Divine kink: A consideration of the evidence for BDSM as spiritual ritual
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies September 1, 2019 S. Greenberg 2 citations
BDSM can function as a spiritual ritual that produces altered states of consciousness, sharing key elements with extreme spiritual practices: pain or ordeal, spiritual meaning, and transformative potential. The growing interest in BDSM in Western societies may reflect these ritual and spiritual roles it fulfills for many practitioners. The paper argues that BDSM merits further study within transpersonal psychology, building on prior work that compared BDSM to extreme ritual.