Alignment Beyond the Binaries: The Relationship Between Expansive Gender Identities and Flexible BDSM Roles in a...

The present study tested gender differences in BDSM roles, fantasies, and practices in a large, international sample of BDSM practitioners (n = 1104). Within a sample of 474 cisgender women, 421 cisgender men, and 209 gender-expansive (non-cisgender) individuals, 264 identified as exclusively left-of-slash (Dominant, Top, Sadist, etc.); 369 as exclusively right-of-slash (submissive, bottom, masochist, etc.); 78 as a combination of left-of-slash and right-of-slash roles but without identifying as switches; and 393 as switches. Significant relationships between gender and BDSM role emerged such that cisgender women tended towards right-of-slash roles, cisgender men tended towards left-of-slash roles, and gender-expansive individuals tended towards switching. Similarly, cisgender men reported more dominant and sadistic fantasies and activities than cisgender women or gender-expansive individuals, and cisgender women reported more submissive and masochistic activities than cisgender men or gender-expansive individuals and more submissive and masochistic fantasies than cisgender men. Gender identity groups and BDSM role groups differed significantly by age, but including age as a covariate changed the significance of only one analysis. No significant effect of geographical location was found. Implications of these findings are discussed.