When you think “kink”, what comes to mind? Likely it’s whips, bondage and dominatrixes. Or perhaps it’s a role play of sorts. For those who are unfamiliar with the world of kink, the term tends to be black and white — you’re either having “normal” sex or you’re not. But the sex-positivity movement has paved the way for a better understanding and acceptance of kink, allowing people to explore and experiment with sex.
While the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns made casual IRL sex impossible, it also forced many people to reassess their sex lives and made way for a new wave of kinksters to embrace their sexual preferences. A September 2020 report by a kinky dating app, KinkD, found a 39.2 per cent increase in average monthly active users, and a 51.6 per cent increase in the average daily time spent by US-based users since March. For the kinkcurious, the online community became a safe, fun haven where they could meet like-minded beings and unlearn harmful myths around sex, sexuality and kink.
“I think we often put kink into this ‘alternative’ box … maybe it’s something a bit weird for you or left of centre from what you’re used to, but it’s not at all weird for me,” says sexologist and author of Vanessa Muradian. The very idea that
