The medicalization and demedicalization of kink: Shifting contexts of sexual politics

Abstract

BDSM (also known as kink) has been stigmatized through medicalization since the late 19th century. However, the recent publication of the DSM-5 has significantly changed the definition of Paraphilia, which used to be the catch-all diagnostic category for atypical sexual behaviors. In this study, I examined multiple sources of qualitative data to tap into the ever-changing social contexts and power dynamics of the medicalization and demedicalization of kink. The analyses of this study reveal how both activist strategies as well as approaches to social control evolve in the context of increasing reflexivity cultivated amidst sexual politics of the past few decades.