• DOI:10.1080/15299716.2012.729430
• Corpus ID: 144476771

Does Bisexuality ‘Undo’ Gender? Gender, Sexuality, and Bisexual Behavior Among BDSM Participants

@article{Simula2012DoesB,
  title={Does Bisexuality ‘Undo’ Gender? Gender, Sexuality, and Bisexual Behavior Among BDSM Participants},
  author={Brandy L. Simula},
  journal={Journal of Bisexuality},
  year={2012},
  volume={12},
  pages={484 - 506}
}

• Brandy L. Simula
• Published 1 October 2012
• Sociology
• Journal of Bisexuality

Drawing on West and Zimmerman's classic theory of “doing gender,” which argues that gender is something we do rather than something we have or are, as well as recent feminist conversations about whether it is possible to ‘undo’ gender, this study analyzes the role of gender in BDSM 1 bisexuality. This research analyzes 32 semistructured, in-depth interviews; correspondence and diaries held by the Leather Archives and Museum; and 344 public discussion board threads selected for themes related to gender on a large BDSM community website. The data show that BDSM bisexuality is created in part through a distinction participants create between ‘sex’ and ‘sexual.’ Three main types of BDSM bisexuality are identified: gender-based switching, gender-based styles, and rejection of gender. The author argues that the complex ways participants support and resist gender normativity in these three types of BDSM bisexuality can advance our understanding of the processes involved in doing and undoing gender.