BDSM : Paradoxernas praktiker

BDSM, i.e. Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission and Sadismand Masochism is an acronym used to describe a variety of (sexual) behavioursincluding an implicit or explicit erotic power exchange. The aim of the thesis is tounderstand BDSM as a dynamic, complex and collective phenomenon. It f [...]
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BDSM, i.e. Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission and Sadismand Masochism is an acronym used to describe a variety of (sexual) behavioursincluding an implicit or explicit erotic power exchange. The aim of the thesis is tounderstand BDSM as a dynamic, complex and collective phenomenon. It focuseson how practitioners, through their stories, give meaning to their experiences.A theoretical framework that includes both poststructuralism and symbolicinteractionism is used.Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in 2012 and 2013 within differentBDSM communities in Sweden. The fieldwork included interviews, observationsand participation in meetings, workshops, pub evenings and club ventures. Intotal, twenty-nine persons, defining themselves as practitioners of BDSM, wereinterviewed.The thesis shows how different interpretations and political-ideologicalperspectives have shaped the social reality, which constitutes BDSM today. Thisprocess has taken place in different discursive arenas; from medicine and researchto political activism, literature, film and media. Existing discourses, where powerand violence are central, are challenged by counter discourses, where resistanceagainst heteronormative norms and sexuality are significant. BDSM is seen as waysto achieve feelings of security and belonging. The practice enable strong emotions,bodily sensations, altered states of consciousness and spiritual experiences. Acts,which could be seen as incorrect and immoral, are made morally defensible withinthe BDSM context. The discourses both enable and limit the practitioners, and thethesis highlights both ambivalences and paradoxes in the practices.