An Australian study has found that people who enjoy bondage and discipline sex play (BDSM) are “not damaged or dangerous, and might even be happier than those who practise ‘normal’ sex.”

The researchers found that around 2% of Australians were into BDSM.

“Our findings support the idea that bondage and discipline and sadomasochism (BDSM) is simply a sexual interest or subculture attractive to a minority,” Associate Professor Juliet Richters and her colleagues wrote in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

The findings showed that it was more common among gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and that participants were more likely to have been more sexually adventurous in other ways.

“However, they were no more likely to have been coerced into sexual activity and were not significantly more likely to be unhappy or anxious,” said Prof Richters, author of the book Doing It Down Under.

Unfortunately this bit of research probably won’t make any difference to Australia’s draconian censorship laws, which rule that BDSM in porn is perverted and is thus banned.

Posted by quirky in News Stories