Member Opinion: Has Kink Moved Further to the Extreme?
from
Recon News
30 May 2025
By NikeShoxBoy
A Sign of the Times: Has Kink Moved Further to the Extremes (As We Have)?
In our current era, it appears our political climate has reached a fevered pitch, where extremism is the new norm and any policy position that isn't anti-establishment, whether from the right or left, is considered capitulation and weakness—politically vanilla, if you will. At one time, being verbally degraded was considered very kinky. Now it's on the more vanilla side of the kink spectrum. As our political culture continues to manifest into extreme factions, does our understanding of kink and fetish reflect a similar pattern? If so, how and why do we fetishize or sexualize extremism? In the face of these alleged "extremist" kinksters, should we (the kink establishment) practice open-mindedness and welcome them, or admonish them, kick them out and suppress extremist temptation?
Roleplay scenarios, like consensual non-consensual (otherwise known as the rape roleplay), raceplay, and age play simulations that, due to towing the line on actuality versus fantasy, are deemed extremist. The acknowledged fear is that if the kink community normalizes these acts, kinks, fetishes, or scenarios, doing so would blur the lines between play and reality to such an extent the dynamics are accepted as tame, as opposed to extreme, leading to a slippery slope whereon these behaviors permeate into our shared reality, therefore turning back the clock on decades – even centuries of hard-won progress for the ultimate goal of equality and equity. At the heart of it, like any kink, is consent. If two people are consenting of their own free will with a clear mind, who are we to judge? Yet we still do, perhaps more so than ever before…to the extent that kinksters are rushing to build our own "wall" to block out kinks that too easily exhibit real life political divides.
When we acknowledge something as foreign, it's only natural to assume it's dangerous. It's our mind's way of protecting us. Our bodies initiate a fear response, otherwise known as fight or flight. What we perceive as foreign is difficult to understand, and therefore can scare us, and what scares us, we seek to destroy or at the very least keep contained in a way that is not threatening to our way of life. Extremist kinks and extremist political policies follow this pathway of thinking.
Take symbols of the far-right: Swastika symbol, SS Bolts, Confederate Flag, along with the red MAGA hat. These symbols—and uniforms/aesthetics to match, are highly fetishized and sexualized because of the historical rhetoric, wars, and culture surrounding them. The violence, degradation, power dynamics, and social hierarchy all reflect an inherent dominance. For a dom, tapping into this pool of sexualized fascism is a great way to make money: i.e. findom. A submissive derives psychosexual pleasure from being drained financially to serve his "cashmaster," paying for meals, bills, articles of clothing, or just sending money to a cashmaster's bank account. There is a relatable power dynamic at play here. Generally, many traditionally-masculine, heteronormative straight men identify with nationalistic populist political movements, feeling safe and secure to pronounce without fear of persecution that straight (white, cis, Christian) men are inherently superior. These men now consider themselves the victims, in the face of equal rights movement for minorities. Traditional men are under attack—feeling cornered, far-right politics have become a safe haven. Aside from the financial aspect, sexualizing these dynamics has become a thrilling way to exercise these archaic, dangerous beliefs out in the open; in other words, making fascism and hate "great again." And the kinky community is naturally offended—and terrified.
So, why are certain submissives drawn to this form of domination?
Human beings are complex creatures. Simultaneously human beings are simple creatures. What is dangerous or wrong or taboo is often sexualized or at the very least, flirted with. If one's parent says, don't touch that, a child naturally wants to touch it. It's the thrill of the risk, the thrill of defying authority and testing our willpower and autonomy. It's also about control.
Flirting with danger is one thing but actively participating in dynamics that are ostensibly homophobic, and racist is another thing entirely. There could be many reasons why one is attracted to extreme manifestations of kink and roleplay. But I'd wager that control is the most popular. If one is able to control at least part of the narrative that seemingly threatens one's individual freedoms, it makes reality, the big bad world out there, all the more bearable. Sexualizing people who champion policies and represent archaic societal norms that threaten real life progress is dangerous. It's wrong. Ergo, it's thrilling. It's a hardcore, brutal way to satisfy one's submissive urges because unlike play that is simulated with terms and conditions, a sub is bringing in actual, current politically charged social norms into a controlled environment where a safe outcome is almost aways guaranteed, despite any protest from the kink community. In layman terms, it's the rawest "mind-fuck" a sub can endure without actually putting himself in real life danger.
But what do we do when they – those who champion such extremist scenarios bring them out into the open and downplay it as something innocent, like having a foot fetish? The rest of us gawk, marvel at said person's audacity. It's easier to ignore a sub in search of this kind of domination. But finding a dom who waltzes in with extremist political views ready to spread a scary, dark, bigoted reality and toy and fiddle and manipulate the rules and regulations of power dynamics for the almighty dollar or, even worse, just for sadistic pleasure or political validation – what do we do then? Fearfully, fetishizing fascism and extremism will be used an excuse to bring it out into the open – or outside of play because subs just love it. These doms see the positive effect and can easily assume that the world will be a better place if these dynamics were implemented in real life. Has that thinking already begun, and put into practice?
These kinds of submissives, who sexualize facilitators of extremist populist politics and policies to experience the most hardcore form of mental and physical submission, do not shame themselves or think themselves self-loathing. These doms and subs may claim there is no clear and present danger—that we're angry or panicking without just cause. However, hypocritically, once play ends and these subs recognize these abhorrent threats in our culture, their outrage and fear are palpable. When it comes to sex and play, in order to get "mind-fucked" the mind first has to disassociate.
So, the question is, are we reacting unjustly? Is denying legitimacy to kinks like findom, ultra-charged raceplay, fascist symbols and rhetoric kink-shaming? Are we right to refuse them mainstream approval? Or should we legitimize these scenarios and dynamics, if anything for the purposes of modernization? If so, what are the consequences? Discuss (and play) responsibly.
***If you'd like to share a fetish or kink experience in a member article, send your ideas or a first draft to: social@recon.com
