Dilemmas of a subculture

An analysis of BDSM blogs about Fifty Shades of Grey

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19004072
AutoresLucie Drdová (0000-0002-9169-4591, Masaryk University, Czech Republic, autor de correspondencia), Steven Saxonberg (0000-0001-6057-2762, Masaryk University, Czech Republic and Comenius University, Slovakia)
Año2019
Volumen23
Número5-6
Páginas987-1008
Fecha de publicación2019-10-22
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSexualities (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1363460719876813
OpenAlexW2981523259
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas54

Recently, much has been written in the mass media about the novel and film Fifty Shades of Grey. It was widely portrayed as an example of BDSM (a common abbreviation for the terms bondage, discipline, dominance, submissivity, sadism and masochism) subculture and used as a symbol of sadomasochistic identity. But is this public view based on the self image of BDSM subcultural members or is it a figment of the imagination of writers and journalists? This article presents the voice of BDSM activists, who are silenced and excluded from the public debate. Using a virtual ethnographic method, we analyse the BDSM blogosphere as a platform for subcultural expressions of opinion. We combine this with a documentary analysis. In doing so, we examine how BDSM subculture members perceive themselves in contrast to the mainstream view of them pictured in the book Fifty Shades of Grey. This article investigates to what extent the subcultural conception of BDSM corresponds to the book's depiction and where it differs fundamentally

Aesthetics · Art · Blogosphere · Depiction · Ethnography · Human sexuality · Literature · Mainstream · Media studies · Sadomasochism · Sociology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology