The general public can now measure how kinky they are thanks to a new tool developed by University of Brighton psychology lecturer Dr Liam Wignall.
Liam Wignall, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Science and a member of Brighton’s Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender, developed the ‘Kink Orientation Scale’, or KOS, published earlier this month in the Journal of Sex Research.
This scale is the first to provide a measure of kink desire, practice, and identity and as such is a significant advancement in how we can study kink moving forward.
Kink, often referred to as BDSM, is an important aspect of a sizable minority’s sexual desires, practices, and personal relationships. Studies estimate that 20% -30% of the general population have engaged in the practice, while up to 70% of adults have fantasised about it. However, outside of certain subcultures, it can be hard to get people to open up about their desires.
“The definition of kink too often focuses only on those who identify as being part of a kink community or subculture and fails to capture people who wouldn’t define themselves in those terms but who still consider it an important part of their sexual practices or desires,” Liam said. “We need a way of identifying people who may be considered kinky, even if they don’t identify as such.”
The 18-item scale has five different factors which relate to different aspects of kink: identity; community; paraphernalia; practices; and communication. The scale is scored from 18-90, with a higher score indicative of a higher engagement with kink. Questions include how comfortable you are discussing your sexual desires with friends or lovers and your level of interest in sex toys and kink paraphernalia.
Importantly, the scale doesn’t just focus on the type of sex that people may be having in real life but also desires that participants may never have acted on. This has consequences for how we think about sexual orientation more broadly, as an identity, behaviour and desire.
Liam said: “By using the scale, we can capture a greater diversity of kink attitudes, practices, and identities. We also hope that it will help to dispel some of the myths and stigma associated with kink identities and sexual practices.”
He added: “I have created a website for people to take part in the Kink Orientation Scale to see what their own kink scores are and get some additional information on what their score means. Anyone interested can take the test here: www.thekinkscale.com.
“This is only the first version of the scale and questions may adapt and change over time. The scale also needs to be tested in larger and more diverse samples. However, this scale is a major advancement in how to conduct research into kink. It provides a step change on methodological apparatus and allows for more diverse samples to be reached.”
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