Kinky in the Digital Age

Abstract Once a secretive and hidden practice, kinky sex is visible like never before, represented in songs, books, and Hollywood movies. Yet away from these fantastical representations of sensationalized sex, kink is practiced by ordinary people in communities and imbued with psychological meaning for their social identities. This book focuses on the social worlds of gay and bisexual men who engage in kink, and it reveals the dynamic interplay of sexual desires and social meaning that constitutes contemporary kink cultures. Melding psychological and sociological theories, this book documents significant changes in kink narratives among people immersed in kink communities while highlighting the diverse ways in which non-community members engage in kinky sexual practice. Drawing on longitudinal data from 74 in-depth interviews with gay and bisexual men, in addition to ethnographic observations with several kink communities and events over a period of 6 years, the book provides a groundbreaking account of how the internet has transformed the experiences of kink for gay men as well as the communities in which it is practiced. Rejecting a binary of online versus “real life,” this book shows how the digital is increasingly a part of kink communities and subcultures. The second half of the book examines the emergence of pup play as a kink activity and its consolidation as a community and subculture that enables people to explore kink in more playful ways.