BDSM Communities in Central Europe

The book was written as a reaction to the current situation of the BDSM scene in Central Europe with an emphasis on selected post-communist countries. BDSM communities, and thus the public discourse around BDSM, have developed in many Central European countries with a considerable delay compared to Western and Northern countries due to the communist dictatorship. In its five chapters, the book covers topics such as detabuization, popularization, mediatization, commodification and globalization are discussed. In the course of the discussion of these subjects, it quickly becomes apparent that the originally medical concept of sadomasochism has gradually transformed into the much-discussed BDSM, practiced by a significant number of people in the general population as a sexual activity for experimentation or leisure.  At the same time, in recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people taking an interest in BDSM in the online space, setting up profiles on community sites and thus becoming members of the online BDSM community. Accordingly, the supply of paid BDSM services in the online and real spaces in the form of paid sexual domination has also been growing. All of the above is evidenced by several surveys and research probes conducted in recent years in some Central European countries. These studies show, among other things, a relatively high level of tolerance towards BDSM among a sample of the general population and among university students.

Comprehensive studies monitoring the BDSM scene in Central Europe are lacking and this book represents the first focused effort to provide a more comprehensive account of perceptions and experiences of consensual sadomasochism in Central Europe, and as such it is aimed both at the general public interested in the topic as well as the academics and researchers.