A communicative interdependence perspective of sexual communication and technology in bondage, domination, and sadomasochist relationships

ABSTRACT

As lives become more multimodal, relationships must communicate across varied modes of communication. Sex is a uniquely important topic for couples. For bondage, domination, and sadomasochist (BDSM) relationships, in which the negotiation process may be more mandatory and more challenging, technology presents an important place for mitigating the face-threatening nature of these conversations. Applying the Communication Interdependence Perspective, the present study investigates the management of multimodal communication in BDSM sexual relationships, finding that interdependence variables contribute to understanding relational closeness and relational satisfaction. Mode segmentation to TMC acted as a moderator, suggesting that low amounts of affectionate exchanges and high levels of mode segmentation to TMC may be especially dissatisfying for people in BDSM relationships.

KEYWORDS:

• Communicative interdependence perspective
• BDSM
• sexual communication
• sexting
• multimodality

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Dr. Stephanie Tikkanen for feedback on this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. This may be an artifact of the sample. The BDSM community has developed a number of specific mediated channels to engage various aspects of sexual communication, including planning, play, and check-ins, that may contain meaningful differences (Rubinsky, 2018).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Valerie Rubinsky

Valerie Rubinsky, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Communication in the Social Science Program at the University of Maine Augusta. Her research focuses on communication and intimacy, particularly sexual communication among understudied relationships.