Context

Psychology of BDSM

Psychology
of BDSM

Psychology
gateway

(all psychology articles)

Basics

Penetration

Engagement

Consent

Communication

Power

Authority

Control

Trust

Fetish

Defence mechanisms

Mapping motivations to activities

Roles
Top		Bottom
Dominant		Submissive
Master		Slave
Trainer		Trainee
Owner		Property
Mistress
Switch
SAM

Motivations (all motivation articles)

Ecstasy

Subspace

Catharsis

Surrender

Experiencing power

Hotter sex

Recreation

Expiation of guilt

Intimacy and bonding

Physiological outcomes

Chemical high

Unhealthy motivations

Just a bit of fun (not)

Pain (not)

Play versus "deep play" versus work

Transformation of pain into pleasure

The joy of being a top or dominant

Context is the physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological situation in which activities occur or in which a person finds themselves. Context can serve a number of purposes:

1. It can prepare someone's state of mind for what activities are about to occur. For example, someone who knowingly enters a BDSM dungeon with their partner is going to be predisposed towards responding positively to what happens there. They may not respond so well in a different physical context, such as in a supermarket, even if the activity is the same.

1. It can justify and validate what happens. For example, the apparent cruelty of a military interrogation scene can be completely acceptable to someone in a BDSM scene in a dungeon, while the same sort of behaviour or cruelty could be shocking or offensive elsewhere.

We can say that some scenes create contexts which validate certain activities in the minds of the participants which wouldn't be valid or or productive otherwise.

Physical context

• Dungeon
• Bedroom
• Out in public (such as in a park)
• In place of work
• Other semi-public location (such as public library)

Emotional context

• Being in love
• Anger
• Frustration
• Irritation
• Happiness
• Joy
• Laughter

Spiritual context

• Tranquility, at peace

Psychological context

One of the most important forms of context for BDSM is psychological. Triggering someone into a particular psychological context or state of mind can be done via:

• Clothing
• Uniforms
• Tone of voice of partner
• Physical behaviour of partner
• Location - such as going into the dungeon or bedroom