Don't be fooled by the role play! Women who act as 'submissive' in BDSM sex are AROUSED by other people's pain

  • When viewing moving photographs, BDSM submissives are less affected
  • After seeing pained faces in the context of BDSM, many are even turned on
  • BDSM may make people less empathetic due to them being desensitised to pain  

By ALEXANDRA THOMPSON SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Women who act as 'submissive' during the sex act BDSM are less empathetic to other people's suffering.

Females who enjoy being tied to the bed or whipped during sex are less moved when they see others in pain and even find it arousing, according to a study published in the journal Neuropsychologia.

Experts believe BDSM - bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism - makes people less empathetic to others' emotions due to them being desensitised to pain.

Previous research suggests people who take part in sex fetishes score better on psychological and personality tests due to them being more extroverted and open to new experiences, as well as less neurotic.  

Women who practice the sex act BDSM are less empathetic to others' suffering (stock)

Women who practice the sex act BDSM are less empathetic to others' suffering (stock)

Researchers from Jinan University, China, analysed a BDSM web forum and found that female submissives are less likely to feel empathy towards others than female dominants or any males who take part in sex fetishes.

From this site, the scientists recruited 32 female submissives for the study. The same number of women who do not take part in BDSM were recruited from Peking or Sun Yat-sen universities.

MAN LEFT WITH SEVERE KIDNEY INJURY AFTER A VIOLENT BDSM SESSION  

A man 'fiercely' strapped to a wooden bench during a violent sex session suffered a severe kidney injury while he was spanked 1,000 times with a whip and cane.

Doctors say the unnamed 61-year-old suffered the injury because he was squashed against the hard surface, which put pressure on his organs.

They also claim some of the strokes from his anonymous partner went wayward and accidentally struck his kidney area, leaving him unable to urinate.

The German man, who has been an avid fan of BDSM for seven years, was told he may have to start dialysis if his kidneys failed to start working again.

Luckily, the man, who was left with deep grazes and bruises on his buttocks and thighs, recovered after three days and was able to urinate again.

The first case of its kind recorded in medical literature was published in the British Medical Journal Case Reports by doctors in Stuttgart.

His horrifying ordeal has since convinced him to 'reduce the intensity' of his BDSM, however he has refused to give up in the habit, which he claims gives him 'joy'. 

Advertisement

The brain activity of all of the participants was recorded via scalp electroides while they were shown photographs of 12 women.

Four of the women had pained expressions, four neutral and four pained 'in BDSM contexts'. 

The participants evaluated each photograph based on how unpleasant, enjoyable and arousing they found it.

Results suggest women who enjoy submission find the pained facial expressions of others less upsetting than controls. 

When viewed in a BDSM context, they even find such expressions arousing.

BDSM submissives also have less changes to their brain activity when viewing pained or neutral expressions, particularly in the N1 frontal lobe.

Previous research suggests the N1 lobe is involved in registering threatening information. BDSM submissives may therefore see pained expressions as less of a threat due to them being willing to be in discomfort themselves during sex. 

Submissives also have reduced activity in their P2 frontal lobes, which are associated with pain and the processing of emotions. This suggests submissives feel less empathy.

When they were also asked how they relate to people day-to-day, many submissives answered 'I find it difficult to see things from the other guy's point of view'.

This comes after previous research by Tilburg University, the Netherlands, found that BDSM followers are less neurotic, feel less rejection and worry less about what others think of them than those who do not take part in sexual fetishes.

They even report being happier and more secure in their relationships.

Interestingly, the role a person plays when engaging in BDSMbehaviour seems to be linked to a person's psychological profile.

Dominants tend to be the most balanced, submissivesthe least and switches (who enjoy both dominating and being dominated) are in between. 

Most watched News videos

Comments 94

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.