Webinar Title: “I’m not alone and not a freak”: The 5 stages of kink identity development
Webinar Date: 8:00am PST, September 28, 2018.
Presented by Sam Hughes.
Sam will be presenting his research on the five stages kinky people go through in their lives when coming to terms with being a kinky person. Watch Sam discuss the webinar themes in the introductory video below.
Sam Hughes
Sam studies the psychology of people who fall outside of typical sexual norms, including people who participate in BDSM, kink, and sexual fetishism, as well as LGBTQ people. In particular, he investigates the origins of sexual desires, and the relationship between stigma, discrimination, and mental health. He explores how building relationships and skills in sexual minority communities can help to protect and improve people’s mental health and well-being.
Similarly, he is interested in how policies put in place by institutions like prisons, schools and psychiatric medicine can mistakenly treat human sexual diversity as a sickness. He showcases how positive changes can be made to reduce stigma and discrimination around sexual minority identities. Overall, his research aims to improve the well-being of sexual minorities. He seeks to do this by providing policymakers, clinicians, sex educators, and advocates with research that describes the challenges and barriers, as well as sources of support and resilience in the lives of kinky and LGBTQ people.