BDSM and 'Fifty Shades Darker': New Research Debunks Popular BDSM Myths

Sex is a very sensitive topic, even in the field of scientific study. After all, there are a lot of parts of the field to consider besides culture and orientation. For instance, BDSM (Bondange and Domination/Dominance and Submission/Sadism and Masochism/Sadomachosism) is a generally unexplored field not because it's hard to study, but because people have particularly different sensibilities about it.

This is why the "Fifty Shades Grey" noverl by E. L. James has become a controversial piece of erotic literature, and why Sigmund Freud is still a highly-debated psychologist.

The release of "Fifty Shades Darker," the film from the second book in James' "Fifty Shades" trilogy, has opted Psychology Today's Michael Aaron and his peers Markie Twist and Dulcinea Pitagora to make a study about other common myths of BDSM.

These studies are important, especially since an Independent piece revealed that a lot of people actually have misconceptions about BDSM.

For instance, it's not actually a rare phenomenon as 37 percent of interviewed respondents in the U.K. have engaged in some form of bondage. The phenomenon is also quite old, as it's been evidenced to be popular since the 1940s.

Unlike common misconceptions, there are actually a lot of safety considerations for partners when engaging in these acts, and that a lot of them are open to "switching" between roles.

In Aaron's research, he and his peers conducted a study involving 200 participants engaging in BDSM, with information obtained from an online survey.

As for the "reason" why they like BDSM, a lot of participants revealed that much of the experience comes from the anticipation ahead of time, excitement during the encounter and deep connection afterwards.

However, they also found no evidence that people who engage in the acts have come from "problematic" families. The participants are also not exhibiting distant attachments types. This means they are neither cold, abusive, controlling nor distant.

Aaron said that, in short, BDSM practitioners do not necessarily have deviant personalities.

Basing on the results, Christian Grey's character, who is portrayed as an avoidant figure because of his abuse, is therefore misrepresenting the entire BDSM community.