As you may know, in addition to being a pro domme, therapist and coach, I am also a huge history buff. I have embarked on a journey to uncover the roots of BDSM and take you through history and its pioneers.
Ancient Mesopotamia, one of the earliest advanced civilizations, is where the first accounts of BDSM come from, around 3100 BC, in and around what is now Iraq. Inanna, the fertility goddess, whipped her subjects, prompting a dance of sexual frenzy, and is associated with various sexual rituals. Her influence extends to the Hebrew Bible and the development of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Inanna, also known as Ishtar, appears in numerous myths, often taking over the domain of other deities. The worship of Inanna involved ritual fetishization, depicting on cuneiform tablets subjects being whipped into sexual frenzy. In particular, Inanna worshipped her own vulva and forced men to submit to her.
She forced men into submission and sometimes made them wear women’s clothing or experience a euphoric mixture of pain and pleasure. Despite the fall of Mesopotamia, the origins of BDSM persisted.
In ancient Greece, particularly in Sparta, a cult dedicated to the goddess Artemis practiced sacred rituals. While celibate girls danced in a hyper-sexualized manner, boys were flogged by priestesses as they ran to altars laden with food.
Flogging was often depicted in Greek art, and Plutarch mentioned Spartan whipping contests where boys gleefully endured the whippings as a contest.
Ancient Greece integrated BDSM into its history with ritual flogging, a term still used today for flogging or whipping, either as religious discipline or for sexual gratification. Cults incorporated flogging into their rites, often with priestesses flogging young men while worshipping Artemis Orthia. Greece even had a “Tomb of whipping,” decorated with images of flogging, where people sought punishment for pleasure.
In ancient Rome, there were rooms for women to flog each other in honor of Bacchus or Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.
Pompeii’s “Villa of the Mysteries” displayed an angelic figure called the “Whip Star,” who initiated women into her cult through bondage and flogging techniques. Italian ideals about sex and BDSM mirrored those of ancient Greece
The Kama Sutra explores passionate slaping with details on six body locations and four techniques: hand back, slightly contracted fingers, fist and open palm. It delves into the interplay between pain, pleasure and passion and recognizes that women assume dominant roles in the heat of arousal. It also provides guidelines for biting, including techniques such as the “jeweled line” for areas such as the throat, armpit or thighs. Mouth play is encouraged to enhance passion, with instructions for a woman to hold her lover’s hair, kiss his lower lip and bite in various places. Mutual understanding and shared preferences are emphasized to sustain love.
Courtly Love, a social and literary movement from the 12th century, revolved around the concept of intense passion, enduring love and a man’s willingness to accept any challenge for his lover. Yet it entailed the agonizing experience of never being able to reach the object of his affection, often because of her engagement, higher social status or some other unattainable circumstance.
In 15th-century Japan, hojojutsu, a creative martial art, focused on tying with ropes. Samurai used intricate rope configurations and special knots not only to bind criminals, but also to emphasize aesthetic appeal. Hojojutsu aimed to restrict prisoners’ movements while creating visually appealing bonds, with bound individuals often on public display. This practice later evolved into shibari or kinbaku, the Japanese art of erotic rope binding.
The Marquis de Sade, a French nobleman of the 18th and early 19th centuries, became notorious for his aggressive sexual content, leading to imprisonment and exile before the French Revolution. During his imprisonment, he wrote “Justine,” in which he depicted brutal sexual acts. This created the term “sadism” for sexual arousal through pain. His masterpiece, “120 Days of Sodom,” further defined eroticism and introduced the term “sadist,” in which he explored the psychopathology of sex. This provocative work, lost after the storming of the Bastille, was rediscovered and published in 1936.
John Cleland’s novel “Fanny Hill,” or “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure,” published in 1748, is considered England’s first explicit novel and provides insight into 18th-century sexual culture. The story follows Frances “Fanny” Hill, an orphan involved in intimate exchanges, prostitution, group relationships and taboo acts, which are vividly described. In one instance, Fanny undergoes a painful but pleasurable encounter in which the whipping causes blood to flow.
Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, known for his 1869 work “Venus in Furs,” dealt with sexual proclivities, including spanking. The story revolves around Severin von Kusiemski, who wants to be a sub and be punished by a woman. Severin associates pain with pleasure and is whipped, for which he is grateful. Sacher-Masochs contributed to the term “masochism.”
In the 18th-19th centuries, the connection between pleasure and pain was reflected in the practice of flogging, which shifted from the religious to the secular realm after the decline of the Catholic Church in the 16th century. Eulenberg, an 18th-century writer, emphasized the use of flogging as a sexual stimulant, a practice that was used in institutions throughout England. After the publication of a treatise on flogging in 1718, this activity became known as the “vice of the English.”
Brothels in England flourished in the 18th century, attracting figures such as King George VI. Some establishments had innovative installations, such as a machine capable of whipping 40 people at a time. Mrs. Berkley, known for inventing the spanking chair or Berkley Horse, added her unique touch to the world of pleasure through pain. Professionals like Theresa Berkley were called “governesses” during this period, while the term “dominatrix” did not emerge until the 1960s.
In the 19th century, there were dungeons in London for wealthy men who willingly allowed themselves to be flogged. This contradicts the conventional view of the Victorian era as sexless and puritanical and reveals a more complex reality than the prevailing stereotype suggests.
There was probably also a psychosexual dynamic based on class. Upper-class men, who paid considerable sums for these experiences, were usually educated in a single-sex environment. Their limited interactions with women were often related to educational disciplinary issues.
In the 1920s, Weimar Berlin embraced sexual freedom and gender fluidity, creating a thriving gay club scene. However, the rise of Hitler destroyed this sexually liberated culture and pushed sexuality and the LGBTQ community back into the shadows. World War I paved the way for a cultural renaissance, with pioneers such as Charles Guyette, Irving Klaw and John Willie contributing to fetish and BDSM culture.
The second half of the 20th century witnessed the rise of influential figures such as Bettie Page, Tom of Finland and Robert Mapplethorpe, who challenged societal norms by explicitly portraying BDSM in art and photography. Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, in the 1990s, incorporated BDSM into their artistic expression and brought it further into mainstream consciousness.
Even fashion designers have taken inspiration from BDSM to create their work. As I personally did on my ss22 fashion week runway in Vancouver. My BDSM look was one of the most popular pieces and was featured by Vogue.
Development in psychology Great strides have been made in the field of bdsm with regard to mental health, as I described in one of my earlier articles on the positive impact of bdsm on mental health.
In 2013, with the publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), BDSM was officially recognized as not pathological. This shift highlights the increasing acceptance of varied behaviors and preferences, and validates the experiences of those who include BDSM as a fundamental aspect of their identity and relationships.
BDSM is always evolving and connected to the course of our history
