The US States Most Interested in Bondage Kinks
BDSM stands for bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism. In simpler terms, it’s sexual power play, role-playing, and holding that occurs via consent. While BDSM is historically prone to negative stereotyping and misinformation, it is a legitimate way of sexually expressing yourself among millions of people.
BDSM and bondage kinks have experienced a massive surge in popularity in the US over the past few years. One such report, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, went so far as to report that more than a third of adults in the United States had attempted some form of BDSM practice. Conversely, attention to bondage and BDSM practices vary state by state.
Here, we will see what the top US states are searching for bondage kinks based on Google searches, online dating sites, and sales data from porn stores.
Understanding Google Search Trends: The Rise in Interest in BDSM
The rise of the internet and the proliferation of tools like Google Search Trends have made figuring out what trends are happening in a given society much simpler. Such trends created a whole new field of understanding for public concerns in the areas once deemed off-limits and off-limits. The latest of these debates was over BDSM or Bondage, Discipline, Dominance, Submission, Sadism and Masochism, an issue that has gained steam in a handful of states across the country. California, New York, Texas, Florida and Illinois have searches much higher than anywhere else in the country, which means that they’re open, if not really eager to engage in this kind of alternative sexual activity, according to a study by the data journalism website The Pudding.
Cultural and Demographic Effects of City Life
The country’s most densely populated and culturally sensitive states outnumber each other in BDSM searches, totalling more than 130 million people. Los Angeles, New York City, Houston, Miami and Chicago are the big cities that not only host some of the densest populations, but also come together as places of diversity and progressive thinking. Communities such as these tend to prompt research into alternative ways of living, such as BDSM.
In the urban environment, the spectrum of people and resources offers more tolerance for sexual identities and ways of being. These cities often host events, workshops and communities where anyone with a curiosity about BDSM can have an opportunity to be educated on these open-minded practices. Knowledge is critical to dispelling the stigma around BDSM and promoting safe and consensual inquiry into the practices that constitute BDSM.
A Search for Knowledge and Tolerance
In those states, the peaks in BDSM searches are not just passive curiosity but a life-changing approach. The vast majority of individuals looking up information about BDSM do so for the explicit purpose of finding information about consent, safety and ethical practice. With a more inclusive society on sexual diversity, this critical culture of consent and caution plays an essential role in helping people do BDSM activities safely and responsibly.
This is partly due to a cultural change in how we view sexuality. As more open discussions of sexual preference and practices unfolded, the stigma surrounding BDSM evaporated. The growing popularisation of alternative sexuality in the media, literature and online only added to this ethos of renormalising such interests and creating a climate in which individuals wanted to find out more about them without being judged.
Online Dating Behavior
Online dating gives us another level of insight into people’s propensities toward BDSM. A compelling OkCupid survey shows that the same five states are inversely related to user desire for BDSM. Those results show that an overwhelmingly small number of users described as seeking BDSM are 2.9% from California, 2.7% from New York, 2.4% from Texas, and 2.1% from both Florida and Illinois.
Those numbers show that BDSM-types are still very much a minority, but represent a segment of the dating community who feel at ease talking out their skin. Such comfort in talking about sexuality reflects a shift in public discourse toward inclusive spaces where a range of sexual passions are freely explored and treated with dignity.
The higher rates in larger states reflect both the potential to meet other people who have similar interests and the strong social support networks within cities that encourage frank conversations about sexual preferences. The more people participate in online dating, the more the community becomes awash with discussion about BDSM and related topics, leading to increased acceptance and understanding.
Sales Data from Adult Toy Stores
Retail sales figures from adult toy stores give us another way to see consumers’ appetites for bondage and BDSM activities. California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois topped Adam & Eve’s survey of BDSM-related sales in the United States in 2020, making up more than 36% of the company’s total BDSM sales in 2020.
These results show that investors invest in BDSM products at high rates in these states, further indicating consumers desire for such products. The widespread sale of bondage devices, straps and accessories shows that not only are people interested in exploring their passions on the Internet, but they also intend to buy things that permit them to do so.
Conclusion: The US States Most Interested in Bondage Kinks
The US states most open to bondage kinks are California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois. Such states saw high searches for “BDSM,” a high share of online dating users who had been looking for BDSM, and high BDSM sales. Conversely, interest in bondage and BDSM practices does not run evenly across the state: huge regional differences might define the extent of interest in these states.
Alternatively, we can interpret this to mean that the interest rate on bondage and BDSM practices is not indicative of acceptance. BDSM was a practice that was slowly growing and mainstreaming, but many negative stereotypes and misconceptions remain about the practices. It requires education, education and consent to allow BDSM and other sexual practices to happen.
