Branded Bodies, Bound Desires: Gendered Performances of Pain, Power, and Identity in BDSM Product Reviews
Abstract
This study analyzes 224 verified Amazon consumer reviews of BDSM gear to explore how erotic pain, power exchange, gender, and embodiment are experienced and narrated. Through qualitative content analysis, three central themes emerged: Pleasure and Pain, Control and Surrender, and Identity and Transformation. Reviews of products marketed to men emphasize endurance, technical mastery, and dramatized submission, while reviews of products marketed to women highlight relational intimacy and visually expressive play.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Gender and Feminist Studies
Gender
Feminism
and Media
Marriage and Sexual Relationships
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Deviant Behavior
- Pages
- 1–12
- Publication date
- 30 January 2026
- Language
- EN