goodgirl08
Posts: 145
Joined: 6/11/2007 Status: offline
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I think that despite having better access to the internet, etc, it still takes people a long time to get to the level of self-awareness that they might be seriously interested in kink. Not saying that I am Enlightened for being aware of my interest, but just that there are still a lot of social taboos around kink that are hard to surpass. For example, it seems like it's a lot more acceptable to have a passing sexual interest than to have such a strong inclination that you would join a site like this. I think there is still a lot of shame surrounding the idea of having more than just a passing interest, so that might indirectly or directly discourage people from coming to a place where they would feel okay about getting involved with internet or local communities. I found my first Yahoo dungeon chat room approximately 0.5 minutes after we got the internet at age 12, and I was hooked since then. Still, it took me until age 19 to openly acknowledge my interest, and a few months away from 21 to actively pursue what I wanted. I found that there was a big taboo (partially self-enforced) on being interested in a power exchange relationship, as opposed to a 'normal' relationship with kinky sex (and there is still a taboo on that). Whereas most of my friends know I'm kinky on a sexual level, the concept of a power-based relationship is still something I will only disclose to friends if I really think they can handle it (so that's only a couple of people). So, because of that taboo I avoided the idea of power-based relationships for even longer, even though it was what I had always wanted. Young people are unsure about a lot of things and taking the plunge into the world of kink can take a lot of self-assessment, independence, and courage, all things that are hard to dredge up when you're trying to figure out so much other shit.
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