I’m going to start with a trip down memory lane. Starting out in kink I was curious about the vast flavor and subcultures that make up the kink community. I would constantly question where that line was between what might be considered “abusive” by the vanilla community and witnessing a multitude of consenting and kinky adults enjoying thriving intimate times, with both mild and intense edge play.
These questions were furthered during my formal education and accomplishment of a BA in psychology with emphasis on pre-clinical psychology. I was exploring articles on the philosophy of morals when I came across Hicks, A. (2019) Moral Hedging And Responding To Reason article (google scholar search) and found an amicable stance. It should go without saying that morals are complex and deeply philosophical. If you have the bandwidth to read such a work, I highly recommend Hicks, A. (2019) article. In addition to being philosophical, there are many different types of morals to consider that influence our decisions and behaviors. It is beyond the scope of this blog post to dissect each of these and as such this introductory post will focus on the moral standing that I feel reflects most positively and fairly on the kink community, De re.
One of the focal points for Knotty Binds is to advocate for intimacy and kink between willing/consenting participants. My interest in kink came from a desire to increase connection and create unique and intimate experiences between myself and others. De dicto morality focuses on doing what is right by societal expectations whereas De re morality focuses on doing the morally right action from an intrinsic belief that selected behaviors/actions are morally right (that is, a person doing an action out of personal belief rather than societal expectations) Hicks, A. (2019). Kink is morally acceptable (and incredible) to me when used with De re morals. Due to this conviction and belief, I am incorporating kink to increase intimacy, connection, and lust between consenting parties. I will be incorporating this moral foundation in my courses. I welcome you to attend a future class and expand your own De re morals as part of your kink journey.
Be sure to check out my Event Calendar to learn more. As a thank you for reading this blog post, please enter the promo code “Blogger” in Eventbrite and you will receive 10% off the ticket price for my upcoming class “Foundational Rope Bondage” on January 19, 2022.
References:
Hicks, A. (2019). Moral Hedging And Responding To Reasons. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 100(3), 765-789. https:// DOI: 10.1111/papq.12274