BDSM Statistics – How interesting are the UK’s kink habits?

BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, and Masochism) is one of the top kinks in the world. Reaching over a broad range of sexual activities like impact play, domination, submission, and humiliation, it has become a common practice in many bedrooms, with many people trying it at least once.

The British public is no stranger to the enticing world of BDSM. Over the years, we’ve broadened our sexual habits and enjoyed the wide range of pleasure that this kink has to offer. To delve deeper into the UK’s kink habits, we’ve collected the statistics and data to find out how raunchy we Brits are…

What counts as BDSM?

BDSM can include many different forms of stimulation, but to break it down, here’s what you can typically expect from the different areas of it.

Bondage: Usually involving rope, tape, or even chains, bondage is the practice of restraining your partner. A common example of soft bondage can be found in the use of handcuffs, and blindfolds. Taking away your partner’s ability to do something, like move or see, lays the foundation.

Discipline: Telling your partner what to do, punishing them, and restricting their sexual gratification can all be examples of discipline. The classic ‘sexy strict teacher’ is usually what many people associate with sexual discipline.

Sadism: Sometimes included in discipline, sadism is the practice of inflicting pain on your partner (with their consent of course). Often practised with whips, floggers, and paddles, sadism can flip the stereotypical dynamics of relationships, allowing the usually submissive partner to take over for a change.

Masochism: Seen as the reverse of sadism, masochism is the enjoyment of having pain-inflicting upon you by another person. Remember, this is always with both parties consent, and a safe word should always be agreed upon beforehand.

To learn more, we recommend reading our other blog What is BDSM? and coming back to this one when you’re done…

What caused Britain to be so kinky?

The rise of BDSM in British bedrooms is down to many different factors. As time has gone on, we’ve opened our minds to different forms of pleasure and been more open to exploring our sexual desires.

There is one major factor, however, which has certainly become a household name, whether you’re into it or not.

Fifty Shades of Grey.

Arguably the greatest-selling erotica book of all time, Fifty shades of grey became the fastest-selling paperback of all time. Yes, even more than Harry Potter. And this no doubt had a huge impact on the British sex habits, as we saw the pleasure which can be gained from bondage and domination/submission.

The book even affected our spending habits, with Lovehoney reporting that they saw a huge spike in sales during and after the book’s release.

So what are the UK’s BDSM statistics?

We collected the data from multiple surveys so you don’t have to, and our findings were quite surprising… To start, it was found in 2015 that over a quarter of Brits between the ages of 18 and 39 wanted to try BDSM in the bedroom, and a further 19% said they had already tried it.

5 years later, in 2020 just before the pandemic, another survey found that 16% of Brits rated BDSM as their top fetish. This means, that at least one in ten people enjoy some form of BDSM in the bedroom, making it likely that at least one person on your bus ride home is into being tied up and spanked – kinky!

It’s not only our bedroom habits which reflect our love for BDSM, but our online searches have also been very telling too…

A British escort agency released their user’s monthly searches on their website, and the results were very interesting. Their highest monthly searches revealed that BDSM was their topped searched term on their site, with foot fetish coming second. Surprisingly, masochism came in at number 11, telling us that maybe the receiving pain part of BDSM is less popular than other elements of the kink.

Other bedroom kinks such as cross-dressing, swinging, and using uniforms came before masochism and even gagging, so maybe we’re not so into the discipline part of BDSM as we first thought…