Open AccessThe Structure of Kink Identity: Four Key Themes Within a World of Complexity
Author(s) -
Jules Vivid,
Eliot Lev,
Richard Sprott
Publication year - 2020
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.51681/1.623
Subject(s) - thematic analysis , identity (music) , consciousness , diversity (politics) , power (physics) , key (lock) , variety (cybernetics) , qualitative research , gender studies , psychology , sociology , social psychology , anthropology , aesthetics , mathematics , ecology , physics , biology , art , statistics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
What is the structure of kink identity? Using a thematic analysis design, our studyexplored this question through 70 in-person interviews with adults 18 years and older living in Northern California who identified as kinky. Four key themes of kink identity emerged from our analysis: sex, power, headspace, and community. Although there were great variety and diversity in how these four themes were characterized -- both as separate and overlapping themes, we were able to conceptually group these themes into seven discrete subthemes based on how our 70 participants narrativized their kink experiences during interviews: (1) intertwining of kink and sex; (2) intense physical sensations (SM); (3) sensual experiences (fetish); (4) eroticizing power differentials; (5) fluidity vs stability of power role in kink activities and relationships; (6) community connections; and (7) headspace or altered states of consciousness. That our thematic analysis developed into these seven subthemes suggests that kink identity is a multidimensional structure of complex and diverse aspects.