Kink And Everyday Life

Contributing to revised notions of inclusivity and acceptance, this interdisciplinary work deftly identifies both historical and current approaches to understanding and analyzing kink, and pinpoints avenues for future research.

A New York Times Notable Book Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum, edited by lauded writers R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and more. A Most-Anticipated book of 2021 as selected by * Marie Claire * O, The Oprah Magazine * Cosmopolitan * Time * The Millions * The Advocate * Autostraddle * Refinery29 * Shape * Town & Country * Book Riot * Literary Hub * Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Larissa Pham, and Brandon Taylor, with Garth Greenwell and R.O. Kwon as editors. The stories within explore bondage, power-play, and submissive-dominant relationships; we are taken to private estates, therapists’ offices, underground sex clubs, and even a sex theater in early-20th century Paris. While there are whips and chains, sure, the true power of these stories lies in their beautiful, moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interest and desires, as portrayed by some of today’s most exciting writers.

This edited collection brings together two strands of current discussions in gender research through the concept of creativity. First, it addresses creativity in the context of the family, by exploring changing and newly emergent family forms and ways of creating and maintaining intimate relationships. Creativity here is understood not as just “newness or originality,” but as that which, in the words of Eisler and Montouri (2007), “supports, nurtures, and actualizes life by increasing the number of choices open to individuals and communities.” One aim of this book, therefore, is to investigate the social, collaborative, and creative interactions in contemporary family and kin formations in Europe. Second, the volume examines how new media and technologies are entering and shaping everyday family lives. Technological transformations and adaptions have not only enabled the creation of new forms of families and ways of family living, but also challenged the established constellations of gender and family arrangements. The present volume addresses these issues from multiple perspectives and in different contexts, and explores the involvement of different actors. By problematizing the creativity of becoming and “doing” family and kinship, the authors acknowledge the increasing fluidity of gender identities, the evolving diversity of relationships, and the permeation of technology into daily life.

A smart, sexy guide to embracing the repressed, tabooed, and often unwanted aspects of ourselves so we can discover our inner power and finally live the life we deserve. “We always get exactly what we want; but often, though we may not be aware of it, what we most want is dark—very dark.” Each of us has a dual nature: we are light (conscious) and dark (unconscious). The dark side of our personality—the “other,” the shadow side—is made up of what we think is our primitive, primal, negative impulses—our “existential kink.” Our existential kink also drives the dark or negative repeating patterns in our life: always choosing the abusive partner or boss, settling for less, thinking that we’re undeserving, not worthy. But it also is the source of our greatest power. In Existential Kink, Carolyn Elliott, PhD, offers a truth-telling guide for bringing our shadow into the light. Inviting us to make conscious the unconscious, Elliott asks us to own the subconscious pleasure we get from the stuck, painful patterns of our existence. Existential Kink provides practical advice and meditations so we truly see our shadow side’s “guilty pleasures,” love and accept them, and integrate them into our whole being. By doing so, Elliott shows, we bring to life the raw, hot, glorious power we all have to get what we really want in our lives.

In the practice of constructing the idea of home and the emotions surrounding it, sensory experiences and materiality intertwine to form layers of memory and affective atmospheres. People in different life stages and situations create continuity and a sense of home by engaging with materiality and objects in their own unique way. Reconstructing Homes takes on a multidisciplinary approach of sensory ethnography, visual methods and autoethnography methodologies to explore affective engagements with materiality in the context of home and the idea of belonging.

This book offers an erudite yet highly accessible exploration of the presence of sexual perversion in popular culture and its manifestation in everyday life. An interdisciplinary exploration of sexual perversion in everyday life, Part-Time Perverts: Sex, Pop Culture, and Kink Management starts from the premise that, for better or worse, everyone is exposed to a continual barrage of representations of sexual perversion, both subliminal and overt. Our involvement, Dr. Lauren Rosewarne contends, is universal, but our management strategies cover a spectrum of behavioral possibilities from total repression to total immersion. It is those strategies that she examines here. Drawing on her own experience, as well as on pop culture and a multidisciplinary mix of theory, Rosewarne shifts the discussion of perversion away from the traditional psychological and psychiatric focus and instead explores it through a feminist lens as a social issue that affects everyone. Her book examines representations of perversion—from suppression to dabbling to full-body immersion—and proposes a classification for perversion management, and charts the diverse strategies we use to manage, and perhaps enjoy, exposure.

Kink-Affirming Practice is an essential guide on how clinicians can ethically and effectively integrate elements of their client’s BSDM identities and practices into their treatment planning, creative interventions, and client self-care. Embracing both an anthropological understanding of this diverse yet still marginalized community, as well as a sex-positive approach to mental health, Stefani Goerlich recognizes the ways in which specific power exchange dynamics can evoke positive behavioral changes in clients, and guides the reader in how to integrate these concepts into their clinical work. Chapters discuss the foundations of BDSM, what is meant by kink-affirming practice, the purpose of claiming power and ceding control, integrating and reclaiming identities, dominant/submissive personas, and the benefits of caregiving kink, such as pet play. It practically discusses how to conduct a kink-affirming risk assessment, as well as exploring topics like ethical and health boundary setting, how to gain informed consent, and the unique issues that arise when clinicians catch themselves romancing the kink. This book is invaluable reading for professionals working with clients who engage in BDSM activities, such as marriage and family therapists, sex therapists, clinical social workers, and counselors. It may also be useful reading for students on both undergraduate and graduate level human sexuality and sexuality courses.

`My Other Self¿ is an intrepid anthology of the secret and sometimes bizarre sexual lives quietly practised by millions of everyday people. As these ordinary folk tell their stories it becomes obvious that the world of kinky sex is far from the exclusive domain of rock stars, movie goddesses and politicians. Angela Lewis spent four years researching a diverse range of websites, forums and online communities catering to devotees of all kinds of sexual peccadilloes. These are the stories of the people she met along the way. They live in ordinary neighbourhoods, have jobs, careers and children just like the next person, but very quietly lead far from ordinary sex lives. The result is an absorbing guide to the secret lives of those enjoying a wide range of interests from latex, leather, teeth and diapers, to spanking and hairy armpits and opens the conversation around a wide range of sexual practices in a way that is neither sensational nor confronting. The book covers an extraordinarily comprehensive inventory of fantasies and fetishes which it explains in both an informative and highly readable way. As well as real-life stories and insights, it contains explanatory background information, links to related interests as well as jargon and search terms. Lack of understanding and tolerance for difference means that most people whose sexual interests are outside the mainstream need to hide their true selves from family, friends and colleagues. This book hopes to promote diversity and understanding and open the conversation around a wide range of sexual practices. The author wrote for an audience just like herself, an average person with a spouse, kids and mortgage who has never set foot in a bondage dungeon but wouldn't mind knowing what all the bits are for!