PsychCrunch · The British Psychological Society Research Digest

Ep 40: Kink, community, and transformation

·38 min·2 clips

In Liam Wignall and Rachel Mosley’s pup-play survey, one in two participants scored above an autism-indicative threshold.

1. PsychCrunch episode 40 examines kink, community, stigma, consent, and transformation through interviews with Liam Wignall and Kate Marks. 2. Ella Rhodes hosts Liam Wignall, a social psychologist and sexologist at the University of Brighton whose research focuses on kink subcultures and pup play. 3. Kate Marks contributes as a clinical psychologist working with clients connected to kink and BDSM communities, focusing on emotional experiences and clinical attitudes. 4. Wignall defines kink as a changing spectrum of erotic or sexual activities outside normative sex, including sensory, emotional, social, and sexual experiences. 5. Wignall says kink may involve power exchange, performance, pain, gear, individual practice, group participation, or community identity. 6. Wignall places consent and consensual fun at the center of his working definition of kink. 7. A Belgian study cited by Rhodes found that more than 46% of respondents had performed at least one BDSM-related activity. 8. The same study found that just over 12% reported performing at least one BDSM activity regularly. 9. Wignall argues that kink communities can help people speak openly, develop authentic identities, and avoid hiding an important part of their lives. 10. He says the internet has expanded access to kink information, paraphernalia, educators, and socio-sexual networking sites. 11. Wignall also warns that online access can connect inexperienced people to risky activities without the safety knowledge traditionally taught in underground communities. 12. He describes pup play as role-play involving dog-like behavior such as going on all fours, barking, and using items including hoods, collars, gloves, and knee pads. 13. Wignall says pup play can be social, sexual, or both, with some participants experiencing a puppy-like headspace and others exploring submission or dehumanization. 14. Wignall and Mark McCormick studied pup play because several early doctoral interviews mentioned it and he found little academic research on the activity. 15. In research with Rachel Mosley, Wignall found that one in two pup-play survey participants scored above 65 on the Autism Quotient Short Form. 16. Wignall compares that result with the general-population estimate of one in 44 people scoring above 65 and stresses that the survey did not diagnose autism. 17. Marks says experienced kink communities often show strong communication, explicit consent, workshop participation, and aftercare following BDSM scenes. 18. Marks says clinicians may misinterpret requests involving impact play as safeguarding problems when clients may instead be describing consensual pleasure, curiosity, or empowered submissiveness. 19. Listeners seeking evidence-based context on kink, BDSM, neurodivergence, and clinical practice. 20. Listeners avoiding sexual themes, community research, or discussions of therapy and consent.

As heard by us

A thoughtful, evidence-minded look at kink, pup play, and neurodiversity.

PsychCrunch treats kink as more than a set of easy assumptions, following questions of pleasure, power, shame, community, and stigma with a calm, evidence-minded curiosity.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a careful look at kink, neurodiversity, and the communities that form around sexual interests?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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