Research

Have you ever wondered if your kinks are too weird or dark? Now, thanks to the largest kink survey in the known universe, we have the data to prove they aren’t. Aella, a rationalist, sex worker, and “survey artist,” has spent years running and refining a survey of nearly 300 kinky dimensions. As of today, the Big Kink Survey (BKS) has over a million respondents and offers an unprecedented look into our collective kinky psyche. Though it offers a treasure trove of data, its greatest insight isn’t about what people are into, but rather how surprisingly common all our kinks are. Here are five key takeaways from the BKS.

The BDSM community has spent years combating the stubborn notion that being kinky is somehow the result of an unhappy or abusive childhood. Into spanking? Then you must have been spanked as a kid. Into being dominated by a man? You must have daddy issues. It was a relief when some studies showed that kinksters aren’t any more likely to have childhood trauma than vanilla people. But research is always evolving, and now a 2025 study paints a more complex picture. Here’s what you need to know.

It’s no secret that a significant portion of BDSM practitioners are into pain. What’s less clear is whether kinky pain is providing some of those people with relief from chronic pain. A 2025 study explores whether BDSM helps or hurts kinksters with chronic pain conditions. Here’s what you need to know. 

As anyone exploring BDSM has likely discovered, finding reliable educational resources can be a challenge. While experienced kinksters often emphasize the importance of classes and community learning, many newbies turn to pornography to explore and learn about kink. But how well does porn actually educate people about BDSM? A February 2025 study by Iris Ryn Olson and Bryce Westlake examines this question, revealing the gaps, benefits, and risks of using porn as a learning tool about BDSM. Here’s what you need to know about the study.

At its best, BDSM is a way to help partners connect, communicate their desires, and live their fantasies. It comes as no surprise, then, that some research shows that practicing BDSM is associated with greater relationship satisfaction. But what about BDSM’s effect on sex? A May 2023 study compared the sexual function of people practicing D/s and those who don’t and uncovered interesting findings—some perhaps predictable and some concerning.

It’s an understatement to say that consent is a big deal among people in the BDSM community. Whether online, at a big event, or in a class at the local BDSM dungeon, teachers and event leaders never go near the sexy stuff until they’ve covered consent and risk awareness. There have been lots of studies demonstrating that BDSM community members have good consent practices relative to the general population, but what about all the kinksters who haven’t yet entered the scene? How common is kink in the general public, and do they behave like BDSM community members with respect to consent-seeking behavior and safety? Caroline C. Boyd-Rogers and her fellow researchers conducted a study called “BDSM Proclivity Among College Students” to find out. The results were published in Springer Nature in 2022.