Who is conducting this survey?
What is the purpose of this survey?
Who was asked to participate in this survey?
This research project is the sole intellectual property of Gloria Glickstein Brame, PhD. Gloria holds a doctorate in human sexuality, with a specialty in SM/fetish sex, from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS).
Gloria is the author of Come Hither: A Commonsense Guide to Kinky Sex and the lead author of Different Loving: The World of Sexual Dominance and Submission, as well as two other titles. Gloria is also a journalist who regularly contributes to Cosmo, Maxim, Redbook, and other magazines. Since 1998, she has been the kinky sex expert for THRIVE ON-LINE, where she hosts a regular weekly conference on BDSM/fetish topics.
This study was conducted under the aegis of the The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS), and under the direct supervision of Robert T. McIlvenna, M.Div, PhD, President.
IASHS is an accredited, private post-secondary institution located in San Francisco, CA. The school offers a range of certificates and post-graduate degrees in Sexology, and is a vital international resource for scholarship in the field.
On February 11, 2000, Gloria presented the results of this survey before a class of graduate students at the Institute as part of the school's Wardell B. Pomeroy lecture series. In her lecture, she provided commentary and analyses of selected data, including discussion of the challenges of using the Internet for sampling, and the Net's impact on some results. If you would like to purchase a copy of the video-tape of this lecture, please query Dr. Brame.
This project aimed to get a rich, demographic portrait of adults who engage in bondage, dominance and submission, SM, spanking, watersports, fetishism, cross-dressing, infantilism, and any and all other aspects of kinky/BDSM sex.
The original survey questionnaire ws designed to gather hard data on many basic questions about who we are, both as a subculture and as members of society at large. The questions focus on economic and social class, professional and educational status, religious beliefs, family relationships, and attitudes towards BDSM. The data will help to establish common trends (if any) and common social characteristics (if any) among kinky people.
All adults who are interested in BDSM/fetish sex (and its hundreds of diverse expressions) were invited to complete a questionnaire. This included but wasn't limited to:
Questions were carefully framed to apply to as many kinky people as possible, regardless of orientation, preferences, or level of experience. This survey was not limited to people already involved in the Scene. This survey was interested in alll adults who are driven by a need for kinky sex. Novices and those whose only exposure to SM has been on the Net were welcome to participate.
Finally, participation in the survey was limited to individuals who are 18 years old or older.
Absolutely. The forms were set up to deliver results anonymously. I did not run tracking software either. I worked only with raw numbers.
This survey is a scholarly research project. It was undertaken to fulfill academic requirements for Gloria's PhD. As such, the dissemination of its results will proceed in an academic fashion. When and if results are published in a scholarly journal, I'll provide information here.
Meanwhile, the raw data are available on this website free to all who visit.
Copyright © 1999-2000
Dr. Gloria
Glickstein Brame
Reproduction or distribution of any of the materials
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