Psychology of BDSM

How did we get like this?

By: Mystress Angelique Serpent


It is my belief, (and that of current psychiatric thinking,) that true and lasting fulfilment comes of identifying one's deepest psychological needs, as an individual. Needs that are not met, can turn into negative obsessions that can take a lot of energy and seriously detract from the quality of life. It is important to identify your needs, and find a way to get your them met in a safe, sane, consensual and positive manner.

Sexual needs are the strongest force in nature.

We are nature's most complex creatures, why should we be surprised when our sexual needs take on complex forms, far beyond what is required for simply reproductive purposes?

A look to nature provides all manner of weird bird dances and fancy feathers that are equally superfluous to procreation. Nature's infinite variety.

We have tried to civilize our sexuality through repression, and on the news every night we find out how well that isn't working.

"Wilhelm Reich was the first psychiatrist to take Freud's theories literally and say explicitly that most neuroses are caused by Judeo-Christian sex repression. Worse, Reich insisted that these neuroses are direct causes of racism, sexism, rape, violence and warfare. Sexual repression, he concluded, is public enemy number one and should be fought as vigorously as polio and cancer."
( From R. A . Wilson's `COSMIC TRIGGER')

We know that most sexual responses are programmed in early childhood. How we respond, what excites us, what turns us on, is not something we decide for ourselves. It happens too early to be self determined. It's not a choice we make, it's just who we are.

It is a common misconception that an orientation towards BDSM is caused by childhood abuse, but this is a prejudicial clich?. An idea left over from outdated psychological ideas. Statistically, the majority of BDSM enthusiasts had normal childhoods with no abuse whatsoever.

Sexual orientation is determined before the age of 5, and Dominance and submission, sadism and masochism, are sexual orientations. (BDSM)

BDSM is not a mental illness, but many social prejudices against it remain in society, promoted by erroneous ideas. That is the focus of my activism. They key to healing prejudice is education, and that is part of why this website exists.

At one point in recent history, anyone who masturbated was thought to be mentally ill... and we still live in a world with many prejudices against forms of alternative sexual expression.

Homosexuality in men is thought by some scientists to be a result of unbalanced hormones in the pregnant Mother. We know that some gay men have physically female brains. Some studies indicate that women under stress during a critical time in their pregnancy produce adrenaline for their own survival, rather than the testosterone their baby foetus needs to become male. It is not a complete explanation though, because some gay men do not exhibit feminine qualities.

It is my belief, that Dominance is a genetic trait. There is an expression, "Leaders are born, not made". The history of Royalty shows a human instinct of selective breeding for Dominance, leadership.

I can often tell a lot about a persons D/s orientation by looking at the bones of their face. In palmistry, someone with long slender hands and delicate bones is considered to have the mark of royal blood, whereas someone with thick short fingers shows a worker's ancestry. Similarly, Dominant faces are likely to have a delicate bone structure, like a Faerie Princess... where submissive tend to look sturdier. Lady Di looked Dom, Fergie looks sub. I hasten to add, these are generalizations. I have met many folks whose appearance and orientation contradicts these observations.

Sexual orientation is *not* something to be fixed, or cured or cha

That sounds about right,submission and dominance is always better put into imagery and harmless sex than in real life situations.