it. But due to its large role it has led BDSM to be misclassified for years, back in 1905 Sigmund Freud had said sadomasochism was a disease caused by incorrect development of a child's psyche. Keep in mind this is the guy that made the theory that people marry people like there parents cause they want to fuck there parents and made the “dick envy” theory, so take what he says with a bag of salt (not because he isnt technically right but because he is insane in his methods and extremities).  Throughout time this idea has fallen to the wayside as we've seen people with normal childhood experiences had turned to BDSM, sometimes just due to as I said control of an uncontrollable life. 

There have been scientific studies behind the fact that BDSM is good for someone's mental health. In 1988 a study was run that found that during BDSM scenes the participants felt endorphins that can be compared to the sensation of an orgasm or a runner's high. Philosopher Edmund Burke had spoken on it before, calling the sensation of pain becoming pleasure “sublime”. Several more books and studies over the years have supported this claim, some stating it really is just human nature.

The earliest depiction of this behavior is from 5th century BC from ancient writing describing cross dressing and pain turning into ecstasy during punishments to certain gods. Later in the 9th century we see this behavior in religious practices in Sparta. Several works from the 5th century speak on pain for sexual purposes, drawings of men whipping women and vice versa, a poet's work that describes people being voluntarily bound and then whipped for sexual gratification. Some works replace sex with the punishments completely. As time continued the practice evolved and safety became a big part, first coming up in the Kama Sutra. Eventually people began to make tools specifically for sadomasochism such as costumes, props, toys, and accessories. With all the new things for BDSM floating around we have a spike in BDSM media from pornography, photographs, books, and art. Experimentation began, this is where we see more niche forms of BDSM take place like human furniture, animal like roleplays like pet play, wax, temperature play, electro play, etc and slowly formed into the scene we know today. 

BDSM also plays a very large role in LQBTQ spaces and history, with bisexual/ homosexual men and women reportedly having a higher percentage of participation in BDSM communities. This can be caused by the want to act against social norms of sexuality in all ways. In 2010 several surveys were run across transgeneder adults asking if gender identity had played a role in their sexuality, during my research the paper I needed for this specific percentage is behind a paywall but it is above 50%. Why this is, there is no definitive answer but I have constructed a theory based on what articles and papers I have read. BDSM is in itself a transformative experience, you take in a headspace and role unlike the one you usually function with, BDSM spaces allow for this experimentation with identity. For transgender individuals this experience of being a person outside of what they're supposed to be and thinking without the mental hangups of life causes them to have the realization of what they truly desire to be. BDSM also allows transgender individuals to experience pleasures of sex without the involvement of their genitalia becoming an alternative for those who wish to feel gratified outside of their physical states. Gender play has been a specific BDSM practice for years with transvestites (cross dressers) feminization, and using terms like “pussy” or “cunt” to refer to a male genitalia as a form of degradation. With the fact gender play had been a part of BDSM for years and years it would make sense to conclude that there is a connection between transgender individuals and BDSM. (please note im not making a generalization and saying all transgender people have BDSM tendencies, im drawing a connection that BDSM has helped a large percentage of transgender individuals find themselves) 

Of course as with most non traditional sexual behaviors BDSM has complaints from both those within the community and outside of it. Within it there are groups of people that reject certain kinks as being apart of the community such as pedophiles, ageplayers, rapist, incest, and bestiality which now it has become less common to see these openly in BDSM communitys due to the fact they all lack the aspect of consent which is the main part of BDSM and  moral objections. The outside view would say that BDSM is glorified abuse and unnatural but I believe this is just a fear of the known or lack of education on the subject since BDSM is surrounded by the idea of mutual consent and enjoyment. 

Back to the psychological element, I feel it's important to say each type of play has a different way of communicating pain, pleasure, and control. With sadomasochistic plays such as whipping, impact, knife (when used to cut), body modification, needles, etc. plays that use humiliation to show control like degradation, voyeurism, bondage, objectification like human furniture, piss, spit, etc. Physical reminders of the roles also have become popular with things like bite marks, bruising, collars, leashes, etc have been implemented. This list of things while all very different in methods and sensations provide the overall experience of pleasure to those that enjoy it and a feeling of control even in a submissive role. I'll finish out this essay by saying that the fear of the unknown has been mankind's biggest hold back but the key to getting over it is to listen to the unknown and even if you don't understand it in the end at least have the decency to respect those who do.