{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,18]],"date-time":"2026-10-18T21:35:13Z","timestamp":1792359313245,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,28]],"date-time":"2024-02-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1709078400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Autism in Adulthood"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>There is a lack of research on autistic intimacy; however, a small body of research suggests that bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism and (sado)masochism (BDSM)\/kink may be appealing to autistic people. We aimed at exploring how engagement in BDSM\/kink related to autistic identity, using a phenomenological approach.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We recruited six autistic adults through purposive sampling on social media. All participants took part in a one-to-one spoken interview about their engagement in BDSM\/kink and how it related to their sense of identity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyze the data and found three key themes. Theme 1, \u201cPracticing safe \u2018sex\u2019\u201d highlighted how the clear communication and explicit focus on consent present in BDSM\/kink facilitated a feeling of safety. Theme 2, \u201cSo many ways to touch and be touched\u201d was focused on the sensory draw of BDSM\/kink, and how it provided exciting ways to explore sensory joy (and sometimes revulsion). Theme 3, \u201cSubverting (neuro)normativity\u201d showed how autistic people can find pleasure in intimate practices that transgress normative expectations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our findings highlighted the importance of exploring the perceptions of autistic adults in relation to their own intimate practices. Autistic intimacy is an emerging area of research, with very little focus on lived experience. Although engagement in BDSM\/kink may appear niche, our findings suggest that there are aspects which are inherently appealing to autistic people. These findings can be used to destigmatize both autistic intimacy and engagement in alternative intimate practices more broadly.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1089\/aut.2022.0103","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,19]],"date-time":"2023-04-19T09:11:23Z","timestamp":1681895483000},"page":"25-35","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["\u201cComforting, Reassuring, and\u2026Hot\u201d: A Qualitative Exploration of Engaging in Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism and (Sado)masochism and Kink from the Perspective of Autistic Adults"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7089-6103","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amy","family":"Pearson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, United Kingdom."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8579-5804","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sophie","family":"Hodgetts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Psychology Department, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_7_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/aur.2670"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-021-05186-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1362361305051398"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Milton DEM. On the ontological status of autism: the \u2018double empathy problem.\u2019. Disabil Soc. 2012; 27(6):883\u2013887. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09687599.2012.710008.","DOI":"10.1080\/09687599.2012.710008"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/bjdp.12350"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2021.727542"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11195-013-9336-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/aur.2340"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11195-020-09624-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/aut.2020.0049"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_3_7_12_2","first-page":"9","article-title":"Autism, Sexuality, and BDSM","volume":"4","author":"Pliskin AE","year":"2022","unstructured":"Pliskin AE. Autism, Sexuality, and BDSM. 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