This Community has to Self-Regulate
Resilience in Alt-Sex Practitioners’ Responses to Consent Violations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7375288 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jessamyn Bowling (0000-0001-7410-4433, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, corresponding author), J Kevin Benson (0000-0003-3456-4712, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Susan Wright (0000-0002-9290-6242), Sean Mccabe (0000-0003-3401-5334, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Brianna Moody (National Society of Professional Engineers), Jessica Willard (0000-0002-5813-3434, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Russell Stambaugh, Robert J Cramer (0000-0001-9105-5565, University of North Carolina at Charlotte) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1765-1777 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sexuality Research and Social Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1553-6610 • E-ISSN: 1868-9884 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s13178-025-01088-6 |
| OpenAlex | W4406656434 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 54 |
Introduction Alt-sex (i.e., BDSM, kink, leather, polyamory and open relationships) practitioners are marginalized. They face violations of their consent, including but not limited to sexual consent. Although consent violations can lead to negative outcomes, resilience describes mobilizing resources and assets to mitigate these effects. Resilience related to consent violations among alt-sex practitioners is under-researched. Methods We conducted an international electronic survey focused on experiences with consent violations from 2019 to 2020. We analyzed open-ended survey responses related to resilience from 1711 alt-sex practitioners. Results We find evidence of individual and interpersonal strategies supporting resilience, and community aspects that challenge resilience in relation to consent violations. The intrapersonal level included mindfulness, coping and self-care, and calculated risk-taking. At the interpersonal level, participants described communication, social support, and development of trust. The community level included climate and authorities. The development of trust and social support, both at the interpersonal level, are linked to the community level, such as community climate. Conclusions Alt-sex practitioners may benefit from resilience-strengthening interventions, and alt-sex practitioners’ approaches to consent violations may be applicable to the broader population in building resilience. Policy Implications While legal and health policies exclude or stigmatize alt-sex practitioners, our findings support the importance of alternative recommendations or guidelines (e.g., the Model Penal Code related to sexual assault, clinical practice guidelines related to alt-sex
Alternative medicine · Informed consent · Psychological resilience · Resilience (materials science · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |