title: Extreme rituals in a BDSM context: the physiological and psychological effects of the 'Dance of Souls'.
abstract: Participation in extreme rituals (e.g., fire-walking, body-piercing) has been documented throughout history. Motivations for such physically intense activities include religious devotion, sensation-seeking and social bonding. The present study aims to explore an extreme ritual within the context of bondage/discipline, dominance/submission and sadism/masochism (BDSM): the 'Dance of Souls', a 160-person ritual involving temporary piercings with weights or hooks attached and dancing to music provided by drummers. Through hormonal assays, behavioural observations and questionnaires administered before, during and after the Dance, we examine the physiological and psychological effects of the Dance, and the themes of spirituality, connectedness, transformation, release and community reported by dancers. From before to during the Dance, participants showed increases in physiological stress (measured by the hormone cortisol), self-reported sexual arousal, self-other overlap and decreases in psychological stress and negative affect. Results suggest that this group of BDSM practitioners engage in the Dance for a variety of reasons, including experiencing spirituality, deepening interpersonal connections, reducing stress and achieving altered states of consciousness.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Klement
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: Ellen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Ambler
authors.affiliation: b Department of Sociology , Georgia State University , Atlanta , USA.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Comber
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wietting
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: c Department of Counseling Psychology , University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison , USA.
authors.forename: Valerie R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: d Independent scholar , Tempe , Arizona , USA.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cutler
authors.affiliation: d Independent scholar , Tempe , Arizona , USA.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cutler
authors.affiliation: e Primal Edgewalkers Services Inc. , Edmonton , Alberta , Canada.
authors.forename: Elwood
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , USA.
authors.forename: Brad J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Sagarin
mesh_terms: D002562:Ceremonial Behavior; D003615:Dancing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008398:Masochism / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012448:Sadism / Q000523:psychology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Dance of Souls; Sadomasochism; USA; cortisol; extreme rituals; sexuality; spirituality