28th Annual Student Research Conference
Gender Representation in BDSM Sex Toy Marketing
McKenzie Parker
Dr. Anton Daughters, Faculty Mentor
BDSM is an acronym that stands for bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism. BDSM sex involve a power dynamic in a couple where one party is in control, while the other is submissive. This particular sexual kink is growing in mainstream acceptance and popularity with the wild success of the erotic novel sensation, Fifty Shades of Grey. However, in pop culture promotion of BDSM, the submissive party is almost always a woman. In this study, one thousand pictures used in the marketing of BDSM sex toys were analyzed. I found that women were in a submissive position 88.8% of the time they were represented and appeared in a vast majority of the ads alone with no other models.
Keywords: BDSM, sex, gender, women, deviant sex, advertising
Topic(s):Women's and Gender Studies
Sociology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 406-4
Location: MG 2050
Time: 3:15