Event Title
Fifty Shades of Misunderstanding
Location
Hart 115
Start Time
10-5-2017 11:05 AM
End Time
10-5-2017 11:50 AM
Description
Based on a publication/presentation funded by CARS, the presenters will share four primary themes regarding counseling BDSM clients: popular culture, mental health contexts and the DSM, parallels with now-defunct homosexual paraphilias, and resources for counselors. This presentation will start with an introduction of commonly used BDSM terms, which are developed through field research and supported by a case study. Attention will be given to challenges BDSM clients face, the diagnostic disorder codes used to clinically define BDSM activities, and how such codes pathologize nontraditional sexuality. The presentation will also explore how these pathologizing diagnostic codes can create a disjunction between counselor education and kinky clients’ lived experiences. We will illustrate how this disjunction is emphasized by popularizations of BDSM, such as E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy, which expanded social acceptance while also solidifying misrepresentations of the kinky lifestyle.
Fifty Shades of Misunderstanding
Hart 115
Based on a publication/presentation funded by CARS, the presenters will share four primary themes regarding counseling BDSM clients: popular culture, mental health contexts and the DSM, parallels with now-defunct homosexual paraphilias, and resources for counselors. This presentation will start with an introduction of commonly used BDSM terms, which are developed through field research and supported by a case study. Attention will be given to challenges BDSM clients face, the diagnostic disorder codes used to clinically define BDSM activities, and how such codes pathologize nontraditional sexuality. The presentation will also explore how these pathologizing diagnostic codes can create a disjunction between counselor education and kinky clients’ lived experiences. We will illustrate how this disjunction is emphasized by popularizations of BDSM, such as E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy, which expanded social acceptance while also solidifying misrepresentations of the kinky lifestyle.
Comments
Moderator: James Leone