So where actually did BDSM begin?? It's a lot older than you would think! All the way back in ancient Rome and Greece. They had art and alt text that show pain being used in sexual experiences and as a form of erotica. As it was written in a book by William M. Cooper published in 1868 called An Illustrated History of the Rod.
Another book The Karma Sutra, which was written over 2,000 years ago in India, is the well respected Sanskrit text on sexuality, explains six appropriate places to strike a person with eroticism and four different ways to conduct it. It also has chapters that are called Biting, Scratching and Reverse Roles.
The term "sadism" came from Marquis de Sade, a French aristocrat who lived from 1740 to 1814, who wrote different erotic novels and short stories. They involved overpowering someone and someone being overpowered.
Again, we gave way to another term from an Austrian Nobleman and author Leopold von Sacher~Masoch, "masochism", from his 1870 novel Venus in Furs. In it he described a dominant~submissive relationship.
So there we have the roots of where BDSM came from. It's always been around and just happen to become more main stream especially since the Fifty Shades of Grey books.
Here not too very long ago, the mental health experts were on the line about people who participated in BDSM. Then in 2013, The American Psychiatric Association deemed a distinction between those adults who willingly consented to participate and those who forced others with behaviors without consent with the release of the Diagnotic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
So those who just experiment with whips and chains are not mentally unstable. Though there is a Sexual Sadism disorder which involves someone who inflicts pain on another person purely for sexual gratification. And sexual masochism is where you put yourself in a situation to be humiliated, abused and beaten for sexual enjoyment.
The difference between these disorders and BDSM is consent. BDSM communities require consent for all involved and if one goes to far beyond what was agreed upon or after someone says the safe word, that person will be ostracized out of the community quicker than you can blink.
There are degrees of BDSM which can be very light as to play with your partner. Like tying them to the bedpost with silk scarves and playfully smack their ass. Then there is hardcore where there are whips and chains involved and 24~7's who choose to serve their dominant all hours of the day and night. And everything in between.
So there you have a little background of where this mainstream idea has come from which I thought was pretty interesting. It's been around a long, long time
Add comment
Comments