Can't... Resist... In response to many people. >>With respect, most BDSM enthusiasts are not credible sources of information about the psychology of their enthusiasms.<< With equal respect, without some guidance most people are not credible sources of information about their own psychology in general - that's why people to various and sundry trained professionals to help them out with such matters. >>There is a significant membership overlap between Usenet sexual abuse recovery newsgroups and BDSM newsgroups. This overlap is either never discussed or its interest hotly denied, sometimes to the point of absurdity -- I recall at least one claim that the poster's abuse had *nothing to do* with their BDSM interests, while discussing a 'scene' that closely replicated the circumstances of the abuse as described in the recovery newsgroup.<< Internet discussion groups are one of the worst possible examples you could have pulled for this. The signal-to-noise ratio of people *actually* in the Scene vs. those who practice 'eBDSM' is generally high - and even then may or may not be a representative of individuals in the larger Altsex community. Also keep in mind that 'BDSM' covers three very distinctive groups - B&D, D/s, and SM. Three different styles of play with often quite different motivations and results - and also there's a huge range of activity or intensity within BDSM play. Is it a spanking from your wife or do you a St. Xavier cross in your bedroom with a single-tail hanging from it? Is this something occasional to spice up an otherwise vanilla dynamic or are you talking a 24/7 TPE (Total Power Exchange - i.e. Master/slave) relationship? >>Also, speaking of sf, Samuel Delany said in one of his essays that the causes of S&M are pretty well understood, and many sadists and masochists had a clear idea of how they got that way. So somebody's wrong here (but it could be Delany).<< In my experience, both as a layperson in the Scene (pardon the pun) and as a researcher, the cause of 'BDSM identity' is about as well understood as the causes of polyamorous behavior. The most common 'reason' cited that I've heard is 'because I've always fantasized about it/I've always been this way.' There's generally some picture or event that is linked to an early memory, but it's about at concrete as a LesBiGay individual knowing that they were not heterosexual. Alternately - they got spanked or tied up during sex with a more experienced partner as an adult and discover that they like it - a lot. The antecedents are about as clear as mud. >>On the other hand, I have personal knowledge of several members of this community who have not been abused, or even severely traumatized, at any point in their lives. That's not to say that childhood abuse can't be a source of sadistic or masochistic behavior (it would be foolish to deny that), simply that I'm not willing to say "all BDSM behavior is based on childhood trauma", since counterexamples exist.<< An important thing is to differentiate between pathological sadism or masochism and the sadistic or masochistic identity. Childhood abuse can be much more reliably linked to PTSD, Disassociative Identity Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder, among other syndromes - there's little clinical evidence to a BDSM lifestyle being linked to childhood abuse. >>"All BDSM behavior is psychological" is even more difficult. If I like a certain flavor of potato chips, is that because my parents got them one time for that really great birthday party when I was seven, or because my taste buds happen to react well to their components? Or is it even a clear-cut case of either/or?<< There's some fascinating recent research into the physical basis of pain and physiological arousal that has some possible application in the question. There's also a strong history linking pain, eroticism, and mysticism (bringing this back around to Phaedre...) in both the East and the West - as well as the use of altered states of consciousness (through the mortification of the flesh) in prayer and meditation. David Rodemaker