Readers,
Here’s an excerpt from ‘Spank You Very Much : Is S&M Dangerous? Let’s Look at the Evidence’ from a Slate.com article sent me by a friend.
While I doubt that any accurate and encompassing statistical study of BDSM has ever really been done (ala Kinsey), I think it’s safe to say that what’s stated in this article is agreeable, at least in content, if not context.
Basically, it’s the vanillas saying that we’re not crazy, and that their sorta science backs that theory up. Hey thanks, vanillas! If it weren’t for you all, we’d have no standard by which to measure crazy in the first place.
– Dana
Excerpt
(read full article here: Slate.com ) :
“4. Is it mentally unhealthy? For the most part, no. The surveys vary, so let’s take them one by one. The California study, conducted by Pamela Connolly of the California Graduate Institute, found a “significantly higher level of narcissism” in its BDSM sample than in the general population. Connolly estimated that 30 percent of people in the sample were clinically significant on that scale. Theoretically, a high narcissism score implied “little interest in give-and-take in social life,” but Connolly cautioned that it could signify “personality strengths as well as personality pathology.” Only two of the 132 participants met the criteria for pathological narcissism, and Connolly noted an “absence of borderline pathology.”
Likewise, the sample “scored relatively highly on almost all of the scales” related to dissociative symptoms, suggesting a “higher prevalence of a dissociative syndrome.” Yet only one respondent met the criteria for dissociative identity disorder. Compared with the general population, the sample showed a “significantly higher level of histrionic features,” which increased the risk of “fear of genuine autonomy,” “a need for repeated signs of acceptance and approval,” and an “indiscriminate search for stimulation and affection.” But Connolly added that this result might have been skewed by geography, since the Los Angeles BDSM community favored and fostered exhibitionism.
Connolly reported no significant differences on “most measures of PTSD, on obsessive-compulsion or on depression or anxiety.” She emphasized that “no evidence was found to support the notion that clinical disorders—including depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsion—are more prevalent” in the BDSM population.
A Canadian study published that same year (2006) also defended BDSM. “Masochists were not found to be more prone to psychological distress or mental instability than the other groups,” the authors wrote, and “we found no support for the idea that masochists were more inclined to engage in escapist behaviors such as drug-taking…” ”
This quote intrigued me.
“Theoretically, a high narcissism score implied “little interest in give-and-take in social life,”
Do you think the author was implying that narcissists MUST have it ALL about THEM ALL of the time? They lack regard or consideration for others?
The study taken in CA (presumably LA) most assuredly is accurate bc isn’t everyone in La La land a narcissist? Lol!