Skip to content
18+
Kinkcenter › Glossary

Kink

Kink is the use of sexual practices, concepts or fantasies that are not conventional[1].

Sources: grade B×5, grade C×3. Last checked 8 October 2026. What the grades mean

The word comes from the idea of a 'bend', or kink, in sexual behaviour, set against 'straight' or 'vanilla' sexual mores, which makes it a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behaviour[1]. Because conventional sexual boundaries vary by time and place, what counts as a kink also varies widely[2].

Some people who practise sexual fetishism have claimed 'kink' as a term or synonym for their practices[1]. In the 21st century, 'kink', along with BDSM, leather and fetish, has become more common than the term paraphilia[1]. Some draw a distinction in which kink enhances intimacy between partners, while fetishism replaces it[3].

Kink is not always sexual: in one study, up to 35% of participants highly involved in BDSM said it was primarily non-sexual for them[4]. People who identify as asexual also sometimes engage in kink[4].

It is sometimes assumed that kinks are the result of trauma, but research has shown that kink participants have slightly lower rates of trauma than the general population[5]. A 2024 study of kink engagement identified five factors: kink identity, kink community, kink paraphernalia, kink practices and sexual communication[6].

Sources

  1. Source grade CShahbaz, Caroline; Chirinos, Peter (2016-10-04). Becoming a Kink Aware Therapist . Routledge. doi : 10.4324/9781315295336 . ISBN 978-1-315-29533-6 . taylorfrancis.com (via Wikipedia: Kink (sexuality))
  2. Source grade BJoyal, Christian C.; Carpentier, Julie (3 March 2016). "The Prevalence of Paraphilic Interests and Behaviors in the General Population: A Provincial Survey". The Journal of Sex Research . 54 (2). Informa UK Limited: 161– 171. doi : 10.1080/00224499.2016.1139034 . ISSN 0022-4499 . PMID 26941021 . S2CID 1671875 . doi.org; Meredith G. F. Worthen (10 June 2016). Sexual Deviance and Society: A sociological examination . Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-59337-9 . books.google.com (via Wikipedia: Kink (sexuality))
  3. Source grade CRothstein, Edward (5 October 2007). "What's Latex Got to Do With It?" . The New York Times . nytimes.com (via Wikipedia: Kink (sexuality))
  4. Source grade C"Is BDSM Always About Sex? | Psychology Today" . www.psychologytoday.com . Retrieved 2025-03-12 . psychologytoday.com (via Wikipedia: Kink (sexuality))
  5. Source grade BWilliams, D J; Sprott, Richard A. (2022-12-01). "Current biopsychosocial science on understanding kink" . Current Opinion in Psychology . 48 101473. doi : 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101473 . ISSN 2352-250X . PMID 36274435 . sciencedirect.com (via Wikipedia: Kink (sexuality))
  6. Source grade BLiam Wignall, Mark McCormack, Tom Carpino, Rebecca Owens, Thomas Barton. The Kink Orientation Scale: Developing and Validating a Measure of Kink Desire, Practice, and Identity. The Journal of Sex Research. 2024. doi:10.1080/00224499.2024.2387769
  7. Source grade BRehor, Jennifer Eve (May 2015). "Sensual, erotic, and sexual behaviors of women from the "kink" community" . Archives of Sexual Behavior . 44 (4): 825– 836. doi : 10.1007/s10508-015-0524-2 . ISSN 1573-2800 . PMC 4379392 . PMID 25795531 . ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (via Wikipedia: Kink (sexuality))
  8. Source grade BRatcliff SE, Wright S, Herbenick D, Sunassee AA, Cummings K, Zachary T, et al.. Why Sexual Choking Is Not as Safe as You Think: A Call to Action from Sex Researchers and Kink Educators. Arch Sex Behav. 2026;55(6):2397-2412. doi:10.1007/s10508-026-03481-7

Grades: A systematic review or official classification, B peer-reviewed study, C expert or community organisation, D practice from the community without research. How we grade sources.

Every claim was checked against its source before publication. Last checked 8 October 2026.