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Empathy in Submission?

There’s a long-held thought that female submissives are soft and squishy and care about everyone with a sweet empathy that exudes from their very pores. This study suggests that that’s really just not the case. In fact, it may be that being submissive reduces empathy for the pain of others.

I’m not taking sides here but it might be the truth – after all, if I can take worse pain than that for fun, shouldn’t you be able to? Read the study and share your thoughts in the comments. ~k

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28126624/

Neuropsychologia . 2018 Jul 31;116(Pt A):44-51. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.01.027. Epub 2017 Jan 23.

Empathy in female submissive BDSM practitioners

Siyang Luo 1, Xiao Zhang 2Affiliations expand

Abstract

The practice of bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism (BDSM) sometimes is associated with giving and receiving pain. It remains unresolved how BDSM practitioners perceive the pain of other people. This study investigated whether and how the BDSM experience affects human empathy. Experiment 1 measured trait empathy and subjective empathic responses in BDSM practitioners and control respondents. The results revealed lower trait empathy scores and subjective pain intensity ratings in the female submissive group (Subs) compared to controls. Experiment 2 measured participants’ neural responses to others’ suffering by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from female Subs and controls while viewing painful and neutral expressions. We found that the differential amplitudes between painful and neutral expressions in the frontal N1 (92-112ms), frontal P2 (132-172ms) and central late LPP (700-1000ms) were reduced in the submissive group versus the control group. These findings suggest that being in the submissive role during BDSM practice weakens female individuals’ empathic responses to others’ suffering at both the behavioral and neural levels.

Keywords: BDSM; ERP; Empathy; Submissive.

thebdsmgarden

This is just a little slice of The Garden at www.TheBDSMGarden.com, a resource community for those already practicing, or wishing to learn the art and lifestyle of Domination and submission in their various forms and practices. In The Garden, guests learn and share the ideas and realities of pain mixed with pleasure and a moment or lifetime of consensual service. Beyond The Garden gate exists a growing collection of essays, definitions, and interactive amenities to assist the curious and the expert in self-discovery, learning, and fun. The following is an extract from the book Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns explaining Dominance, submission, and the common bonds we share. “In exchange for obedience by the submissive, the dominant agrees to care for and work toward the pleasure of both partners. Thus empowered by the sub, the dominant takes control of their scenes and agrees to abide by the limits she sets. . Some people extend D/S roles outside the bedroom, often referring to themselves as "slave" [or "submissive/ subservient"] and "master." Generally, these people consider themselves D/S "lifestylers".” Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism, Miller and Devon, Mystic Rose Books,1995, p. 9