Shining a Light in the Dungeon: A Content Analysis of Sexual and Gender Minority Representation in the Kink Literature

Sexual kinks have generated increased cultural and scholarly interest in the 21st century in large part due to the community engagement and activism of early sexual and gender minority (SGM) kink practitioners. However, compared with their heterosexual, cisgender peers, there is relatively little available research studying the experiences of SGM kink practitioners. This is a particularly timely topic to address due to the American Psychological Association's (APA) recent addition of sexual health to their Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Sexual Minority Persons. The present project synthesized relevant literature with SGM kink practitioners. Content analysis methodologies used in previous SGM projects were utilized to identify the current state of empirical and nonempirical literature with SGM kink practitioners. Results indicated that most of the empirical literature consists of online, cross-sectional survey studies with predominantly White samples. Most studies with SGM participants recruited from BDSM (bondage and discipline, domination and submission, and sadism and masochism) organizations or community groups, highlighting the importance of forging relationships with the SGM kink community to facilitate engagement with psychological research. Future studies with SGM kink practitioners will contribute to the existing research body by intentionally seeking out Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) participants to generate a more comprehensive understanding of the unique sexual health concerns of BIPOC SGM kink practitioners. Further, most empirical and nonempirical literature focused on sexual behaviors within this community, which may inadvertently dehumanize SGM kink practitioners by omitting antecedent experiences that contribute to sexual health. More research is necessary to elucidate the relationships between developmental experiences and sexual health domains. Public Significance StatementThis study examined research trends in the psychological literature studying sexual and gender minority (SGM) kink practitioners over the last 20 years. Results highlight disparities in the racial composition of research samples, with White kink practitioners appearing in research at significantly higher rates than Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). There is also a relative lack of information about the relationships between kink practitioners' development and sexual health.